TCU’s campus ministry, Chi Alpha, is encouraging students to serve in different aspects of the community by attending the group’s first Special Olympics event April 18. 

Special Olympics Spring Games 2015 will take place at the College Park Center at UT Arlington and is open to any students who want to attend and help cheer on the competitors Katie Smith, a member of Chi Alpha, said in an email. There will be cheerleaders and supporters for the athletes in the track and field events.

“This event is open for any students who want to come and just love on some beautiful and joyous kids,” Smith said.

Smith said the athletes will be from the Dallas/Fort Worth area but must be of age to participate.

“The athletes have to be at least eight years old to participate and be diagnosed with an intellectual disability or cognitive delays,” she said.

Students who attend will be paired with one of the competitors to help guide them through their events for the day, Smith said.

“We just really are there to help them figure out where they need to be, go get them water or snacks if they need it, and really just encourage and support them as much as possible,” she said.

Alicia Youngblood, a campus minister at TCU, said she is hoping to introduce students to an area that they haven’t served in before.

“I really hope that people will have a desire to serve different aspects of the community,” Youngblood said. “That’s really our hope and our heart that people will find an area of the community that they would like to serve in consistently.”

TCU Chi Alpha members will be carpooling from the Brown-Lupton University Union before the event on Saturday. Students interested in attending can contact Alicia Youngblood at [email protected].