Gallagher has expanded its partnership with global inclusion movement Special Olympics to include five regional markets across the world and help scale the organisation's sport and coach development programming at the community level.

The partnership, which started in March 2020, aims to improve and deliver the highest quality of coach training and sports experiences that empower Special Olympics athletes. Despite the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, Gallagher has expanded its partnership to include Australia, three new regions in the United States - Illinois, New York, and Southern California, and Ontario, Canada.

“We’re delighted to help build on the global Gallagher-Special Olympics partnership in Australia,” said Sarah Lyons, the chief executive of Gallagher Australia.

“Special Olympics offers people with intellectual disabilities opportunities to enjoy teamwork, improve fitness, and develop confidence. This aligns closely with Gallagher values, and we are very proud to contribute to help empower Special Olympics athletes and coaches in the communities where we live and work.”

Gallagher and Special Olympics will launch a content series featuring Special Olympics athletes and Gallagher employees (former pro and semi-pro athletes) who will share valuable lessons learned in their sport that translate to leadership skills off the field of play.

Chris Bunton, a Special Olympic Australia athlete, commented: “On behalf of all Special Olympics Australia athletes, I thank Gallagher for the support which will help all the athletes greatly with training and participating in competitions.”