
Sargent Shriver passed away yesterday after a very incredible life of service to our country and people in need around the world. His work often flies under history’s radar, but his achievements are storied — the first leader of the Peace Corps under President John F. Kennedy, Director of the War on Poverty under President Johnson, Chairman of the Board (as well as other roles) of Special Olympics International are just a few of his many leadership roles.
I’ve been involved with Special Olympics since 1996 — in both my professional career(starting at AOL) and on a personal level. When Perfect Sense first began working with Special Olympics International (in February 2009) our work focused on the redesign of www.specialolympics.org, then we conceived and built www.r-word.org. The project with the most impact was our work on the website honoring Eunice Kennedy Shriver. We learned so much more about Special Olympics, the dedication to public service of the Shriver family and the impact Mrs. Shriver had on many other initiatives that impacted people with intellectual disabilities. In the background, Sargent Shriver was a very quiet part of Special Olympics. He was very comfortable lending his skills as an ambassador, but he was also happy to take a backseat to Mrs. Shriver — which says even more about the man and his character.
Too often, as this week progressed, I would talk to people who weren’t aware of Mr. Shriver’s many accomplishments — which speaks volumes about the man.
He was about peace.
He was about change.
He was about work.
He was not about Sargent Shriver.
Last night, hours after learning of Mr. Shriver’s passing, we launched the beginning of a new website to honor Sargent Shriver. For us, the opportunity to be even slightly involved with the legacy of Sargent Shriver and his family — to be able to create a lasting tribute to a man who has made such a difference in society — was an absolute honor, and an absolute delight.
Mr. Shriver led an incredible life and I hope just for a few days out of my life, I can live up to what he did for his entire life for people in need. I don’t expect that I could ever touch 1 percent of the people that he did in his life, his achievements should spur us all to try to attain more. I encourage you to learn more about Sargent Shriver’s life — and as you learn, I am sure you will be inspired.