One of the many things that unites the Glasstap team is a shared abhorrence of prejudice and discrimination; as my daughter puts it, we do our best to be “woke”.
Each of us has our own reasons for being personally aware of the impact of prejudice and discrimination. For me, it began when I had my son, Finn.
Finn was born missing part of his brain and has a “jagged profile.” In other words, there are some things he can do and there are other things he finds hard.
Incredibly, he has surpassed his initial prognosis, but life for Finn is often a struggle. As he grows up, these struggles become more obvious. At times he astounds me with what he knows, at other times I am floored by how little he understands. In fact, bridging that gap between knowledge and understanding is a key driver in the training I design. If you want to see an example of this, I am particularly proud of
Unequal Opportunities.
As Finn gets older (and taller) my thoughts are increasingly turning to his future. He will probably leave school with no qualifications and, despite The Equality Act, the way Finn learns and the way he communicates mean that traditional recruitment processes are unlikely to yield a positive outcome. Yet all his teachers tell me that he is a bright, articulate and positive member of the school community.
What people like Finn need is someone to help them, to support them, to understand them. But above all they need people to enable them to live the life they wish for and contribute positively to society.
This was why I was so excited to hear about the charity,
United Response. Founded in 1973, it exists to “help people with disabilities and mental health issues live full lives in the community”. Their vision is to create “a society where everyone has equal access to the same rights and opportunities”.
As Finn’s Mum, my heart soared when I read those words. There were people out there who would be able to join me in giving Finn a future; people who know what it is like to struggle but want to find a way to exceed expectations.
So I decided to run this year’s London Marathon to raise funds for United Response. Finn, a committed non-runner, agreed to do the equivalent distance in Parkruns. He recently completed his 6th one and beat his PB by over 5 minutes! After each run, he still mutters darkly that “this doesn’t make me a runner, Mum” ??
Training has not been easy and on occasion I (along with others) question my sanity in undertaking this challenge. But I know I am one of the lucky ones. I will do the race for all the people, like Finn, who crave the normality of a life that often feels out of reach.
I started this blog talking about how we as a team at Glasstap are committed to playing our part in reducing prejudice and discrimination. If you would also like to support this amazing charity,
please click here. Every little bit helps - particularly as Rod and Craig have kindly agreed that Glasstap will match the first £1,000.00 we raise.
Thank you,
Frances