Mission & History: The 1990's

1990's Timeline

1990 UCP was a major leader in the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act which, for the first time, extends basic civil rights protections to persons with disabilities in the areas of employment, transportation, public accommodations and telecommunications.

1991 Casual Day, one of UCP's most successful national fundraisers, was launched with Levi Strauss & Co. as the national sponsor. Casual Day, an event still conducted by UCP affiliates today, encourages office workers to dress casually at the office for a day in exchange for a contribution to UCP. This program helped American businesses pioneer the acceptance of "Casual Fridays" and helped fuel the trend of casual dress in the workplace.

1992 UCP led the fight for amendments to the Rehabilitation Act that vastly improve access to employment services for individuals with severe physical disabilities.

UCP conducted its first ADA Report Card On America , a national survey monitoring the effectiveness of the Americans with Disabilities Act, passed in 1990. UCP conducts this survey annually.

1993 Three new publications expanded UCP's outreach to persons with cerebral palsy and their families: UCP's Basic Bookshelf, a brochure describing over 15 books, available through the UCP Materials Mailing Center, that are of particular interest to children and adults with cerebral palsy and their families; Walk With Me, a book written by an eight-year-old who has cerebral palsy; and Each of Us Remembers: Parents of Children with Cerebral Palsy Answer Your Questions, a manual for parents who have just learned that their child has cerebral palsy.

The first National Invitational Colloquium on Aging and Cerebral Palsy was held in conjunction with UCP's Annual Conference in Washington, DC, in April. The Colloquium was sponsored by the New York State Developmental Disabilities Planning Council, the Administration on Developmental Disabilities, and the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research; the 10 co-sponsors included UCP, UCP of New York State and UCP of Queens.

1994 UCP became one of the first national charities to merge onto the information superhighway by establishing a national World Wide Web presence. (It has evolved into the site you are on now!)

UCP won the American Society of Association Executive's prestigious Summit Award for its ADA Report Card on America and its impact on improving the lives of people with disabilities nationwide.

1995 Washington Watch, a bi-monthly newsletter for the disability community on important happenings in our nation's capital affecting people with disabilities, was launched by UCP.

1996 United Cerebral Palsy launched a new television event, Star Fest, to replace the UCP telethon. Star Fest featured sports celebrities such as Pete Sampras, Monica Seles and Bob Costas, Dan O'Brien, entertainment notables such as Tyra Banks, and hosts Charles Perez, Brian Austin Green, Audrey Landers, Paul Williams and "Downtown" Julie Brown.

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