Special Olympics board member and Hollywood actress Susan Saint James served as the guest of honor at the "Glamour and Glitz" ball hosted by the American Chamber of Commerce - Shanghai. The Chamber chose Special Olympics as the beneficiary of the first annual charity gala. The event was attended by over 500 people and raised more than $50,000 for Special Olympics in China.

The purpose of Susan Saint James' visit to China, during February and March 2003, was to help launch a major initiative to encourage young people to volunteer for Special Olympics. The initiative included the commencement of a model project that involves international schools working with Special Olympics sub-programs, specifically in the area of creating Partners Clubs and Unified Sports?programs in the region. At the Western Academy of Beijing, Ms. Saint James spoke about the importance of volunteerism, especially among the world's youth. She also participated in a youth rally promoting Special Olympics and volunteerism at Beijing-Concord College of Sino-Canada, a leading information technology college. Over 1,000 students attended the rally and more than 960 signed up to volunteer at future Special Olympics events. The rally and her speech to the student body were broadcast live over the Internet. She also promoted the work of Special Olympics East Asia and Special Olympics China at a reception for the international business community hosted by the Canadian ambassador to China, Mr. Joseph Caron.