Eunice Kennedy Shriver
Eunice Mary Kennedy Shriver DSG was an American philanthropist and a member of the Kennedy family. She was the founder of the Special Olympics, a sports organization for persons with physical and intellectual disabilities. In 2003, she became the first woman to receive the Nobel Peace Prize.
About Eunice Kennedy Shriver in brief
Eunice Mary Kennedy Shriver DSG was an American philanthropist and a member of the Kennedy family. She was the founder of the Special Olympics, a sports organization for persons with physical and intellectual disabilities. Shriver was married to Sargent Shriver, who was the United States Ambassador to France and was the Democratic nominee for Vice President of the U.S. in 1972. For her efforts on behalf of the disabled, she was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1984. In 1988, she received the Laetare Medal, considered the highest award for American Catholics, by the University of Notre Dame. In 1992, Shriver received the Senator John Heinz Award for her significant contributions to international sport and sport-related issues. In 2003, she became the first woman to receive the Nobel Peace Prize. She died in 2006 at the age of 94. She is survived by her husband, Sargant Shriver. She also leaves behind a son, John F. Kennedy Jr., and a daughter, Eunice Shriver Kennedy, DSG, and a son-in-law, Edward Kennedy, Jr. She had a daughter and a stepson, both of whom have died in recent years. She has also been awarded the Congressional Gold Medal for her contributions to the field of special education.
She served as the President’s Panel on Mental Retardation in 1961. She championed the creation of the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development in 1962. In 1962, she founded a camp for children with special needs that was held on her Maryland farm. In 1969, she started organizing small activities with Paris organizations, mostly reaching out to families of kids who had special needs to provide activities for them, laying the foundation for a robust international expansion in the late 1970s and 1980s. In 1982 she founded the E unice Kennedy Shiver National Center for Community of Caring at University of Utah, Salt Lake City. The Community is a whole school, comprehensive character education program with a focus on disabilities. It has been adopted by almost 1,200 schools nationwide and in Canada. In 1990, she won the Eagle Award from the United United States Sports Academy for her work in national Citizenship, Citizenship, and Special Olympics. Her other awards include the Civitan International Citizenship Award and the World Citizenship Award.
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