While the temperature in Chicago on March 4, 2018 was 5 degrees, the water was even colder—2 degrees. That didn’t stop over 4, 800 people on North Avenue Beach jumping into Lake Michigan.

The Chicago Polar Plunge is a yearly event to raise money for Special Olympics Chicago. Each of the participants (参与者) collect at least $200 from friends and family members to get the chance to jump into the lake’s icy water. More than $1.5 million was raised for a great cause: Special Olympics Chicago and the over 7, 500 athletes it serves.

Special Olympics, a nonprofit organization, was founded in 1968. The group’s purpose is to provide athletic training and competition in 22 sports for children and adults with intellectual disabilities (缺陷).

After some initial speeches, the first group of participants ran into the lake. Many of the participants were members of teams that dressed up in costumes (服装), including Minions and Waldo from the Where’s Waldo book series.

Chloe Krecun, 12, from Chicago, was shaking when she got out of the water. “I can’t feel my feet or fingers and my shoes are filled with water,” she said afterwards. But she would do it again to support the Special Olympic athletes.

As other participants headed towards the water to “take a plunge”, one of them shared why he participated in the event. “My cousin has benefited from the Special Olympics, so my family and I are here to support him by plunging,” said Brandon Marty.

Brunida Cotton, a special education teacher, was also paying attention to the Special Olympics as she prepared to plunge. “It gives the athletes confidence; they belong to a team and they enjoy being able to do things other kids do, ” Cotton said.

A group of sweaty kids ran around a field last week at Total Soccer Arena in Landover, Maryland. They talked in English. but also in Pashto. Arabic and other languages.

What made them different is that all of the kids are refugees(难民 ). They were playing as part of a camp that gives them a chance to develop their soccer skills and to meet other kids who had to start their lives over in the United States. The camp is run by an organization called LACES, which stands for Life and Change Experienced through Sports. The group uses soccer to help bring together communities that have experienced hardships.

Seren Fryatt, 38, got the idea for LA CES while playing on a women’s soccer team in Liberia, an African country that had been at war with itself for 14 years. Fryatt, whose from Muncie, Indiana, saw that soccer brought joy to the Liberian women on her team, even though their lives off the field were very difficult. After starting a soccer program for kids in Liberia, she decided to start a similar camp in Maryland. where she moved in 2015. Coaches volunteer their time, and the costs are paid mostly by donations. This year.95 kids signed up.

The camp for ages 9 to 14 is split between training that helps kids develop   skills, such as passing and ball control, and meeting where they discuss life skills. One of the coaches. Louisa Pitney, said she likes seeing how the kids grow just from being together.

At the end of the camp’s last day, all the kids gathered in the middle of the field Fryatt asked them to raise their hands and say what they had learned that week. Some kids talked about soccer skills-one girl said shed learned not to use her hands; a boy said he’d learned how to score a goal.

When a coach called on one shy girl. she smiled before answering in a soft voice Celebrate each other. she said.

When interviewed on the National Basketball Association (NBA)'s 2019-20 season, Mark Tatum, deputy commissioner of the NBA, said,"It's been a challenging year. Apart from being distressed by the pandemic and social unrest, we also lost two of our icons - David Sternand Kobe Bryant. It's been our longest season in NBA history, and so much was thrown-at us" . However, he added that the NBA was incredibly blessed with being able to restart its season four months after its initial shutdown.

The NBA shut down on March 11 due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Later, it became clear that resuming the NBA's season was far more complex than simply rescheduling games. The NBA community, like the world at large, has lost friends and family to the virus. It has wrestled with economic hardship job losses and mental health issues. It has gone from trying to escape risk to understanding how to live with it. Michele Roberts, executive director of the National Basketball Player Association (NBPA), made it clear.“It's really been an evolution of emotional reactions from one extreme to another. Complete disbelief, ignorance (无知) and not taking it seriously, to gradually coming to a point where, "OK, what are my real options here?"

Roberts attributed the reopening of the NBA season to the strong, long-standing relationship between the NBA staff and Bob lger, executive chairman of the Walt Disney Company. Adam Silver, NBA commissioner, similarly pointed out that their mutual trust helped push the process forward. Eventually, they agreed that playing without fans and out of the home arenas would be a workable choice. After numerous calls for months among NBA and NBPA committee members, business leaders, public health officials, the managers and presidents of the teams, they finally struck a deal with the Walt Disney Company to use the resort (度假胜地) near Orlando, Florida to build a single bubble site for the games, training and housing for all the players, coaches and media staff.

Their endeavour paid off. On July 7, 22 teams gathered on the bubble campus in Florida where they lived and isolated themselves from the world outside in the following three months. Reflecting on their path, Silver believed that a sense of unity from top to bottom is the key."Without it, the financial disputes and the safety protocols (协议) would never be settled."