Special Olympics athlete becomes disability rights champion
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Given 24 hours to live at birth, Cindy Bentley beat the odds.
Doctors gave Cindy Bentley 24 hours to live after she was born with fetal alcohol syndrome. She beat the odds though, and through Special Olympics Wisconsin, she found purpose and athletic success, earning White House invitations from two U.S. presidents. Now leading People First, she advocates for disability rights across the state.
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Wisconsin Life is a local public television program presented by PBS Wisconsin
Funding for Wisconsin Life is provided by the Wooden Nickel Fund, Mary and Lowell Peterson, A.C.V. and Mary Elston Family, Obrodovich Family Foundation, Stanley J. Cottrill Fund, Alliant Energy, UW...
Special Olympics athlete becomes disability rights champion
Clip | 4m 39sVideo has Closed Captions
Doctors gave Cindy Bentley 24 hours to live after she was born with fetal alcohol syndrome. She beat the odds though, and through Special Olympics Wisconsin, she found purpose and athletic success, earning White House invitations from two U.S. presidents. Now leading People First, she advocates for disability rights across the state.
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Learn Moreabout PBS online sponsorship[gentle music] - Angela Fitzgerald: Cindy Bentley has never given up.
As executive director of People First, she has dedicated her career to helping others with disabilities.
- Cindy Bentley: You have to have a purpose to be alive, but you also have to have a purpose to helping other people.
I like helping other people.
- Angela: She serves on several boards and works with state agencies, advocating for equal opportunities.
It's a long way from where she started.
- I was born with fetal alcoholic syndrome/cocaine.
I was given 24 hours to live.
I was taken away from my mom right at birth.
My mother was sent to the Taycheedah prison and I was sent to the foster care center.
- Angela: Tragedy followed Cindy at an early age.
At age eight, Cindy was sent to an institution for people with disabilities.
- Cindy: And it wasn't the greatest place.
And I was always having to fight my way through.
A lot of times, I thought about giving up.
I really did.
And I didn't think I had a purpose for a long time.
It was a coach there to help me.
I started running, but I would complain a lot about it.
Then I started to like running.
And then I joined the Special Olympics, and that's what really changed my life.
I just started to be happy.
- Angela: Cindy also discovered she was good at winning.
Those wins led her to receive a White House invitation twice.
- Cindy: President Clinton in 2000.
President Bush.
And I gave him a gold medal that I won in volleyball.
- Angela: That's right.
She gave her gold medal away.
In fact, she's given many of her medals away.
- Cindy: And how many medals can you have?
I have a lot of medals.
- Angela: With a lifetime of medals... - Two.
- Angela: ...Cindy still finds reasons to compete.
- Cindy: I started getting a trainer last year to get me more motivated.
She's a great trainer.
Nine and ten.
- Trainer: Nice job.
And I work on basketball and I work on balance, and then I do the bikes and that.
I just wanna be involved with sports.
I'm a Brewer fan, don't forget that.
- All right!
[hands slap] - Angela: Sports keeps Cindy involved in the community, and community is the heart of what Cindy does.
Whether on a personal level or through her work.
- These are from last year that I printed.
I printed extras so you'd have them.
- Angela: She keeps an active schedule at People First, working closely with her operations manager and assistant, Nancy.
- A lot of what we do is we try to really keep an eye on what's going on at the state level, at the federal level with different bills that might impact people with disabilities, so she's pretty active.
Sometimes I feel like I'm with a celebrity when I'm out in the community with her because everyone's like, "Oh, hi, Cindy, hi, Cindy.
And it's kinda wild.
- Let's clap it up for Cindy real quick.
[applause and cheers] - Angela: In May of 2024, Cindy was celebrated by People First and the State of Wisconsin.
- Hereby recognize the legacy.
- Oh, my God.
- Right, the legacy of Cindy Bentley and celebrates the positive impact she has had on countless individuals in our greater community.
So thank you.
[applause and cheers] - Angela: For Cindy, it means so much more.
It's a marker of just how far she has come.
- Cindy: I didn't even think I'd make it this far to my age because of what I was told.
You know, they said, "Oh, you're not gonna amount to anything.
"You're gonna have to work at a shelter workshop and live at a group home all your life."
Well, I don't do any of that.
I have a real job.
I have a real life.
- Angela: A life as an athlete, an executive, a champion.
- Cindy: Trying to change things, change laws, change health care and make it better, affordable housing, all those things.
Until I can't do it anymore, I'm gonna do sports and I'm gonna do everything else I wanna do with my life.
Done, there you go!
[laughs] Bye, love you!
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Wisconsin Life is a local public television program presented by PBS Wisconsin
Funding for Wisconsin Life is provided by the Wooden Nickel Fund, Mary and Lowell Peterson, A.C.V. and Mary Elston Family, Obrodovich Family Foundation, Stanley J. Cottrill Fund, Alliant Energy, UW...