Page 17 - AHATA

A16 LOCAL
Monday 20 January 2020

Today is International Day of

Acceptance

ORANJESTAD — January 20th is a day which shows a wheelchair in the shape of
dedicated to the social acceptance of a heart. Together, the occasion and the
disability and to honor the late Annie Hop- symbol communicate the 3E Love ethos
kins, founder of 3E Love and creator of of devotion, equality, respect and under-
the International Symbol of Acceptance. standing, to be adopted and appreciat-
The (International) Day of Acceptance is ed by people of all abilities.
a valuable social entrepreneurial aware- Disability owned and operated, 3E Love
ness experiment with a heart-warming works to empower people through pride
back-story. and passion, rather than charity. Taking
control, following our dreams and be-
Annie Hopkins founded 3E Love to make ing the best we can, regardless of physi-
the world a better place, also creating cal factors, makes us what we are, and
the International Symbol of Acceptance, Annie’s goal to share this with as many

people as possible has proved a source of inspiration all
across the world.
On January 20th 2009, Annie passed away due to unex-
pected complications during a simple medical proce-
dure. Her memory lives on in the hearts of her friends and
family, and it also lives on in the heart of the International
Symbol of Acceptance. Annie’s brother, Stevie Hopkins,
who helped her start 3E Love, paid tribute to his sister’s
selfless efforts and vowed to keep them alive. On the first
anniversary of Annie’s passing, Stevie and family founded
an annual celebration of her life and work, inviting every-
one to take part in a variety of ways, from drawing the
symbol on your hand or cheek, to ordering buttons and
T-shirts from the website, or simply changing your social
media profile pictures to the logo for the day.
To quote 3E Love: “Friends, tell the world you embrace
who you are; a person with social rights, who has an opin-
ion, who has interests, who has goals and who loves life;
a person who is empowered to make a difference in the
world and not be without a voice in society. You are not
living disabled, you are living.” Source: https://www.day-
softheyear.com/days/day-of-acceptance/. q