Donations adding up to $7,100 will benefit Special Olympics of Pasco, which was the Pasco County Tax Collector’s Office featured charitable organization for April.
Special Olympics of Pasco is a sports and training program for people with intellectual disabilities. Fifteen hundred students participate in the program in Pasco, according to a news release from the tax collector’s office.
The program provides training, free of charge, in almost two dozen different sports.
Funds raised last year helped the Pasco team attend the 2022 National Special Olympics USA Games in Orlando earlier this month, where the Pasco County flag football team, the Dolphins, won gold. Additionally, two Pasco athletes medaled in swimming and the triathlon (Andrew Ahearn won bronze in swimming and triathlon, and Walter Fischer won gold and two bronze medals in relay swimming events).
“Special Olympics of Pasco County would like to thank the Mike Fasano Tax Collector Offices for their donation,” John Yerke, leadership coordinator for Special Olympics of Pasco, said in the release. “These funds will help spread the word about acceptance and inclusion across Pasco County.”
“Special Olympics of Pasco has long held a special place in my heart,” Tax Collector Mike Fasano, said in the release. “I’m proud that our staff and our community supports this organization that helps bring purpose to so many lives. The athletes and the volunteers who work with them are some of the kindest, most positive people I have ever met. So many of the athletes have intellectual challenges that make life difficult. To see the joy on the face of an athlete as they cross the finish line is indescribable. Special Olympics of Pasco provides a respite from the difficulties many deal with daily. It also provides a place to be with others who also aspire to do their very best.”
For more details regarding the charitable giving program, or services provided by the Pasco County Tax Collector’s Office, call Greg Giordano, assistant tax collector at 727-847-8179, or visit PascoTaxes.com.
For more information about Special Olympics of Pasco, contact Joeyn Dearsman, senior program manager, at 727-774-3062 or SpecialOlympicsFlorida.org/contact.
Published June 29, 2022
