Since 1968, Special Olympics has been helping people with intellectual disabilities reach their goals, providing free year-round sports training and athletic competition to more than one million children and adults with intellectual disabilities in more than 150 countries. In 2000, Special Olympics made a bold commitment to double its number of participating athletes worldwide by the end of 2005, placing a renewed focus on building the movement's infrastructure and establishing tools to facilitate growth.

Booz Allen, a long-time supporter of the Special Olympics, has been providing pro bono services to help the organization achieve this ambitious goal. Spearheading that work is Booz Allen Senior Vice President Bruce Pasternack, a member of the Executive Committee of the Board of Directors for Special Olympics International, and Vice President Joni Bessler.

Strategy-Based Transformation

Booz Allen and Special Olympics have worked closely together to complete a strategy-based transformation of the organization to enable the unprecedented growth of its global sports movement. That journey began by working with Special Olympics leadership to better define the role of its corporate organization and determine the structures for its head office, regional, and local organizations. Additional steps included implementing the new organizational model, a new staff professional development strategy, a performance measurement and planning system, as well as a global technology assessment and strategy to support information-sharing among programs around the world and to enable worldwide communications and staff training.

New Fund-Raising Strategies

Booz Allen also ran a nationwide contest at universities and graduate schools to help develop a new fund-raising strategy and advised the organization on the creation of a Special Olympics "corporate" university.

Special Olympics Virginia Winter Championships

Since 2002, volunteers from Washington-area Booz Allen office have joined forces with ExxonMobile and Knights of Columbus to put on the Special Olympics Virginia Winter Championships. Booz Allen Senior Vice President Mike Noonberg joined the board of Special Olympics Virginia in 2004.

Employer of the Year

Booz Allen's Lexington Park, Maryland, office has supported the Saint Mary's County affiliate of Special Olympics Maryland since 1988. In 2004, the office was named state Employer of the Year by Special Olympics Maryland.