Join us in using animation's power to transform how we see disability and make a positive impact on all lives through simple shifts towards inclusivity!

In July 2012, our daughter, Adi, was diagnosed with a malignant brain tumour at just 2 ½ years old. Following a 7-hour surgery and a year of intensive chemo and radio therapy, she was cancer-free but the tumour and the treatment had taken its toll and she was left with a number of disabilities. Over the next few years, we would learn that navigating the world as a family with disabilities is challenging and we met hundreds of families like ours, all struggling to navigate a world not designed for kids like ours.

Physical barriers are many but negative attitudes and stigma towards disability create some of the biggest challenges. Everyday activities like going shopping, attending school, visiting a doctor, or even voting, can be hard and may require a lot of planning and energy. It is not uncommon for people with disabilities and their families to give up and become isolated. So, we created WeCanAccess, a social enterprise with the aim of making the world a more accessible place for all.

Many people believe they will have to make big and expensive changes to their businesses or way they live their lives to improve access for people with disabilities. Some people are scared they will do or say the wrong thing. We know that inclusivity doesn’t have to be difficult or expensive, and it benefits everyone, the people with disabilities, their families and the wider society. Businesses and services can serve their customers better, and even reach new audiences, and we all benefit from the different perspectives and new ideas a including more diverse range of people brings.  

So WeCanAccess offers simple, practical ideas on how to create more inclusive classrooms, activities, clubs and communities. We do this with online training, informative blogs and now we want to develop a range of short and engaging animations aimed at showing how easy it is to be inclusive.

Animations

Our crowdfunding goal is to raise £10,000 to create a series of five 30-60 second animations, using our WeCanAccess characters. We love our characters, we hope you do too – they have loads of personality and represent a range of visible and hidden disabilities.

Following a test video created for us by animation students, we know our characters will allow us to reach out to the wider community. You can see the video here, it gained hundreds of views within a couple of weeks and people’s reactions were uplifting, and included “This conveys an important message” and “This is important, there needs to be more support for the disabled in society.”.  Through engaging storytelling and relatable characters, these animations will inspire viewers to make small but meaningful shifts in their behaviour, nurturing a more inclusive society that embraces diversity.

We are now working with professional company, King Bee, who are very excited to be working on this project, especially as one of their staff has a personal connection to our vision. We can't wait to see our characters taken to the next level!

The funds raised through this campaign will be used to cover the costs of producing the animations. Each animation will cost £2,000 to make, which includes the entire process from script writing to animation and editing. Each time we reach £2,000 we can commission a new animation. If we make more money, we will make more animations!!

Our first series of animations will include:

1. “Meltdown Moments”: This animation sheds light on how quiet spaces and a bit of understanding can be profoundly helpful when an environment become overwhelming for people with sensory sensitivities or who are neurodiverse.
2. “Ask, Don’t Grab”: Many people with visible disabilities, such as wheelchair users and blind people, experience being grabbed and “helped”, perhaps pushed across a road or guided around a shop, even when they don’t want it! This is disrespectful and can even be dangerous, so this animation will focus on the importance of asking if someone wants or needs your assistance before taking action.

We want your ideas as well as your support! This is to be a community project. We have ideas for animations, but we want to know what you think would be useful. Together, we can create a series of captivating and educational animations that promote empathy, understanding, and real behaviour change!  

Please share!!

The more animations we make and the more people that watch those animations, the more impact we will have. So please share this fundrazr and share our new animations as they come out.  

 Your rewards:

• Sneaky peaks! Everyone supporting the campaign will receive sneaky peaks, behind the scenes content on how our beloved characters are coming to life.  
• Your name on the credits!  Anyone contributing £10 or more, will get a much deserved THANK YOU with your name on the credits on the finished animation you helped to fund. Your name will be there forever as a testament to your support and awesomeness!!
• T-shirts! For contributors in the UK and Ireland only, we have supercool and exclusive WeCanAccess T-shirts, with all our favourite characters, as well as a name credit on an animation. You won’t find this t-shirt anywhere else!! 
• Discounts! Massive 50% discounts on WeCanAccess Academy courses, all about accessibility and inclusion for educators, a deal worth well over £100!
• Plan an animation. You will get a real say in which animation we make next. 
• Name a character! The biggest honour of all – they can name one of our characters!!

 We will keep in touch with everyone who contributes, so you know what we are doing and when the next animation is out and ready to share. We also hope you will get in touch with your ideas for what the animations should cover!

Please join us on our exciting and crucial journey! Share this campaign far and wide and help make a real difference to individuals with disabilities and their families!

To learn more about WeCanAccess please visit the wecanaccess profile page