Gloucestershire Deaf Charity Seeks Additional Volunteers

After winning a £5,000 grant under the UK Council on Deafness ‘Opportunities for Volunteers’ scheme, the Gloucestershire Deaf Association is urgently looking to recruit and train additional volunteers for its successful hearing-aid re-tubing and cleaning service. Outreach sessions are to be set up in villages across the county and volunteers will be asked to assist at sessions close to where they live.

[UKPRwire, Tue Apr 28 2009] After winning a £5,000 grant under the UK Council on Deafness ‘Opportunities for Volunteers’ scheme, the Gloucestershire Deaf Association is urgently looking to recruit and train additional volunteers for its successful hearing-aid re-tubing and cleaning service. Outreach sessions are to be set up in villages across the county and volunteers will be asked to assist at sessions close to where they live.

Men and women of all ages who would be interested in helping are encouraged to get in touch and if you’re a hearing-aid wearer yourself, all the better. The Gloucestershire Deaf Association is hoping to develop a team large enough so volunteers are assisting the clinics either in their own village or within a radius of a few miles.

For hearing-aids to work properly, they need regular cleaning and re-tubing and new batteries every two weeks or so. Thanks to the financial support of the new grant, the Gloucestershire Deaf Association is able to offer this basic maintenance service for free. Its purpose is to support less mobile hearing-aid wearers in particular, who find it difficult to get into town.

Jenny Hopkins, Operations Manager at the Gloucestershire Deaf Association, said “Ideally we are hoping to establish hearing-aid service volunteers in every village, so elderly people in particular who rely on their hearing-aids can get help quickly if their aids seem not to be working properly. We have set up our first drop-in clinics in village halls and community centres, and from the numbers attending the first sessions it is clear this is a much appreciated service. For our volunteers too, they say how rewarding it is to be helping out neighbours and to feel you are doing something for your community. It’s also very sociable, and it can be a great way to get to know people. If facilities allow, we offer tea and coffee as well, so the atmosphere is very relaxed and friendly. What we are looking for are people who have lots of patience and enjoy helping others.”

There are different ways helpers can assist at the drop-in sessions, from making tea and chatting to people while they wait to be seen, to explaining the Gloucestershire Deaf Association’s range of hearing equipment. Full training will be provided and any travel expenses will be reimbursed.

For more information about volunteering for the Gloucestershire Deaf Association’s hearing-aid service, please call Jenny Hopkins, Operations Manager, on 01452 372999 or email her at jenny.hopkins@glosdeaf.org.uk