Special Olympics programs recently started in Morden for children aged two to 13. The weekly sessions are meant to build community between the athletes and give them a place to belong.

Each Thursday night at the Morden Alliance Church, two groups meet for 45 minutes each to play simple games.

"Hopefully this program can grow and we can [have] all the sports offered in Morden," said Angela Wall, volunteer and child care coordinator for south central Manitoba.

Wall leads the two to seven year old group and said children have always been important to her.

"I've always worked in daycare," she said. "Special needs and inclusion kids have always had a piece of my heart, so this was my way to give back to them."

In Wall's group, the parents of the children have to stay for the evening, but in the older age group, the seven to 13 year olds, the same regulation doesn't apply. This has made difficult to find enough volunteers to run the "fundamentals" program effectively.

"It's been tough. My group in particular, we are short on volunteers," said Courtney Yeo who's an education student from Winnipeg who recently moved to Morden.

"I got involved because I love kids,"  Yeo volunteered after coming to Morden because she didn't see the same community spirit in Winnipeg as she did in her new home.

New children are always welcome to join the Special Olympics program, as are volunteers.

"The more kids we have, the more volunteers we need," said Yeo.

Playing with a ball develops the children's hand-eye coordination