Partner up, Power up Special Olympics and Lenovo encouraging athletes to get moving

Special Olympics North Carolina and Lenovo are in the midst of a 10-week program called partner up power up encouraging those with and without intellectual disabilities to stay active through conditioning challenges including a variety of cultural dances.

Michael Jackson's "Thriller" - a classic Halloween song brought joy to hundreds of athletes.

"We wanted to give the athletes and other participants an outlet where they can go and show off their costume," said Special Olympics of North Carolina Health Director, Ellen Fahey. "The positive energy is just so contagious."

Alex Jarmusz has been involved with Special Olympics for over 20 years thanks to his older brother Justin who has special needs. He wanted to share his love for Special Olympics with his coworkers at Lenovo.

"We were looking to do a Lenovo month of service and this year it was vastly different," said Jarmusz. "We were doing all virtual volunteering so having connections within Special Olympics I reached out to them and was very grateful that they put it together. It's turned out to be way more amazing than I ever envisioned."

"Because of his passion and his commitment these past five weeks have been amazing," said Fahey. "We could not probably have reached the success we did without Alex's passion for helping not only his brother but other's like his brother."

Over 3,000 people across North Carolina are participating in this program thanks to Alex and Justin. For the brothers, Special Olympics is just an added bonus to their relationship.

"I think it's been ingrained in me from a very young age," Jarmusz said. "From my mother and from my parents of helping others that may be not as fortunate as me. I know personally, I receive great joy from doing it. The personal connection that I have to Special Olympics I think has provided a terrific easy avenue to get the opportunity to do that. I am truly grateful that I have a brother who's in Special Olympics that led me to that opportunity. I see it as a blessing."