Fiftieth organisation signs up for pioneering activity pledge
A ground-breaking campaign to encourage organisations across the West Midlands to improve their approach to increasing participation and equality has signed up its fiftieth organisation. The Include Me West Midlands Pledge (Include Me WM) is led by the West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) in partnership with Sport England and Activity Alliance.
The Pledge is a regional approach to making the West Midlands an exemplar region for engaging disabled people and people with long-term health conditions to be physically active.
It shows disabled people, and people with long-term health conditions that an organisation has made a commitment to become a supporter and consider how it engages better with people and is open to listening to their thoughts and views.
The fiftieth organisations to sign up is the Tudor Grange Leisure Centre, Solihull which is managed by Everyone Active. Meanwhile, 50 other organisations have contacted WMCA stating they are keen to sign up.
Andy Street, Mayor of the West Midlands said:
"Include Me WM has reached an important milestone in helping to challenge perceptions and change lives of disabled people.
"This project gives disabled people, and people with long-term health conditions, a voice to help improve access and opportunities across the West Midlands. In addition, it gives organisations the opportunity to contribute to making the region a better place to live."
Cllr Yvonne Davies the WMCA portfolio holder for Public Service Reform and leader of Sandwell Council, said:
"It is highly encouraging to see such a variety of organisations show they are eager to commit to improving how they engage with disabled people in the West Midlands."
Activity Alliance Engagement Advisor, Dr Mark Fosbrook, who was seconded to WMCA to lead the campaign said:
"Include Me WM goes deeper than simply creating access to a sport or leisure centre, but about having an appropriately trained workforce, improved transport, access to services and inclusive messaging and imagery.
"We are heartened by the terrific response, but this is no time to sit back. We are gearing up to encourage many more sign-ups, and we have further plans in the pipeline including a website.
"Include Me WM is about making a positive difference to disabled people and people with long-term health conditions by giving them a voice to help improve access and opportunities across the West Midlands. Signing the pledge indicates that an organisation will not always get everything right, but they are willing to listen and learn on how to make improvements for individuals."
Tudor Grange joins Coventry City’s charity Sky Blues in the Community, Birmingham-based Sport Structures, Aston Villa Community Foundation and the Wasps Group in signing up to the pledge. Numerous organisations which support disabled people and people with long-term health conditions, such as Headway the brain injury association, use Tudor Grange’s facilities.
Wayne Desmond, contract manager at Everyone Active said:
"We are delighted to be a part of such an important initiative and mark a key milestone in making the West Midlands more accessible and inclusive for everyone.
"At Everyone Active, we are always looking at how we can break down barriers and accommodate the diverse needs of our customers so that they feel empowered to get active and lead a healthy lifestyle using our facilities.
"Signing up to the Include Me WM Pledge will help us to further our understanding and embed an extra set of principles into our organisation that are consistent across our leisure facilities in Solihull, Stratford, Warwick and Bromsgrove and raise awareness of the opportunities for disabled people and long-term health conditions."
Include Me WM uses Activity Alliance's ten principles to identify how organisations can make improvements to engage better with disabled people. Focussing on these areas helps organisations understand their needs and make physical activity a viable option.
Initial evaluation has shown there are three principles that Include Me WM participating organisations value the most:
- Listen to me: Disabled people can be limited by our impairment and should be able to discuss our needs in a safe and private environment before starting an activity.
- Show me: Engage disabled people who are already involved in your activity to promote it to others.
- My channels: Use communication channels that disabled people already trust e.g. social media, local media.
Find out more about the Include Me West Midlands Pledge here.
