The ELEPAP campaign titled “The First Step” was released on December 3, 2024, on the occasion of the International Day of Persons with Disabilities (3/12).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3aVuhEJYcRc

At the Hellenic Society for the Protection and Rehabilitation of Disabled Persons (ELEPAP), on the International Day of Persons with Disabilities (December 3), we celebrate what we have stood for since the very first day of our foundation. We celebrate the right of our fellow citizens with disabilities to dignity, growth, and inclusion in every aspect of life, while also promoting awareness and understanding of disability issues.

As ELEPAP’s President, Dr. Eleni N. Skouteli, notes for the International Day of Persons with Disabilities:
“…For us at ELEPAP, this day represents a lifelong journey—with a beginning, a middle, and a course of life—for 110,000 children and families over our 86 years of existence. Our children begin this journey as infants, through early brain intervention programs, even before brain damage appears and becomes established, with optimistic results for their efforts toward school integration and social inclusion.”

Our mission is to provide every person with a disability and their family with Lifelong Support, and access to rehabilitation programs, regardless of their financial or social background. Our purpose is to help our Brave Children, and adults with disabilities, take small or great steps forward—“Steps of Life.”

ELEPAP’s campaign “The First Step” is addressed to the general public, and specifically:

To citizens who can financially support ELEPAP’s work through donations, child sponsorships, or “SMS of love.”

To families and friends of people with disabilities, so that they recognize the importance of inclusion and actively participate in support.

To supporters, therapists, and volunteers who share the journey with ELEPAP’s children and adults.

To society as a whole, aiming to promote understanding of disability issues and strengthen a culture of inclusion.

2024 - 2025

It is precisely from these steps that our new campaign, titled “The First Step,” is inspired. The campaign stars Anna, one of our Brave Children, and focuses on the wonderful moment when she manages to take her own optimistic steps. At first hesitantly, and then more confidently, she walks without holding anyone’s hand, yet with the invaluable support of the people around her.

Because every time one of our Brave Children manages to stand, they are not alone. Alongside them stand their family, therapists, and ELEPAP supporters, sharing every emotion that accompanies their achievement.

For these first steps, and for every step that follows, it is worth continuing to support ELEPAP’s children—through child sponsorship or a simple donation—so that their first steps become the beginning of an independent journey filled with joyful moments and self-confidence.

For this campaign, we would like to warmly thank The Newtons Laboratory for the concept and their dedication, Topcut Modiano for bringing the idea to life, and Bounce for conveying the emotion of this unique moment in sound in the best possible way. A special “thank you” also goes to Anna’s father, grandfather, and therapists, who, beyond being part of her life and journey, became an integral part of our campaign.