Paralympian star helps Purple Hound launch national accessible ratings initiative
(PRWEB UK) 10 March 2017 -- As Disabled Access Day (10-12 March) gets underway in the UK, disability champion Purple Hound (http://www.purplehound.org.uk) has teamed up with British Paralympian Anne Wafula-Strike MBE to launch a series of stickers which rate venues on how accessible they are for people with disabilities.
The launch comes in the wake of Anne’s emotionally devastating experience of being unable to access a toilet on a CrossCountry Train before Christmas and has seen the star increase her campaigning efforts for better services for those with accessibility needs, which includes supporting the Purple Hound initiative.
“This Disability Access Day, I am putting my support behind Purple Hound and the launch of its national sticker scheme to raise awareness of accessibility issues and improve standards,” said Anne Wafula-Strike MBE. “Anyone can display a Purple Hound sticker if they commit to making a positive change. For venues that deliver good or great accessibility, we will be awarding 1-5 stars and a special ‘Sound as a Hound’ award for exceptional efforts to improve accessibility against the odds.”
“There are over 11 million disabled people in the UK and the government recently revealed figures which show the combined spending power of people with disabilities – the purple pound – is £249 billion,” said Executive Chairman of Purple Hound, Ted Hill MBE and CEO of the British Polio Fellowship. “Ignoring these people is immoral and makes no business sense. The aim of Purple Hound is to get as many stickers as possible into retailers, cafes, bars, hotels, restaurants and all sorts of venues. This must be done on the basis that owners understand the accessibility problem and are happy to commit to improving standards.”
“My personal passion for Purple Hound is accentuated by the fact the launch charity behind it is British Polio Fellowship, a charity dear to my heart as I had Polio and now suffer the effects of Post Polio Syndrome (PPS), like 120,000 other UK Polio survivors,” added Anne. “Legislation alone is clearly not enough, but together we can see better services for those of us who struggle with accessibility.”
To find out more about Purple Hound’s stickers in detail, visit http://www.purplehound.org.uk/ratings
Jon Gardner, BeyondPR, +44 1142756996, [email protected]
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