The International Code Council has committed to donating a portion of the proceeds from sales of its ICC/ANSI A117.1 standard for accessibility to Canine Companions, a non-profit organization that trains and donates service dogs to people with disabilities.
The two organizations signed an agreement during a brief ceremony on April 24, 2022, at Chicago’s Navy Pier. The agreement will be used as a starting point for the Code Council and Canine Companions to work together to raise awareness around accessibility in the built environment.
“We are delighted to have the Code Council’s support in placing more service and facility dogs with people who need them,” said Matt Levering, Senior Development Director for Canine Companions, “Given its focus on safety and accessibility, our partnership with the Code Council is a natural fit.”
Canine Companions is the largest provider of service dogs in the world and has championed independence for people with disabilities since its founding in 1975. The organization has placed more than 5,000 assistance dogs for people with disabilities, including wounded veterans, entirely for free.
The ICC/ANSI A117.1 standard allows those with a physical disability to independently access, enter, and use a site, facility, or building. The specifications in the standard make sites, facilities, and buildings accessible to and usable by people with such disabilities as the inability to walk, difficulty walking, reliance on walking aids, blindness and visual impairment, deafness and hearing impairment, incoordination, reaching and manipulation disabilities, lack of stamina, difficulty in interpreting and reaching to sensory information, and extremes in physical size.
“Modern building codes and standards are at the core of improving accessibility for all people, so this partnership is important to us,” said Mark Johnson, Executive Vice President & Director of Business Development, “We are committed to finding innovative ways to work together to advance accessibility in the built environment.”
[Source(s): International Code Council, GlobeNewswire]
