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The Law Enforcement Torch Run for Special Olympics Northeast Leg starts at 8 a.m. Thursday, June 17^th, 2010, from the steps of Duluth City Hall on Priley Drive.

The mission of the Law Enforcement Torch Run® for Special Olympics is to raise funds for, and awareness of, the Special Olympics movement worldwide. Law enforcement officers and personnel from the 50 United States, 10 Canadian provinces and territories and more than 35 nations carry the "Flame of Hope" in honor of Special Olympics athletes in their area and around the world. Special Olympics is a program which reaffirms the beliefs that with hope and dedication, we can see achievement and self-worth realized by any individual. It is our belief that persons with intellectual disabilities, through their involvement in Special Olympics, show their communities that there are no limits to their potential. The Law Enforcement Torch Run® for Special Olympics, through its fundraising efforts, helps to provide for this opportunity, making the potential for every Special Olympics athlete come to life!

The Law Enforcement Torch Run® for Special Olympics is the movement's largest grass-roots fundraiser and public awareness vehicle, raising $34 million for Special Olympics Programs around the world in 2009. More than 80,000 law enforcement officers and personnel from thousands of agencies around the world have carried the "Flame of Hope" and are proudly referred to as the "Guardians of the Flame."

At its most basic level, the Torch Run is an actual running event in which officers and athletes run the "Flame of Hope" to the Opening Ceremonies of local Special Olympics competitions, state/provincial Games and National and Summer and Winter Games.

At its most fully developed, the Torch Run initiative encompasses a variety of fundraising vehicles in addition to the Torch Run itself, such as T-shirt or merchandise sales, donations or pledges for runners in the Torch Run, corporate donations, special events and other events that have local appeal.

We will start running the "Flame of Hope" torch from Duluth south to Carlton County where it will be handed off and continue its journey to the University of Minnesota Campus in Minneapolis.  This torch is one of six that will have made the trip; the others will have started from different parts of the state.  All six Torch Runs will come together Friday evening at the Opening Ceremonies of the Minnesota Special Olympics Summer Games at the track and field area of the Main University of Minnesota Campus.

Please arrive prior to the start and help local Law Enforcement promote Special Olympics.