VoicePrint Honours Athletes With Disabilities With Two New Awards at the March 15 Achilles St. Patrick's Day Run/Walk. Tune in for interviews with athletes with disabilities and Achilles organizers.

TORONTO (March 10, 2009):  It is VoicePrint’s fourth year sponsoring and participating in the 10th Annual *Achilles Canada St. Patrick’s Day 5K Run/Walk fundraiser on March 15th.  In celebration of this partnership, we present the VoicePrint-Premier Awards for the Fastest Time for a Male and Female in two categories: Persons Running with a Vision Impairment and Persons Running With a Disability.

“With these awards we are celebrating the equal capabilities and talents of people who are running with a disability,” says Arlene Patterson, Director, VoicePrint Operations. “And special thanks to our partner *Premier Literacy, who donated to the trophies and prize packages, which will be awarded at a ceremony immediately following the run/walk on March 15, 2009 at the Steam Whistle Brewing at 255 Bremner Blvd.”

"We're so proud to partner with VoicePrint," says  Dr. Stephen Timmer, co-owner and co-founder of Premier Literacy. "I'm a vision-impaired runner and I can understand the hesitation a person with a disability feels about taking up a sport. It can be scary, but we hope this award inspires new runners and walkers to register for this event and come out on race day."

Georgina Blanas, Corporate Director, Marketing & Fund Development, expresses her appreciation for all efforts as she states, "I would like to extend my gratitude to Achilles Canada and to Premiere Literacy for their partnership and commitment to help keep the promise of making media accessible for the more than 5 million Canadians who cannot independently access news and information.  This partnership is invaluable and one that fosters inclusion.  Thank you to our partners for their continuous support!”

Tune in to hear more about the Achilles Walk/Run (and to register), visit www.achillescanada.ca and/or tune in and listen to our Achilles Programming Line-up.
 

VoicePrint’s Achilles Programming Line-Up

• On March 14th, 12:00 p.m. & 6:00 p.m.: Our one-hour interview trio. VoicePrint talks to:

• Brian Mclean,  President, Achilles Canada
• Elizabeth Hurdman, a vision-impaired Achilles athlete

“It’s a riot to have [the Achilles Athletes] in the downtown streets of [Toronto],” says Hurdman, “and that they have the opportunity to be there.”

• Dr. Stephen Timmer, co-owner and co-founder of Premier Literacy, shares his experiences as a vision-impaired runner and discusses the two new VoicePrint-Premier Awards.  

“Everyone with a disability who comes out and runs, I don’t care what time you set, how fast or how slow you go, it’s an achievement. And you should be proud of that.”

Lauren Kerhoulas
Public Relations Coordinator, NBRS
416-422-4222 ext. 225
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Paul Daniel
Public Relations Coordinator, NBRS
416-422-4222 ext. 225
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Special thanks to our partners:

*Premier Literacy is a leader in the field of literacy technology and offers complete and affordable reading and writing solutions.

*Achilles Canada is a non-profit organization that encourages people with disabilities to participate in running. Runners (and walkers) participate with crutches, in wheelchairs, on prostheses, and without aids.

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