Kensington Teenager Honored by the Shrivers as Lovin' Award Winner

Lovin’ Scoopful recently announced this year’s winner of its Lovin’ Award.

Kaitlyn Guild, of Kensington, Connecticut is the 2015 National Winner of the annual award. The Lovin’ Award recognizes young visionaries who are involved in programs that foster respect, inclusion and a true personal connection for people with intellectual or other differences.

Kaitlyn Guild epitomizes that sentiment. She has been involved in Unified Sports for six years, playing basketball and soccer.

As a member of the Youth Activation Committee for the last four years, Kaitlyn organized four Spread the Word to End the Word campaigns through out the state of Connecticut.

She also organized an End the Word campaign at her high school, Berlin High School. As president of her school’s National Honor Society Kaitlyn mobilized members of the organization to become actively involved with Unified Programs.

“We have so many wonderful nominees every year and Kaitlyn is everything we are looking for in a Lovin’ Award winner. Her dedication to inclusion and education embodies what the Lovin’ Award and Lovin’ Scoopful are all about,” said Maria Shriver, co-­‐founder of Lovin’ -­‐more-­‐ Scoopful. “We are grateful for all these young people who foster understanding and are an inspiring example for all of us.”

Maria Shriver, and her brother, Tim Shriver, presented the Lovin’ Award to Kaitlyn at a ceremony in Hyannis, Mass on August 8th.

Kara DiGregorio, of Milford, Mass., was also at the ceremony.

As the winner of the 2015 Lovin’ Award Kaitlyn receives:

• $500 scholarship • Engraved Award • Yearlong supply of Lovin’ Scoopful ice cream certificates • Feature on the Lovin’ Scoopful Facebook and Twitter pages • Letter of Commendation from Maria Shriver

The three runners up are Kara DiGregorio from Milford, Mass; Dominique Bianco from Staten Island, NY; Julia Eve Horwitz from Washington, DC.

About Lovin’ Scoopful

Lovin’ Scoopful is a gourmet light premium ice cream made with super premium ingredients and fun flavors like Mintalicious, What The Fudge, and Rockin’ Raspberry Cheesecake. The company was founded in 2008 as an ongoing source of revenue for Special Olympics. Lovin’ Scoopful donates 25% of its profits to Special Olympics.

About Special Olympics

Special Olympics is a global movement that unleashes the human spirit through the transformative power and joy of sports, every day around the world. We empower people with intellectual disabilities to become accepted and valued members of their communities, which leads to a more respectful and inclusive society for all. Using sports as the catalyst and programming around health and education, Special Olympics is fighting inactivity, injustice and intolerance. Founded in 1968 by Eunice Kennedy Shriver, the Special Olympics movement has grown to more than 4.4 million athletes in 170 countries. With the support of more than 1.3 million coaches and volunteers, Special Olympics delivers 32 Olympic-­‐type sports and more than 81,000 games and competitions throughout the year. Visit Special Olympics at www.specialolympics.org.

Photo cutline: Tim Shriver, Lovin’ Award winner, Kaitlyn Guild, Lovin’ Award Runner Up, Kara DiGregorio, & Maria Shriver