Inclusion Isn't Just For Athletes, But Special Olympics Volunteers Too

August 21, 2026

Written By: Callum Denault, Special Olympics Canada Athlete and Staff Member

Kelly Boreson with her service dog sitting on bleachers at the Special Olympics Canada Summer Games Medicine Hat 2026.

Volunteer photographer and social media content creator Kelly Boreson with her service dog Sunny at the Special Olympics Canada Summer Games Medicine Hat 2026. Kelly—who enjoys hiking—said Sunny helps her walk around by acting as a counterbalance and a brace. She added having a dog encourages her to go outside and talk with people.

As thousands of athletes arrive from across Canada to participate in accommodated, divisioned tournaments, it is important to remember that inclusion is not something unique to people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD), but all Canadians, Just as these athletes go to great lengths to excel at competition, so too do countless local Medicine Hat volunteers lending their free time to make their hometown's week-long event possible.

Among them is committed photographer and hobbyist social media influencer, excitedly walking between different Provincial teams and asking athletes to share their stories on camera. An even tempered and protective yellow lab is her constant companion, acting both as a necessary disability aid, and a natural ice breaker whenever Kelly runs into a fellow dog lover.

"I have multiple disabilities," Kelly said, while adjusting the settings on a body cam she uses to take her footage.

I have a brain injury, and with a brain injury comes a whole host of things. Aphasia, which makes it hard to read, write, and understand people. That's why I ask simple questions, and I also like photography because it's visual. And I have ataxia, which is the one thing that makes it hard to balance.

In 2011, Kelly was working an outdoor job and got bitten by a tick carrying Lyme disease. Kelly said the condition she has is one her doctor is still learning to understand, although neurological disabilities can be an uncommon and severe symptom of Lyme disease. She got surgery for her condition in 2012.

"I haven't worked since 2012," Kelly added, "but I've raised two boys, and that's a lot of work!"

Kelly and her service dog meeting some athletes at the Special Olympics Summer Games Medicine Hat 2026. — Kelly introducing some of the athletes and coaches on Special Olympics British Columbia’s bocce team to Sunny, after they politely asked to meet her loyal service dog.

Both of Kelly's sons are studying at the University of Toronto, and her older child is also working as a Teacher's assistant. As someone with short-term memory problems which affects her ability to learn things, Kelly said she is proud of both her children for proving themselves to be so smart. Regaining her own confidence while volunteering at he medicine Hat Games, Kelly said she is "definitely" going to stay involved in local Special Olympics programs once the nation-wide competition is over. While usually content to remain in the background as a semi-invisible photographer, Kelly clearly enjoyed the attention her and Sunny were getting from the athletes she asked to film.