United Cerebral Palsy (UCP), a leading service provider and advocate for children and adults with disabilities, along with UCP affiliate Capability Scotland, and by kind permission of the British Ambassador and Lady Sheinwald, commemorated the 20th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the 15th anniversary of the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) in the United Kingdom last week.
The event honored the efforts of those who created these landmark laws and continue to work to achieve a Life Without Limits for people with disabilities at the at the Embassy Residence of the British Ambassador in Washington, DC.
“The excitement generated at last night’s event hosted by the British Ambassador and Lady Sheinwald is a critical step in our global movement to achieve a Life Without Limits for people with disabilities,” said Stephen Bennett, President & CEO, United Cerebral Palsy. “Celebrating historic pieces of civil rights legislation that radically changed the lives of all people with disabilities – the Americans with Disabilities Act and the UK’s Disability Discrimination Act – compound how far we have come in the last 60 years since United Cerebral Palsy was founded. We should use the 20th and 15th anniversaries of this legislation as benchmarks for the key landmarks that will come next for people with disabilities. We must sustain a movement with a single goal: ensuring a life without limits for people with disabilities.”
In addition to the hosts, British Ambassador & Lady Sheinwald, attendees included actor and UCP Board Trustee Cheryl Hines; Alan Dickson, Chief Executive, Capability Scotland; Stephen Bennett, President & CEO, United Cerebral Palsy; Bruce Merlin Fried, Chair, Board of Trustees, United Cerebral Palsy; Joe Stettinius, President, Cassidy Turley, the event’s Transatlantic Underwriter; current and former legislators; government officials; corporate leaders; advocates; members of the United Cerebral Palsy Board of Trustees, the majority of whom are people, or part of family, impacted by disabilities; and embassy staff.
Also in attendance were the United Cerebral Palsy Young Benefactors, a new group of young men and women who support, communicate and extend the vision of Life Without Limits for people with disabilities and transform the cause to bring this vision closer to reality.
