“Wear your heart on your sleeve” this January 20th
According to statistics from the charity Scope, 1 in 3 disabled people feel that there is a lot of prejudice against the disabled community.
In addition to this, 87% of parents of disabled children up to the age of 5 have felt judged by members of the public when they go out with their disabled child.
International acceptance day is a chance to change these statistics, giving the disabled community a chance to share their stories and increase the awareness around their conditions.
Set up by charity 3E Love, January 20th is now a day dedicated to social acceptance of disability and commemorating the loss of the late Annie Hopkins, founder of 3E Love and creator of the International Symbol of Acceptance.
Co-founder Stevie Hopkins shared a bit about how important his sister Annie was in the community. “Her positivity and exploration of love and acceptance is essential to the social model of disability”
“Her thought leadership is important to future growth and opportunity for people with disabilities. She should be celebrated.”
Outside of being a day for a family to come together and mourn the loss of a loved one, January 20th has a wider significance to the disabled community.
“It is a day for the entire disability community to tell their stories of acceptance and talk about disability culture and living with a disability in a positive light. It’s a day to express vulnerability and come together to support each other.”
The charity encourages the public to “share their acceptance story” whether that means a post online, a family party, an event at a school, etc. with the goal of starting conversations and educating others through the medium of story telling.
They also encourage everyone to wear their 3E Love merchandise so that they can “wear their heart on their sleeve” and promote the cause.
