345 feet. One rappel. One cause. If you’ve ever wondered what it would be like to face the fear of heights, now is your chance! Special Olympics Iowa’s annual fundraiser Over the Edge will literally take you over the edge of the Financial Center in downtown Des Moines to raise money and awareness for SOIA athletes.030 (533x800)

How does Over the Edge exactly work? You must fundraise a minimum of $1,000 to secure your rappelling spot for Wednesday, October 26. You’ll then be assigned a rappel time for that day. You’ll report to the Financial Center the day of the event and will be given instruction on where to go and how to scale down the side of the building. And don’t worry, you’ll be wearing a harness and safety gear!

Of course, if going Over the Edge sounds a little scary to you, there are other ways you can get involved in the event. We’re always looking for more volunteers to help out the day of the event. We even encourage you to help recruit rappellers for the event.

And even if you’re not going Over the Edge yourself, you can help sponsor an athlete wanting to take part in the event by donating online to help them reach their fundraising goal. Every year we also give you a chance to “Toss Your Boss,” where you and coworkers raise a minimum of $1,000 to get your boss to go over the edge. Of course, your boss has the option to respectfully decline participation if they or the company match the donations raised by the employees. The participation spot will then be drawn from all willing individuals who contributed funds.

In 2015, sponsors and participants of Over the Edge raised more than $80,000 for Iowa athletes, giving them opportunities to participate in year-round sports, health and educational programming – and most importantly – experience joy, pride and respect.

When you register to go Over the Edge and raise your minimum fundraising goal of $1,000 you make a difference in the lives of our athletes. Every $1,000 raised supports two SOIA athletes for an entire year at Special Olympics.

We’d like to thank our presenting sponsor and Champion Statewide Partner, Sammons Financial Group, for helping us put on this crucial fundraising event. Your dedication and support gives our athletes so many chances to compete and have fun. Thank you for being true champions of INCLUSION.

For more information about getting involved in Over the Edge, contact Director of Development, Jeanette Steinfeldt, at jsteinfeldt@soiowa.org or 515-986-5520. Or go to the Over the Edge page on our website.

Thank you!

Stephanie Kocer
Marketing & Communications Manager