The Partnership Continues

We are delighted to celebrate our continuing partnership with Aveso now in it’s second year.
Leroy and Lloyd talk about the highlights of the partnership so far with Lucy and Wendy from Aveso and look forward to the coming year.

Relationship
Leroy said “It has been an amazing partnership so far with lots of great Changing Places registered. We are looking forward to many more years to come working with Aveso”.

Lloyd added: “Our sponsors have done some great work supporting the campaign and getting to know campaigners from the across the country”.

Wendy from Astor Bannerman said: We are excited about the close relationship we’ve formed with the Changing Places team and it’s really great to have the opportunity to be involved with Changing Lives through Changing Places.

Lucy from Opemed said: We are very proud to have sponsored the Changing Places Campaign over the past year and are delighted to continue to sponsor and support such a valuable campaign. The whole team at Opemed are passionate about Changing Places and look forward to working towards a Changing friendly future.

Highlights
Leroy: For me the highlights for this year must be the opening of the first Premiership club Changing Places toilet at Arsenal Football Club as I am a big Arsenal fan I was there to open it at the West Ham game there I met fellow Arsenal fan Alex Brooker of the last leg which I was able to go and see the game.

Lucy said: A real highlight for Aveso during 2014 has been the installation of a Changing Places at Arsenal FC’s Emirates Stadium. Not only was this Changing Places of a very high quality but it has set a benchmark standard for the other Premiership football clubs and stadia to follow for the “best practice” in looking after supporters and venue users with multiple and profound disabilities. We look forward to working with a great deal more sports venues to provide the much needed Changing Places that so many supporters rely on.

Lloyd said: With many Changing Places users often visiting hospitals for consultations and treatment across the country, it’s important to have access to facilities which they are familiar with or have within their homes. So at a place where care is the key, wouldn’t it be great if more hospitals had Changing Places?
Wendy from Astor Bannerman said: One of my many highlights for 2014 so far has been installing equipment at the new Changing Places at Sheffield Teaching Hospital and we’re pleased that we can help make places of care much more accessible for all. We’ve also spent some time getting to know our valued campaigners across the country who all do an amazing job to promote awareness of these much needed facilities. They are all a vital part of the Changing Places campaign and have been important in increasing the number of facilities now registered.

Future
Lloyd said: “There are around twenty Changing Places in hospitals across the UK. It would be brilliant if more hospitals and places of care replicated the good work done by Sheffield Teaching Hospital which is a stunning example of a Changing Places toilet. They really should be a standard facility in all hospitals for people who need them.

Wendy added: Accessible toilets and disabled parking spaces are standard practice and expected in all public places. Our future vision is that Changing Places will also become standard so that people no longer have to plan their days around there being suitable toilets. By getting in touch with us early, we can use our 20+ years of expertise to help with planning stages to incorporate Changing Places into all public places.

Lucy said: Our hope is that one day Changing Places will become a standard facility at all sporting venues large and small as supporters should be able to enjoy a full game regardless of their ability. We look forward to working with RFC venues to increase accessibility by installing Changing Places in the run up to the Rugby World Cup in 2015, Aveso aim to provide the highest level of support and technical advice for anyone interested in a Changing Places toilet.

Leroy said: The future for me has got to be within the next five years as got to be 10 more Premiership Changing Places football clubs. I will not stop Campaigning until we get all football clubs in the premiership with at least one Changing Places Toilet in each because everyone deserves to be able to support their football team and without Changing Places toilets in every premiership this will not be possible which is not right nor fair on them football is for everyone not just for people without a learning disability.

Our partnership goes from strength to strength with our sponsors Aveso. We are looking forward to another great year of campaigning and we are working together to register as many Changing Places toilets across the UK as possible.