Monday 21st June 2021: Unilever and Sure have announced that they will be supporting Parallel Windsor Virtual 2021 as sponsors of the digital ‘Festival of Inclusivity’ and Active Lifestyle partners for the virtual mass participation event on 27 June.
The virtual event aims to champion disability inclusion by encouraging participation in a range of fully accessible distances with no cut off times so participants can ‘start together, finish whenever’. Individuals will be able to sign up to a range of distances – from 100m to 10K – which they can complete in their own time and in their own environment to fundraise for a disability charity of their choice.
Previous years have seen the event held at the Olympic Park in London, where 8,000 people took part in the event, nearly half (45%) of whom were disabled. 2021 was due to be held in The Windsor Great Park, with the event to be staged on the iconic Long Walk, however, due to on-going uncertainty because of COVID-19 the event is now virtual once more.
Founder, Andrew Douglass said: “The last year has shown us how communities coming together can be a catalyst for change, and even though we are doing this virtually once more, we believe in the power of participation and people coming together to make a difference. Parallel’s purpose is to shine a positive light on disability, help remove barriers across society and enable no limits living for all, and by getting involved in our event you can be part of the change.”
Ines Rodrigues, Brand Manager for Sure said: “Sure is committed to inspiring everyone to move more and we think everyone should be able to experience the positive benefits of sport. We’re really pleased to be partnering with Parallel to help make ‘no limits living’ a reality for everyone.”
Yvette Edwards, Director of Communications and Corporate Affairs Unilever UK & Ireland, and leadership sponsor for disability said: “At Unilever we are committed to creating a culture of equity and inclusion for disabled people, and to be as accessible as possible for everyone. We think Parallel is the perfect embodiment of the values of inclusivity on a mass scale, so we’re delighted and proud to be supporting the event this year.”
There are 13.9 million disabled people in UK which is 22% of the UK population. As a social enterprise, Parallel’s purpose is to support disabled people to be free to live life to the full in mainstream society and believes that one of the biggest social problems in the world is disability inclusion.
ENDS
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About Unilever
Unilever is one of the world’s leading suppliers of Beauty & Personal Care, Home Care, and Foods & Refreshment products with sales in over 190 countries and reaching 2.5 billion consumers a day. It has 150,000 employees and generated sales of €52 billion in 2019. Over half of the company’s footprint is in developing and emerging markets. Unilever has around 400 brands found in homes all over the world, including Dove, Knorr, Persil, Sure, Hellmann’s, Lipton, Wall’s, Magnum, Lynx, Sunsilk and Surf.
Unilever’s Sustainable Living Plan (USLP) underpins the company’s strategy and commits to:
- Helping more than a billion people take action to improve their health and well-being by 2020.
- Halving the environmental impact of our products by 2030.
- Enhancing the livelihoods of millions of people by 2020.
The USLP creates value by driving growth and trust, eliminating costs and reducing risks. The company’s sustainable living brands delivered 78% of total growth and 75% of turnover in 2019.
Since 2010 we have been taking action through the Unilever Sustainable Living Plan to help more than a billion people improve their health and well-being, halve our environmental footprint and enhance the livelihoods of millions of people as we grow our business. We have made significant progress and continue to expand our ambition – in 2019 committing to ensure 100% of our plastic packaging is fully reusable, recyclable or compostable by 2025. While there is still more to do, we are proud to have been recognised in 2019 as sector leader in the Dow Jones Sustainability Index and in 2020 - for the tenth-consecutive year - as the top ranked company in the GlobeScan/SustainAbility Sustainability Leaders survey.
For more information about Unilever and its brands, please visit www.unilever.com.
For more information on the USLP: https://www.unilever.co.uk/sustainability/
About Sure
Sure deodorants and antiperspirants are designed to inspire the confidence in everyone to move more. We make it our business to know more about sweat, and what we learn informs every product innovation to help you keep moving. As a brand designed for and dedicated to promoting movement, Sure has always believed in the power of movement to enhance our wellbeing. Yet, we know that the opportunity to move is not distributed equally, which is why we have made a commitment to ensure everyone has the freedom to move and help youth transform their lives through the power of movement. We are bringing this commitment to life through a variety of ongoing partnerships and programs that strive to help everyone find the confidence to move beyond limits. Visit www.suredeodorant.co.uk and follow us on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook to learn more.
About Parallel
For more information on Parallel visit https://www.parallellifestyle.com/