Voya Financial, Inc. announced on Friday, December 7 that it will donate $10,000 to Special Olympics Iowa as a result of the success of its Invest in Something Special^TM effort – a week-long social media campaign designed to share the goals and dreams of Special Olympics athletes on social media, and to raise money for local Programs.

“Every day at Special Olympics Iowa, we work to ensure that people with intellectual disabilities are recognized, accepted and valued as members of our communities,” said John Kliegl, President and CEO of Special Olympics Iowa. “We are grateful to Voya for supporting this important work and for helping to raise awareness of the strength and determination that Special Olympics athletes bring to our community.”

During the Invest in Something Special campaign, Special Olympics athletes from across the country were encouraged to share their goals beyond sport on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. Voya pledged to donate $1 for every like, share and comment on athletes’ #InvestInSomethingSpecial stories, up to $500,000. The response to the campaign was overwhelming, resulting in more than 940,000 people participating on social media and an amplified donation of $520,000 from Voya, which will be shared among the 52 U.S. Special Olympics Programs, including Special Olympics Iowa.

“The personal stories of these Special Olympics athletes touched people around the world, as we saw from the overwhelming response on social media,” said Chairman and CEO Rodney O. Martin, Jr. “Nearly 21 million families in the U.S. have at least one member with a disability – and through our donation to Special Olympics, as well as other initiatives like Voya Cares, we’re working to raise awareness of the unique challenges faced by these Americans, and how we can create a more supportive and inclusive environment for them, as well as their caregivers.”

The top performing Invest in Something Special posts included Garet’s about his goal to be the best uncle possible, Brandy’s post about striving to make new friends and Michael’s anti-bullying message. These posts alone generated over 680,000 comments, shares and likes from people around the world interested in raising money for U.S Special Olympics Programs.