Campaigning

An email. Just to show that I think about more than what I'm having for tea on any given night ;-) I sent this at the weekend to the organisers of this year's local arts festival.

I am writing with some thoughts about scooter hire for future festival events. I was hoping to come and see my sister in a choir performance at the museum and art gallery tomorrow at 4pm. A phone adviser informed me, incorrectly, that the art gallery has scooters. They don't but they do have manual wheelchairs. Unfortunately as my son is quite young he is not able to push me in a manual chair.



I have my own mobility scooter but it is not allowed on public transport. So I called Shopmobility. Their closest centre is closed on Sundays so couldn't help me get to my event. I called the other Shopmobility across town, and they are open but only til 4.45pm. Luckily for me my sister has another performance outside a pub at 1pm so I am hiring a scooter at 12 noon and coming all the way across town and hoping it doesn't rain.



Here are some thoughts for next year:



Could you hook up with the company who provides shopmobility scooters and help fund the opening of the closed shopmobility centre for the whole weekend? Shopmobility is a charity, independently funded. But I am sure a deal could be struck, given the positive publicity that would result.



Could the festival provide a central designated scooter hire location - perhaps hooking up with a major scooter manufacturer in a sponsorship/advertising deal?




I am certain that a press release publicising scooter hire for people with disabilities would lead to many more visitors to the festival from the disabled community next year. It has proved difficult this year for me to make the necessary arrangements to attend, but I hope in future years that it won't be so hard.



I look forward to hearing from you