International Work
United Cerebral Palsy recognizes that the movement for the rights of people with disabilities is a global effort. To harness the power of partnerships, UCP participates in a number of international initiatives, including serving as founding members of the Amsterdam Group, a global network of service providers committed to finding cooperative solutions and sharing ideas to ensure the highest quality of life for individuals with disabilities across the globe.
UCP also joined InterAction, a U.S.-based association of non-profits that work in the developing world, in 2012. UCP participates in the Disability Working Group, which ensures that the needs of people with disabilities are incorporated into the work of the United States’ foreign assistance program both in the delivery of and the scope of the services. Through InterAction, UCP also scans for opportunities to work with other NGOs in leveraging our network’s vast experience to serve people outside the United States.
World Cerebral Palsy Day and World Cerebral Palsy Challenge
On September 2, 2012, UCP celebrated the first annual World Cerebral Palsy (CP) Day with the kickoff of a new, innovative event: the World Cerebral Palsy Challenge, an international awareness and fundraising campaign for people living with cerebral palsy.
"The success of our first World CP Day and the World CP Challenge is an incredible achievement, and I am so proud of the efforts of all of those who participated," said Stephen Bennett, President & CEO of UCP. "I applaud the efforts of our teams around the world, and look forward to the exciting work to be done as we continue to strive to ensure that people living with cerebral palsy can live their lives to the fullest."
Conceived and launched in partnership with Cerebral Palsy Alliance (CPA) of Sydney, Australia, World CP Day marked the beginning of a month dedicated to making the world better for individuals with cerebral palsy. An accompanying contest called “Change My World in 1 Minute” was launched on the website, urging individuals to submit minute-long videos with ideas about how to change the lives of people with cerebral palsy through improved mobility, independence, accessibility, communication or social connection. 461 ideas were submitted, and starting on World CP Day, individuals were able to begin voting on which idea they thought would make a real difference in people’s lives. Researchers, innovators and inventors will get a chance to turn the top three ideas into reality—and compete for a share of the $25,000 in prize money (prize winners will be announced in April 2013).
World CP Day also marks the launch of the World CP Challenge, a month-long campaign that encourages people to get active and support individuals living with cerebral palsy. Throughout September, almost 7,000 people around the world competed as teams to exercise and fundraise, with teams and participants tracking their daily activities, such as walking, running, or biking, and entering the equivalent ‘step count’ on the World CP Challenge website. Each team’s steps and fundraising were combined, and the website tracked their progress throughout the month—totaling an incredible $774,399 funds raised worldwide, which will go to toward helping people with cerebral palsy and other disabilities.
UCP continues to build on the successes of the first year of the World CP Day and World CP Challenge, and anticipates more exciting progress in years to come.
