SPECIAL OLYMPICS OREGON INC

Who are the people you serve with your mission?

The Athlete Leadership Council (ALC) is a made up of Special Olympics Oregon athlete leaders who are passionate, engaged and ready to make a change in the world. The Athlete Leadership Council was created to give our athletes a platform to express ideas, concerns and recommendations from their peers to help improve the quality of Special Olympics Oregon’s programs and services. We also did a DEI survey in the Summer of 2022 to better understand the diverse population we serve relating to race and LGBTQ+. Our goal is to ensure Special Olympics is welcoming to all people and to create customized outreach and support where needed.

How is your organization using feedback from the people you serve?

To identify and remedy poor client service experiences, To identify bright spots and enhance positive service experiences, To make fundamental changes to our programs and/or operations, To inform the development of new programs/projects, To identify where we are less inclusive or equitable across demographic groups, To strengthen relationships with the people we serve, To understand people's needs and how we can help them achieve their goals

What significant change resulted from feedback?

During COVID, Special Olympics Oregon (SOOR) had to pivot from offering in-person programming to online/ virtual programming and created an online interactive platform named SOOR Active. SOOR Active offered various different classes and seminars that focused on health and fitness, strength and conditioning, finances & budgeting classes, and much more. Even though this was not our typical programming, we had many athletes and families who enjoyed the virtual programs as another means to stay connected with their peers throughout the week. When we started offering in-person training and competitions, we had many requests from athletes & families that we should continue offering SOOR Active classes as athletes were benefitting emotionally, physically, and socially from this platform.

Which of the following feedback practices does your organization routinely carry out?

We take steps to get feedback from marginalized or under-represented people, We aim to collect feedback from as many people we serve as possible, We take steps to ensure people feel comfortable being honest with us, We look for patterns in feedback based on demographics (e.g., race, age, gender, etc.), We look for patterns in feedback based on people’s interactions with us (e.g., site, frequency of service, etc.), We engage the people who provide feedback in looking for ways we can improve in response, We act on the feedback we receive, We tell the people who gave us feedback how we acted on their feedback

What challenges does the organization face when collecting feedback?

It is difficult to get the people we serve to respond to requests for feedback, It is difficult to find the ongoing funding to support feedback collection, People with ID/D are on a spectrum when it comes to technological and communication abilities.