For some, there could be nothing more exciting than to be chosen to carry the Flame of Hope for the 2007 Special Olympics World Summer Games to be held in Shanghai this October. Lieutenant John Newnan of Maryland, like several others, feels "extremely honored" to be the guardian of this flame.

As he entered the Special Olympics International (SOI) Headquarters in Washington D.C. around 10 am, July 25, holding the special lantern that carries the Flame of Hope, he immediately became the cynosure of all eyes.

"My job is to protect the flame and to make sure that it doesn't go out," Newnan said. The lieutenant, together with his team members, will try to maintain the "integrity" of the flame all the way through.

This is the original flame that was collected from Athens, Greece after it was lit on June 29. Washington D.C. is the third stop on the flame's 22,000-mile journey across the world, following Alexandria, Cairo and London after the flame was passed on from Athens.

Initially transported via the global logistics network of the express and logistics company DHL under a partnership between the company and SOI, and carried on the ground by a team of Special Olympics athletes and law enforcement officers, the flame will travel around cities of over 10 countries on five continents before reaching Shanghai for the opening ceremony of the 2007 World Games on October 2.

The best thing about the law enforcement officers joining the torch run, in Newnan's eyes, is that it gives them a good opportunity to "really get involved in the community". The lieutenant told Beijing Review that the officers usually only saw the bad side of people and that he hoped the torch run would be a chance for them to see the good aspects of people, and to see the immediate impact of what they were doing by helping raise funds and awareness for the Special Olympics.

The Law Enforcement Torch Run has been a Special Olympics tradition for over a quarter of a century. In 1981, Police Chief Richard LaMunyon of Wichita, Kansas, saw a need to raise funds and increase awareness for the organization, and conceived of the torch run as a way to involve local law enforcement personnel in the community and to support the Special Olympics of Kansas. The program was later adopted by the International Association of Chiefs of Police and has now become the Special Olympics' largest grass-roots fundraiser and public awareness vehicle. There are now more than 85,000 law enforcement officers from around the world volunteering for the movement, according to the Special Olympics International.

Fund-raising is an important activity for the Law Enforcement Torch Run. During the past year, according to Bob Gobrecht, Managing Director for Special Olympics North America, the torch run has helped raise over $20 million, all of which goes to communities to support local programs for the Special Olympics,

But raising funds is not the only thing. Gobrecht told Beijing Review that through the torch run, "we would like to keep people talking about the movement for a long time, so that more people will get to know about the Special Olympics and more people will start to care about people with intellectual disabilities."

(Reporting from Washington D.C.)