Felling Presents Donation to Special Olympics Golden Eagles & Young Athletes Teams

SAUK CENTRE, Minn. (December 27, 2017) – Felling Trailers Inc. recently conducted its fifth annual online auction of an FT-3 drop deck utility trailer to benefit a nonprofit organization, Special Olympics Minnesota. To close the chapter on this year’s story, Felling Trailers Inc. presented the donation checks to two Special Olympics Teams, Special Olympics Golden Eagles and Young Athletes teams. “Special Olympics Minnesota was very gracious to allow Felling Trailers to keep the donated funds local.

The Special Olympics Golden Eagles team is comprised of participates from the Sauk Centre and Melrose, MN areas and the Young Athletes team of the Sauk Centre area,” said Brenda Jennissen, CEO of Felling Trailers Inc. The winning bid of $2,900 was divided between the two groups with $2,000 going to the Golden Eagles team and $900 going to the Young Athletes team. “It was truly a pleasure to meet those that will directly benefit from the dollars raised through our Trailer for a Cause Auction.”

The Golden Eagles team has close to 80 participants ranging from 8 years old all the way to 79. The athletes train and participate in competitions through the bulk of the year in a variety of sports such as; flag football, basketball, bowling, swimming, and track & field. An average practice day for the team starts with announcements and a warm-up period that includes stretches and a few exercises. Then they work on skills according to the specific sport, individual or team they are practicing. For team sports, they work on running plays together along with coaches working with each athlete individually to make them as successful as they can be. 

The Young Athletes team currently has 28 participants ranging in age from 2 to 7 years old. The program is a stepping-stone, so to speak, that introduces children with and without intellectual disabilities to the world of sports. The team meets two times a year, fall/spring, for eight weeks. “We learn different mechanics to basic sports skills like how to kick and to throw a ball,” said Emily Dunn, program director for Young Athletes Sauk Centre. Along with motor skills, the children learn social, emotional, and learning skills such as sharing, taking turns and following directions. Young Athletes is an offshoot of the Special Olympics and is free to participants. With the Unified Juniors program, children learn more sport-specific skills and are introduced to the world of competitive sports in a gradual, fun way and learn about Special Olympics sports.

For more information, visit Felling Trailers Inc.