A Message from Mike

“Moving on from a job you really enjoy is always difficult and the past six and a half years have been a wonderful experience working on the Changing Places campaign. 

In the New Year I will be working full-time for Mencap as the Campaigns Officer for the South of England. A marvellous new role and still the opportunity to keep the flag flying for Changing Places in the region amongst other campaigning. I couldn’t leave before thanking the many people who have made my time on the campaign such a rewarding experience.

 

First, I would like to thank all founding members of the Changing Places Consortium, especially the family members and professionals who came together back in the early noughties to form the consortium that was launched officially in 2006. These pioneering people created a platform for all the campaigning that has taken place in the past 10 years. There have been many successes since then and we hope to hit our target of 900 registered Changing Places toilets by the end of 2016. 

 

Second, a huge thank you to the hundreds of Changing Places campaigners and organisations across the UK and beyond that I have had the pleasure to work with since 2010. Far too many to mention but inspirational campaigns such as the “selfie kit” and “barefoot challenge” along with races around Derbyshire (to name a few) have highlighted the amazingly creative way that campaigners have approached the need for Changing Places toilets in all public buildings and places. Great campaigns are now bearing fruit in the sporting world, at transport hubs and other areas as the campaign continues to grow. 

 

Thirdly, I would like to thank our campaign sponsors Aveso. Without sponsorship there is no national co-ordination of the campaign, no Changing Places map and register, no training days for new campaigners, no Changing Places People’s Award. As well as their sponsorship, Aveso staff are also real campaigners for change and have gone the extra mile to support our work. It has been a pleasure to work with such a professional organisation.

 

Finally I would like to thank everyone at Mencap and especially those in the Campaigns and Activism team for being such great supporters of the campaign and a real pleasure to work with. The support from my line managers in the past six years has been exceptional and I have never worked in such a positive and friendly environment. The professionalism, experience and skills of my colleagues are incredible and I am delighted to be staying within the team as I start my new role.

 

Please keep in touch, especially if you live in the South of England as I’ll be campaigning from Cornwall to Kent and everywhere in between over the coming years. Thanks again everyone. 

Best wishes

Mike