“Celebrate communities where everybody belongs”: Waterloo Belongathon aims to raise accessibility awareness
Hundreds of people walked and rolled into Waterloo on Saturday to highlight the importance of accessibility.
The group was taking part in a Belongathon event hosted by non-profit organization Christian Horizons.
The event featured games, speeches and a stroll or roll along the Ironhorse Trail to raise awareness for individuals with developmental disabilities.
“The Belongathon is our very first ever event where we promote communities where everybody belongs,” said Janet Noel-Annable, the Chief Executive Officer with Christian Horizons. “We’re raising money for some of our non-government funded programs - our family camps, some of our affordable housing projects, as well as some of the work we do overseas around disability issues in Ethiopia.”
Saturday’s local celebrations marked one of many other events of its kind across Canada.
“It’s also happening in 16 other spaces across Ontario and Saskatchewan. Altogether, we’ve got 1,000 belongathoners celebrating together,” said Noel-Annable.
Though strides have been made over the years to create inclusive spaces for all, she added that there’s still lots of work to be done.
“In Ontario today, probably half of the people that need services, have access to all of the services that they need to,” she said. “Still, there are wait lists for services. Not enough people have access to good, affordable housing in our communities and we hope that by, not only raising money, but raising awareness and raising fun, we hope that our community’s awareness is raised and we just celebrate how far we’ve come and recognize the work we have to do together in the future.”
Noel-Annable finished by saying that everybody needs to reflect on what they can do to help the cause.
“We need people to be welcomed into community spaces, into faith communities, into community centres. All the things that you and I like to do, people with disabilities like to do those too.”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
Northern Ont. lawyer who abandoned clients in child protection cases disbarred
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Maple Leafs fall to Bruins in Game 3, trail series 2-1
Brad Marchand scored twice, including the winner in the third period, and added an assist as the Boston Bruins downed the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-2 to take a 2-1 lead in their first-round playoff series Wednesday
Cuban government apologizes to Montreal-area family after delivering wrong body
Cuba's foreign affairs minister has apologized to a Montreal-area family after they were sent the wrong body following the death of a loved one.
'It was instant karma': Viral video captures failed theft attempt in Nanaimo, B.C.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
New Indigenous loan guarantee program a 'really big deal,' Freeland says at Toronto conference
Canada's Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland was among the 1,700 delegates attending the two-day First Nations Major Projects Coalition (FNMPC) conference that concluded Tuesday in Toronto.
'Life was not fair to him': Daughter of N.B. man exonerated of murder remembers him as a kind soul
The daughter of a New Brunswick man recently exonerated from murder, is remembering her father as somebody who, despite a wrongful conviction, never became bitter or angry.