Holiday Puzzles
Download and complete these holiday word search puzzles and color by number pages to help you relax and smile this holiday season!
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Posts by Rebecca Rainsberger:
Fall Area 5 Volunteers
Area 5 Volunteer Opportunities
Volunteer with Special Olympics New Mexico this fall!
Volunteer age requirement: Volunteers must be age 16 or older for these volunteer opportunities.
Individuals and groups are welcome. Once all of the volunteer spots are full, we will close registration.
Area 5 Bowling:
- Dates: Saturday, October 11-Sunday, October 12, 2025
- Location: Santa Ana Starlight Bowling in Bernalillo/Santa Ana
- Register for Area 5 Bowling
Holiday Classic
Holiday Classic
Volunteer in Las Cruces at our Holiday Classic statewide competition! There are volunteer opportunities for cornhole and basketball. No previous experience necessary but appreciated. Volunteers will be scorekeepers for the state competition.
Volunteer age requirement: Volunteers must be age 16 or older for these volunteer opportunities.
Individuals and groups are welcome. Once all of the volunteer spots are full, we will close registration.
Cornhole:
- Dates: Friday, October 24 – Saturday, October 25, 2025
- Location: Las Cruces Convention Center
- Register for Cornhole at the LC Convention Center
Basketball:
- Date: Saturday, October 25, 2025
- NMSU Basketball Gym (Activity Center)
- Register for Basketball at NMSU
100 Friends 101.7 The Team
Local ultrarunner and SONM board member Adam Trubow, along with Special Olympics athlete Tim Harris, join Joe O’Neill from 101.7 The Team to discuss the 100 Friends for 100 Miles campaign and the upcoming Leadville Trail 100 Run on August 16. Adam is raising funds and awareness for Special Olympics New Mexico during the campaign. His goal: Raise $100,000 to directly support sending Team New Mexico, including 30 Special Olympics athletes, to compete at the 2026 Special Olympics USA Games in Minnesota. Listen to the interview and support the campaign online at 100friends100miles.com
100 Friends for 100 Miles
“He’s been a hero to me, and to all my friends out there. Cause he loves to see the ability, and see all that awesomeness,” Tim Harris shared during the KOAT 7 interview this past Sunday, August 10. Watch the Interview
This summer, Adam’s goal is to raise $100,000 for Special Olympics New Mexico during his 100 Friends for 100 Miles campaign. Adam is stepping up for Special Olympics athletes and encourages the community to support the campaign! Adam will begin the Leadville Trail 100 Run on Saturday, August 16. All proceeds from the campaign directly support Special Olympics New Mexico athletes who will compete at the 2026 Special Olympics USA Games in Minnesota. Learn more and donate at 100friends100miles.com
Albuquerque Isotopes Host Charity Softball Game for Special Olympics New Mexico
Excerpt from KOAT Channel 7, July 16:
The Albuquerque Isotopes will host a first responders charity softball game called “Guns and Hoses” on Friday, featuring local firefighters and police officers to benefit Special Olympics New Mexico.
The event coincides with First Responders Night, which the Isotopes have honored for many years, and the two teams will take the field alongside Special Olympics athletes. At a press conference today, organizers emphasized that the event is more than just a friendly competition. “Each swing, each pitch is commitment to supporting these extraordinary athletes, promoting inclusion and celebrating their achievements,” they said. “They work super hard and they train super hard for all their different events and for all their competitions, and so it gives us all the opportunity as a community to show up for their good days, not just their bad days.”
Topes Notes: Isotopes, Special Olympics, first responders team up for charity softball game
Excerpt from The Albuquerque Journal, July 15: It took a few seconds for all the clanging of James Keefner’s medals to stop making noise as he walked up behind the podium on Tuesday at Isotopes Park.
In all, the 33-year-old unofficial mayor of Isotopes Park/grounds crew assistant/between-innings-dance-extraordinaire/general purveyor of good vibes for the team, says he has “more than 1,000” Special Olympics medals and trophies back at home.
His mom said it was definitely more than 100, but hey, what do moms know, anyway? We’ll call it 1,000.
Tuesday, James was just proud to be wearing three of those medals as he and fellow Albuquerque Isotopes employee Chris Dixon, also a longtime competitor in the Special Olympics, helped announce some of their fellow Special Olympians who will be playing alongside Albuquerque and Bernalillo County law enforcement and fire fighting personnel in Friday night’s first “Guns & Hoses” charity softball game at Isotopes Park prior to the Triple-A team’s game against the Reno Aces.
Carlsbad Boy Goes Viral at SONM State Summer Games
Excerpt from KOAT Channel 7 News: A video of Carlsbad resident Jaydon Madrid is going viral on social media after the 8-year-old made a mid-race pit stop to give his mom a kiss at [Special Olympics New Mexico’s 2025 State Summer Games] in early June.
Jaydon ran the 100-meter sprint at the 2025 Summer Games. Anet Madrid, his mother, posted a video to TikTok, where it garnered thousands of views and comments from around the world.
“I shared it so our friends could see, and I didn’t expect it to go viral the way it did,” Madrid told KOAT.
Jaydon has a rare condition called Polymicrogyria, which means he has many small folds in his brain. He also has autism and is non-verbal.
Madrid says she didn’t know if her son would walk, talk or eat. He has been able to surpass his goals. At 3 years old, Jaydon started walking using a gait trainer and then started running on his own.
“I put him in track because he’s really good at running. He’s running any chance he gets,” Madrid said.
Dedication Fuels Special Olympics Chairs
Excerpt taken from Artesia Daily Press, June 2: Caring for a son with developmental disabilities led to a lifelong calling for Lee and Patrick Kirksey.
And that calling led the couple to their current role as co-chairs of the Area 4 Special Olympics, a position they have held since succeeding Carolyn Olson of Carlsbad who retired six months ago after 50 years as the organization’s [Area 4 Director].
“We are very fortunate to call Lee and Patrick Kirksey our new Special Olympics New Mexico Area 4 Director and sidekick,” Olson said in an email. “They bring incredible heart, incredible thinking, incredible imagination, and incredible enthusiasm to the program. Our amazing athletes will continue to succeed under their expert leadership.”
Randy Mascorella, [Special Olympics New Mexico’s Executive Director], said the organization was “blessed beyond measure” to have the Kirkseys “assume the role now that Carolyn retired as the Area 4 Director.”
Special Olympics NM State Summer Games Now Underway
Excerpt from KOAT News 7, May 30: Hundreds of athletes are in Albuquerque to compete in the Special Olympics New Mexico State Summer Games.
“I am really excited. I already competed in three events this morning,” said Tim Harris. “The long jump, the shotput and the 100.”
Tim is no stranger to the organization. Since the age of 13, he’s competed in Special Olympics and now at 39, he hasn’t eased up. But seeing him compete is something his parents didn’t imagine could happen.
“When Tim was born, we weren’t prepared for that. In modern times, there’s so much more prenatal testing. So many parents have the knowledge before the baby is born. Tim was our second. We were not aware,” said Keith Harris, Tim’s father. “There was a period at the beginning that was pretty dark for us, like it just felt like things had changed in an unexpected way and went through a period of grief, quite honestly. But had I known then what I know now, I would have been jumping for joy.”
He told KOAT Tim has become his biggest inspiration and his teacher, showing the Harris family and everyone they meet how to live life fully and embrace every moment.