Nominations open for the 2025 Accessibility Awareness Award
Kawartha Lakes - While you are going about your day, be mindful of those who face accessibility challenges and those who make the extra effort to help mitigate those challenges.
Currently, one in four people in Ontario have a disability. Disabilities can be both visible and invisible and span physical, mental and neurological conditions. In Kawartha Lakes, many unsung heroes are doing their part to level the playing field to create equal access to community life. To shed light on the challenges and recognize the community's Accessibility Champions, each spring the Kawartha Lakes Accessibility Advisory Committee (KLAAC), a group of volunteers that advises Council, seeks out the accessibility leaders of our community — employers, program designers, service providers, shopkeepers, friends and families — to celebrate them in a special award ceremony. These are the people who go above and beyond the casual helping hand, who thoughtfully initiate improvements to overcome barriers to inclusion.
You might cross paths with an accessibility champion today. Read more about the awards and see the 2024 recipients by visiting our news release or the Kawartha Lakes Accessibility webpage.
Nominate someone by completing an Accessibility Awareness Recognition Award Form.
Nominations are welcome all year round; the deadline for 2025 nominations is Friday March 14, 2025.
There are a variety of categories to nominate for:
- A business, group or individual: A person or group that has made an outstanding contribution in the past year to improve or promote awareness around accessibility.
- New building or modification: An innovative infrastructure project followed the design principles and removed barriers for individuals with disabilities.
- Barbara McArthur Memorial Award of Distinction: In memory of Barbara McArthur, the founder and first Chair of the KLAAC, the nominee has devoted time and energy beyond normal expectations and promoted public awareness and education.
There are countless ways you may have crossed paths with an accessibility champion. Take a moment to reflect on and recognize someone you know who has helped those struggling with a disability.
We are all just an event or an illness away from disability, so awareness about barriers and solutions helps everyone.
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Kawartha Lakes
P.O. Box 9000, 26 Francis Street
Lindsay, ON, K9V 5R8
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