Changing Places Awareness Day
In 2006 the Changing Places campaign was launched and to mark the 10th Anniversary, the Changing Places consortium and sponso
rs of the campaign, Aveso (Astor-Bannerman and OpeMed), have announced July 19th 2016 as the first annual Changing Places Awareness Day to celebrate this landmark occasion.
The focus of Changing Places Awareness Day will be to express thanks to the thousands of dedicated Changing Places campaigners and campaigning organisations across the UK and worldwide who have helped to make the campaign such a success. It has been their hard work and commitment over the past decade that has made sure Changing Places toilets are available in over 800 venues across the UK.
How to take part
At the recent Naidex disability, rehabilitation and homecare exhibition, Aveso met with many Changing Place
supporters including Euan’s Guide and the Joshua Wilson Brain Tumour Charity to talk about the upcoming celebrations as well as the future growth of the Changing Places campaign.
We spoke with Dawn Fidler, founder of the Joshua Wilson Brain Tumour Charity, about the incredible legacy of her son Joshua Wilson, aka Super Josh,
and how Changing Places toilets made such a difference to their lives. Dawn has also promised to support the first Changing Places Awareness Day by holding a party inside a Changing Places in Manchester!
Kiki MacDonald, Co-founder of Euan’s Guide, online disabled access review site, has also agreed to publically share some ideas of places to visit with Changing Places in the run up to the event on 19th July.
Sarah Mitchell, supporter and campaigner who runs the Changing Places Facebook Page, has also come up with a plan for the day to spread awareness of facilities around Newcastle and will be telling everyone she meets about Changing Places.
Perhaps the activities of Dawn, Kiki and Sarah have inspired you to think how you can get involved on Changing Places Awareness Day on 19th July.
We are also inviting campaigners and supporting organisations to
join in the fun and visit some of the hundreds of venues across the country and tweet
or send in their selfies and photos, using the Changing Places campaigners’ selfie kit (courtesy of Alison Beevers) from the Retford Changing Places campaign).
Take a look at the official Changing Places map to find your nearest facility here
To download a copy of the selfie kit, click here
If you have a Changing Places story to share, Aveso and the Changing Places team would also like to publicise these within our blog pages in the run up
to Changing Places Awareness Day, so please send your stories and accompanying images to:
changingplaces@mencap.org.uk or call 020 7696 6019.
As the Changing Places campaign sponsor, the team at Aveso (Astor-Bannerman and OpeMed) continue to work hard to raise awareness of these life changing facilities and use our industry knowledge and expertise to help venues incorporate Changing Places by working with their teams, architects and building contractors.
As we move towards 1000 Changing Places registrations we hope you will be involved in Changing Places Awareness Day on 19th July to help spread the word about this much needed campaign and celebrate the wonderful work carried out by Changing Places campaigners.
So put 19th July 2016 in your diary and let’s join together and show the world why Changing Places are so important!
