The Hāpai Foundation enjoyed an office party to celebrate the card’s 1st birthday

What a difference a year makes! This time last year, we were very excited to announce the adoption of the Access Card in New Zealand by The Hāpai Foundation. The Hāpai Access Card was created to help disabled Kiwis communicate their access requirements in a more discreet way. 

One year on, the Hāpai Access Card has proven to be an essential tool for many people as the scheme currently has over seven hundred and fifty cardholders and over 40 registered providers, including larger chains, such as Coffee Culture.

The Hāpai Foundation celebrated the 1st birthday of the card with an office party, which was attended by over 60 people representing the board, volunteers, partner NGOs and businesses as well as cardholders.

Co-Founder of the Hāpai Access Card scheme, Loudon said: 

“When you start something new you have an idea how you think it will go.  A year on from launching the card I would never have guessed the twists and turns!  However, it has been an absolute privilege to bring the access card concept to Aotearoa New Zealand, and we couldn’t have made the progress that we have without the start we got from Nimbus and their ongoing support.  The year 2022 is looking a lot brighter as of today, as our mahi (Maori for work/status) has been recognised by a significant grant that will set-up the business development team for the next two years.

Entering the second year of the scheme, The Hāpai Access Card Team looks to increase the number of cardholders as well as the number of businesses registered with the scheme.

The UK Access Card Team looks forward to watching the progress of the Hāpai Access Card’s journey as it enters its second year in operation. 

On the milestone, Martin Austin MBE, Managing Director and Creator of the UK Access Card said: 

“I’m still quite amazed that we started this journey only a few weeks into the full UK Covid Lockdown and managed to complete the whole process and get the Hāpai scheme launched without ever meeting in person! Thanks and congratulations to the whole Hāpai Team but especially to Loudon who put in so much time and effort to get the scheme up and running!!

“We enjoying watching the scheme grow and working together to make access for disabled a borderless ambition”

To find out more about the Hāpai Access Card, please click here.

If you’re in the UK or anywhere else in the world you can sign up for the original Access Card here.