Niagara University once again participated in the annual Law Enforcement Torch Run for Special Olympics, the local leg of which was held Monday, June 6.

Participants carried the “Flame of Hope” through the streets of Lewiston, commencing at the Kiernan Center and ending at the Red Brick School on North 4th Street.

Law Enforcement Torch Run for Special Olympics | 06.06.16

The mission of the Law Enforcement Torch Run for Special Olympics is to increase awareness and raise funds for the Special Olympics movement. LETR is a running event in which officers and athletes carry the “Flame of Hope” to the Opening Ceremony of Special Olympics local competitions, state and provincial Games, and National Summer or Winter Games. In addition, every two years, law enforcement officers from around the world gather to carry the “Flame of Hope” in a Final Leg torch run in honor of the Special Olympics World Summer or World Winter Games.

Special Olympics is the largest amateur sports organization in the world, comprising more than 4.4 million athletes with intellectual disabilities in 170 countries. Nearly 65,000 Special Olympics athletes compete in a variety of Olympic-style sports in New York state, making the state program the largest in North America.