The Multnomah County Sheriff's Office (MCSO), joined with local law enforcement partners from the Portland area, will participate in the Law Enforcement Torch Run for Special Olympics raising money and awareness for Special Olympics Oregon (SOOR) on Thursday, July 12, 2018.
Law Enforcement Officers and SOOR athletes will be running through the streets of Portland carrying the torch with the Flame of Hope, which travels hundreds of miles throughout the state each year.
Our leg of the Torch Run begins at 10:00 a.m. at the Portland Police Bureau East Precinct, then heads east on Stark Street to 202nd Avenue, north to Glisan Street, then back west to 181st Street, ending at the Gresham Police Rockwood Public Safety Building. Please note there may be minimal impact to traffic along the route during this time.
Media and the public is invited to support law enforcement and athletes throughout the entire event; at the starting line (departing at 10:00 a.m.), cheering for athletes and officers along the route, and at the finish line (expect to arrive in Rockwood 11:15 a.m.) where a barbeque is hosted for the athletes and participants. The entire leg is 6.5 miles.
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Special Olympics Oregon serves participants with intellectual disabilities, the largest disability population in the state, year-round through the organization's signature sports programs. Athletes gain self-confidence, social competency and other life skills. They develop physical fitness, demonstrate courage, experience joy, and participate in a sharing of gifts, skills, and friendship with their families, other Special Olympics athletes, and the community.
The Law Enforcement Torch Run began in Wichita, Kansas, in 1981 when Police Chief Richard LaMunyon conceived the idea of the Torch Run as a way to involve local law enforcement with Special Olympics and local communities by running the torch in intra-state relays that converge at Summer Games. Now a global event, all 50 states and more than 30 foreign countries participate in Law Enforcement Torch Run. In Oregon, more than 1,500 law enforcement personnel from federal, military, state, county, and local agencies participate in the year-round Torch Run campaign.
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