Volunteer newsSummer 2015Volunteers’ Week Deaf Awareness Yamazing News! New recruits

The South Hampshire Branch giving a big cheer on Volunteers’ Week!

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Read all about it The latest news from Hearing Dogs Welcome to the Summer 2015 edition of Volunteer

News. In this issue we look back at some of our fantastic events of the year so far. The inaugural series

Great British Dog Walks finished on June 28 at Hughenden Manor, Buckinghamshire and were a huge

success! Volunteers’ Week took place during 1-7 June. We love Volunteers’ Week here at Hearing Dogs as we can never thank our volunteers enough for the fantastic work

you all do! There was lots of online activity on social media, Yammer and the Hearing Dogs blog as well as

our two training sites being decorated with Volunteers’

Week bunting, plus volunteer coordinators holding

events throughout the country. Our Beatrice Wright Centre in Bielby, had an extremely

successful volunteer recruitment event at the end of July. With a fantastic turn out, great atmosphere and a

lot of new volunteers joining us! Up and down the country our fundraisers, as always

have been out and about at numerous events, spreading

the word and raising much needed funds. Some volunteers even giving up several weekends in a row to

organise and help man stalls plus numerous other profitable collections.

We look forward to our annual Late Summer Show coming up very soon! The Hearing Dogs Awards will be

held in November and we are pleased to announce that

Dame Esther Rantzen will be hosting the evening. Further details can be found below, please think about

coming along. Another date for the diary is 21-22 November. The

Christmas Market at The Grange will be held over two

days with lots of stalls, entertainment and Christmas

ideas!

Fundraisers from our Croydon & Surrey District

Branch; Amanda King, Pat King, Clare

Clapham with hearing dog Smudge and Julie

Sawyer at the Beddington Fete.

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Summer Show V.I.P. area for Volunteers! Last year we introduced our ‘V.I.V.P.’ (Very Important Volunteering People) area in the garden opposite the

Volunteering Office. It went down a storm, so we will be

doing the same again this year! The garden will be exclusively for our volunteers to use as a meeting point

and chill-out zone. We will have lots of seating available,

refreshments, our Crafty Creations stall, Photobooth and

also introducing...Doggy Dates!

Open days at The Grange are a perfect time to catch up

with friends and family of both you and your dogs. However sometimes it can be hard to catch them, or

perhaps there was a person/dog you've always wanted

to meet but didn't know if they were attending. We have

found a solution! If you are attending the Late Summer

Show, pop your/your dog’s name onto the Doggy Dates

board to tell everyone what time you'll be in the V.I.V.P.

area to arrange to meet friends, fellow volunteers, or

your dog's mum/dad/children/siblings. Or, you can check

the board to see if one of your favourite 4-legged friends

is around for a date! ♥

Help needed! Our Fundraising team are looking for volunteers to help

out with poster distribution in the run up to the event. You can pick up some posters from Reception at The

Grange or download the PDF document (found on the

landing page) to email out to friends, family and co-workers. We would really appreciate any extra help

with spreading the word about our biggest annual event!

We are also looking for volunteers to help out on the day

itself. If you are available to help, or for more information

please contact our National Events Manager Melanie Tyrer T 01844 348100 E melanie.tyrer@hearingdogs.org.uk

Volunteers in the photobooth

at last year’s Late Summer Show

This year’s poster boy is hearing

dog puppy, Mac.

V.I.V.P. Area 2014

Looking forward to the Late Summer Show Sunday 13 September, 11am—4pm The volunteering team are looking forward to seeing many of you at the Late Summer Show at The Grange

this year. There will be a whole host of attractions including a fun dog show, Scruffts, Hearing Dogs displays,

classic cars, go karts, Kid’s Zone, exciting stalls and lots more!

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As you may be aware, Volunteers’ Week runs annually from 1 – 7 June and it is the perfect moment to let all of our Hearing Dogs volunteers know how much we appreciate the enormous contribution you make towards our purpose of helping as many deaf people as possible through

providing them with a clever, loveable hearing dog.

Michele Jennings, CEO, says: Together we are making significant strides in this respect. In the year 2011-2012, we created 76 hearing

dogs. But through making some really positive changes

in the charity over recent years, I'm delighted to say that

in the year to 31 March 2015, 140 new hearing dogs

were trained and ready to proudly wear their burgundy jackets! Additionally 22 dogs were trained and

placed as Sound Support or Confidence & Companion dogs, giving practical and emotional help to

even more deaf people. The impact this wonderful charity is having is clear for everyone involved. In the same period, the waiting time for a hearing dog

has reduced from 5 years to between 2-3 years, with

some applicants now receiving their new hearing dog in

less than a year. A wonderful improvement for those we

seek to help. I will never tire of saying that Hearing Dogs cannot do

what it does without its volunteers. Your generosity is

outstanding and I am grateful for the understanding

and flexibility you have shown as the Charity has ad-

justed, stabilised and built excellent foundations for cre-

ating the hearing dogs of the future. Thank you for the work you do in making the charity the

success it is, and let’s look forward to taking Hearing

Dogs from being a really good charity to becoming a

great one!

“Our grateful thanks to all the volunteers involved with

our hearing dog, starting from the brood bitch & stud

holders, puppy socialisers, wonderful B&B homes and of

course the many volunteers who have helped with her

training and exercising whilst at The Grange. Not only has she changed my life, but also my

husband’s. Without the volunteers there would be very

few dogs to enhance their recipient’s lives. You give

your time so freely, you are all so very much appreciated. Thank you.”

Anne Pickett, recipient with hearing dog Tegan

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Volunteer Spotlight Name: Rachel Robinson Role: Welfare Fosterer at The Grange Why I volunteer for Hearing Dogs My sons kept asking if they could have a dog. However,

I felt that it was not the right time to have a permanent

dog. I was particularly interested in Hearing Dogs for

Deaf People after my son had hearing difficulties during

the first three years of his life.

What I get up to I am a fosterer of hearing dogs who return to The

Grange for various reasons and need a home for a

while—to date; several dogs between 9 weeks to 11

months at a time. During the dog’s time with us, they become part of our family and are treated like very welcome guests on their holidays. Why I enjoy my role Besides the fact of having the opportunity of meeting dogs of all different sizes, shapes and personalities, you

also feel so welcome when you visit The Grange and

you are made to feel part of a very big family. Yammer has also made a big difference. You can constantly see the new arrivals as well as those dogs

who are being socialised/fostered elsewhere. I recently met a lady who was staying at The Grange during her pre-placement week for her successor hearing dog. She told me that since she lost her last

hearing dog, she had become very withdrawn and almost house bound as she had lost all confidence. She was so looking forward to resuming her old life with

her new companion. That’s why I love volunteering. Do you have any other dogs in your life? Recently, Ayla, who I’ve been fostering for the last 11

months became a permanent member of our family as

her recipient could sadly no longer keep her. The one

proviso to us adopting her was that we would continue

fostering others—absolutely fine by me! We regularly

look after Koda, another hearing dog. Do you have any summer plans with Ayla? Last year, we took Ayla to Cornwall with us and she had

a great time, although walking on the beach was an issue as Ayla hates water with a passion! Watching her

dodge rock pools was very funny. This year, she is going

to stay with my parents whilst we go abroad and she will

have a great time chasing all the squirrels out of their

garden! Ayla came on Scout Camp recently as an honorary member of 1

st Marlow Bottom Scout Group.

She loved camping except when the rain came, then she

hid in my tent!

“Rachel is a wonderful fosterer and we are so pleased

she was able to give Ayla her forever home. Rachel is

still willing to take on other dogs for us through the fostering scheme—which is invaluable to us in the Welfare Department.”

- Lizzie Gray & Emma Golding, Welfare Team

Volunteer recruitment update A huge thank you to all the dedicated volunteers who

give up their days and weekends to go to various fundraising events and use the opportunity to push voluntary roles. The volunteering team simply can’t get

round to all of the events that happen across the country

so it really is a huge help that you can speak for us. Our enquiry numbers are still very healthy and we are

always grateful when a volunteer is mentioned by name;

we know you’re all out there working hard to spread the

word! Since April the following

people have been mentioned:

Jo Barlow, Angela Johnson,

Lisa Curran, Phil & Rachel

Gray, Irene Rich, Peter & Hazel Dixon, Paul & Christine

Lowdon, Roy Springate, Marina Spellman, Moira Simpson, Bridget Fulton, Joan

Paynter, Jeanette Hughes,

Christine Hazell and James

Harris & Natalie Emery.

Koda and Ayla

High-five to our volunteers from Nimble!

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Awash with awards

To nominate yourself or someone you know for Volunteer of the Month please let us know by sending

250 words and a photo to E volunteernews@hearingdogs.org.uk

Volunteer of the month 2015

April—Marion Crane

Bed & Breakfast volunteer Marion Crane has been involved

with Hearing Dogs since 2012

and is one of those understated

volunteers who doesn’t realise

how fabulous and invaluable

they are. Marion is known for her

commitment, reliability and always going above and beyond what is expected.

“Marion is a Godsend.” May—Dave Barr

Dave is one of our fantastic volunteer drivers, who has been

involved with wife, Margaret, in

various voluntary roles at B.W.C.

for many years. “Dave has brought a number of

my applicants in from the train

station over the last few weeks,

and they have good fun on the way in and Dave seems

to fill them up with excitement about what they’re going to

see and do which is lovely!” June—Lynda McGregor

Lynda has given her all to volunteering with Hearing Dogs

since day one. She is someone

that takes everything in her

stride, keeps a wonderful sense

of perspective and enjoys a

good giggle along the way.

“Lovely on the outside and lovely on the inside, too – that’s our Lynda!”

July—Ann & Keith Barford

Ann and Keith Barford have been

supporting Hearing Dogs for 25

years and raised nearly £25,000

towards our life-changing work.

Many congratulations to them

both on these matching milestones!

“In short, they are absolute stars!”

Service to the Community Award—

June Spouncer

Well done to volunteer fundraiser and speaker June

Spouncer who deservedly won a Civic Award for her

services to the local community from Boston Borough

Council. June has been a Hearing Dogs volunteer for

more than 20 years, raising more than £50,000!

June’s interest in Hearing Dogs started when she was

babysitting her boss's deaf son and her fundraising began when she donated the proceeds of handmade

stitched cards that she sold at various local sewing

events. June, and husband Barry, attend local events,

have a stall at Pilgrim Hospital, organise dog walks and

so much more to raise awareness and funds for Hearing

Dogs. June is also a previous winner of Volunteer of the

Month!

L-R: Mayor of Boston, husband Barry, June,

Community Fundraising Manager, Gill Yeates,

Margaret Turvey with hearing dog Rupert

and Ann Morgan

Fun fact! Hearing dog Brett, pictured left with the Barfords, is the

first dog to appear in Volunteer of the Month twice! He was first seen in February 2013 when Training from

Home volunteer, Jeanette Woods won the award.

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Deaf Awareness In our recent Volunteer Survey, feedback showed that many of you asked about deaf awareness and sign

language training. We are pleased to introduce the new ‘Deaf Awareness’ feature in Volunteer News with

thanks to Jill Hipson, BSL teacher and volunteer.

We hope that this new regular feature in Volunteer

News will help provide more information and statistics

about deafness and also equip our volunteers with the

skills and confidence to communicate with people with

hearing loss. Nearly ten million people in the UK experience some

hearing loss. This represents one in six of the adult UK

population, with levels ranging from hard of hearing to

profoundly deaf. Learning to live with deafness can be a devastating experience. Many deafened people say they lost their

sense of security, confidence and independence when

they lost their hearing. Deafness is an invisible disability

and can lead to isolation and loneliness. Methods of communication include sign language and

lip-reading. Sign language is often used by people who

have been deaf from birth or early childhood. It is a visual means of communicating using gestures, finger

spelling, facial expression and body language. The most

common form of sign language in the UK is British Sign

Language (BSL) and is the preferred language of between 50,000-70,000 people.

Lip reading Lip reading is a technique used to understand speech

by visually interpreting the movements of lips, face and

tongue. Many people are shocked to learn that only

30% of English is actually lip readable, so approximately

70% of speech cannot be seen on the lips. Many words

cannot be differentiated, for example Homophones (words that sound the same but are

spelt differently and have different meanings) like

which/witch, break/brake etc. Homophenes (words that sound different but look

identical on a person's lips) like tug/tongue/tap,

mad/ban/mat, find/fight/vine etc.

Lip reading in the Summer Sunny days bring special challenges for lip readers. One

of these is sunglasses. Did you know that if you are

wearing sunglasses, this can make it very difficult for a

deaf person to lipread you? Eye contact is very important

when one is deaf. Wearing sunglasses means that your

eyes aren’t visible, thus cutting off a large part of your

facial expression. Mirrored sunglasses can even give the

wearer a hostile appearance and make any form of eye

contact impossible. The place you’re sitting or

standing in is also important. If you are indoors and sitting with your

back to a window, the light

will be behind you. This

means that your face will be

in shadow. Out of doors, if you are standing with your back to the

sun, then the deaf person

you’re trying to talk to will almost certainly find it difficult. Make sure the light is

on your face. Indicators to show you’re standing in the wrong place for

a deaf person to lip read you are: The person you’re talking to is squinting at your

face. They start shading their face with their hand. They may move to one side of you in an effort to

get more light on your face – if this happens, turn

to face them. Talking to a deaf person in the dark needs some thought

too. Make sure your face is visible. Jill explains: “I once

had an awkward situation when trying to communicate

with a hearing friend in a car park in the dark. My friend

was standing with her back to a street light, so I kept trying to move round her but she kept moving too, so her

back stayed to the light. In the end I went home and sent

her an email instead to explain what the problem had

been!”

What is British Sign Language?

Sign Language is a visual means of communicating

using gestures, facial expression, and body lan-

guage. Sign Language is used mainly by people who

are Deaf or have hearing impairments.

Within Britain the most common form of Sign Lan-

guage is called British Sign Language (BSL). BSL has

it’s own

grammatical structure and syntax, as a language it is

not

dependant nor is it strongly related to spoken Eng-

lish. BSL is the preferred language of between

50,000 – 70,000 people within the UK.

“Summer” using the finger spelling alphabet.

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Yamazing!

Top Tip!

You may have spotted the ‘Praise’ button on Yammer,

during Volunteers’ Week. Hearing Dogs staff were encouraged to use the praise button to thank volunteers’

on Yammer. This is a great way to send someone a little

thank you or recognise something someone may have

done for you. Feel free to use it anytime to show your

appreciation for your fellow volunteers!

We are thrilled to announce that we have reached 1,000 members on Yammer! Welcome to Andrew & Elaine Sykes who join the volunteering family as new

short-term puppy socialisers in Stockport and who have

the accolade of being our 1,000th members! A huge thank you also to the 999 others of you that have

been joining in the fun for longer. Yammer is constantly

evolving, but it certainly seems to have gone some way in facilitating some great networking across the country that has really added to the Hearing Dogs volunteer community. Please keep recommending Yammer to others and thank you to everyone that posts

pics, adds informative and cheery comments, likes and encourages others, thanks fellow volunteers and to all of those that just enjoy looking too.

Need an invite? Get in touch E volunteer@hearingdogs.org.uk

10001000 Members!Members!

“One of the nice things about Yammer is hearing about litter mates and following how things are going for other

socialisers etc. I haven't used it much up to now but I suspect I will in future.”

“Yammer is a great innovation ! As a stud dog holder it is a good way to follow the litters your dog sires & make connections with their socialisers around the country.”

Photo of Koko shared on Yammer

by Abi & Thomas Clark and reposted

on Facebook

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for volunteers!

Summer Holiday Special!

We’ve been enjoying your summer holiday snaps of your dogs enjoying the sun, sea and sand! Here are some of our favourites...

Goldie, new stud dog, enjoying the

sand dunes in Cornwall.

Dusky, Sam, Peppa, Eli, Casper &

Sweep take a break from puppy class

for a seaside snap!

Dog blog!

Recipient, Lynn Coles, from Belfast was recently

matched with her hearing dog, Edna. Lynn decided to

create a blog chronicling her time with Edna, from the

application process to matching and now stories of what

her and Edna get up to everyday! It’s a wonderful read, and even features a guest post

from Edna’s socialiser, Helen Moye. We recommend it to anyone who wants to find out more

about what having a hearing dog is like and what they

do for their recipients. www.ednathewonderdog.blogspot.co.uk

Mini loves that her training involves

going to the beach inTyne & Wear!

Who needs Baywatch? Mene has got it covered!

Ghillie has got his practical-

jacket on for his boating

adventure!

Have I got something on

my face? - Cooper

Mum & daughter, Maggie & Jessie are totally shattered

after a long day of playing on the beach!

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Focus on fundraising

Staff dress up

Can you rise to the challenge?

Why not dust off your aprons and reach for the recipe

books to raise some dough for the Charity’s life-changing

work?! Whether you are a star baker or rarely reach for the mixing bowl, a Barking Bake Off is a fantastic way to get

friends and family together for some light-hearted competition. Have any of you got a barbeque coming up this summer? Why not use the hints and tips in our Barking

Bake Off pack and challenge your guests—you then

won’t need to provide dessert! Or why not consider holding a Barking Bake Off at work - everyone loves

cake! The Barking Bake Off pack includes delicious recipes

inspired by hearing dogs - such as Goldie’s Golden Syrup Flapjacks - stylish invitations and even downloadable bunting! If you decide to hold a bake off please do take photos,

post on Yammer or send to your Community Fundraising

Manager. For recipes, bunting and more fantastic Barking Bake Off

ideas, please visit: www.hearingdogs.org.uk/bakeoff .

Hearing Dogs Cycle Sportive

Thanks to everyone who took part in our first ever Cycling Sportive on 5 July 2015 from The Grange. We

had a great time and we’re so grateful to everyone who

took part in the 50, 80 & 100 mile courses around the Chilterns.

Well done to volunteer and Milton

Keynes Branch chairman, Helen

Peters who completed the 50

mile route to celebrate a milestone birthday and raised a fantastic amount for Hearing

Dogs in the process! Special thanks also go out to

those volunteers who gave up

their time (and early mornings) to

help out in other ways such as

marshalling and manning the ‘feed stations’: Isabelle Baldwin, Simon & Ute Porter, Tony Lewry, Hilary Symington, Di Beckett, Amanda Middleton and Marion

Crane.

Changes in the fundraising team

We’ve had some new starters and new roles in the past

few months in the Fundraising Office. Some new faces

you might see are: Steve Heyes – Individual Giving and Digital Fundraising Manager Steve looks after the individual giving and digital teams

at Hearing Dogs. He recently moved into this new role

after working as our digital manager in Communications.

He oversees puppy sponsorship, our raffle and appeals

that share the life-changing stories of some of our partnerships. Brendan Cooper – Individual Giving Fundraising

Executive Brendan joined Hearing Dogs for Deaf People in June

this year. He looks after the puppy sponsorship updates. Brendan gets to meet up with the sponsored

puppies and find out what they have been up to since

last time. Lucky him…! Andrea Glasgow – Corporate Relationship Manager Andrea joined the charity in May this year. As well as

looking after existing corporate relationships, Andrea is

focusing on developing new relationships to move the

charity forward.

Fudge’s Fudge Cake

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Sainsbury’s Local Charity of the Year Over the past 6 years, each Sainsbury’s store around

the country has selected a local Charity of the Year to

partner with. Customers and staff of the store work together to support their chosen charities by running

fundraising activities and events to support a local

cause at the heart of the community. Over £7 million

has been raised for local charity partners. With over 130,000 nominations received, Hearing Dogs

were short listed for several stores which were then

opened to a public vote. We are proud to say that we have been selected as Local Charity of the Year for

the Pocklington, Yorkshire store and Harlow, Essex.

Thank you to everyone who took the time to vote in

store and online and especially thanks to Jim & Pam

Laird who took over running the launch event while I

was unexpectedly unavailable. The Pocklington store is

very close to our Beatrice Wright Centre and this is the

second time we have been chosen by them, last time

they raised over £5,000 in support of hearing dog puppy Mac. - Lucy Ward, CFM for North East England

Hearing Dogs were Local Charity of the Year for Sainsbury’s Haxby 2013/14. Volunteer June Scatchard

with puppy Joanie and recipient Rob Mills with his hearing dog Spirit collected a cheque for £2,746.

It’s a family affair Helen & Tony Harris (volunteering manager Victoria’s

auntie and uncle) opened their beautiful gardens in North

Yorkshire to the public in early July. They raised £365 for

Hearing Dogs in the process –

blooming marvellous!

The sky’s not the limit for South Hants Branch! 17 brave people decided to take on the sky dive challenge in Salisbury to raise funds for Hearing Dogs.

Thanks go to the South Hampshire Branch who co-ordinated the event seamlessly and raised an additional £160 on the day.

Thanks to Mark Pegg for wearing the Bruce mascot

suit and to Tony Lewry for photographing the event. Fancy a challenge? You can sign up here for 2016!

Harlow Store We have an active fundraising group in Harlow and volunteer, Judith Pieris has been integral in helping with

the nomination of Hearing Dogs for Local Charity of the

Year at the Sainsbury’s Harlow store. I have every confidence that we will maximise the potential from this

brilliant opportunity. Thank you to Judith for all of her

help in this and for creating the wonderful Hearing Dogs

display board at the store! - Rachel Clarke, CFM for East Anglia

Hearing Dog Reggie considers a dip in the pond.

Brave jumpers; Charlotte

Gumey, Charlotte New,

Garry Baldock and Julie

Humphries with hearing

dog Erin and mascot

Bruce.

The Waitrose skydive

team with Kim Harbut

and mascot!

Volunteers Judith Smithies and Jenny Greaves with

pups, Lucy and Kester celebrate at the

Pocklington store!

Haxby Store

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Fife Branch

Lyndsay Campbell, Community Fundraising Manager

for Scotland would like to say a big thank you to the Fife

Branch for all of their fantastic work for Hearing Dogs

over the years. They have made an incredible contribution to Hearing Dogs in Scotland and are very

well known in their region. Huge thanks in particular to Sandra Donaldson whose

whole family, including her grandchildren always get

involved, and also to volunteer and recipient Ken Scott

with hearing dog Spike.

Ken and Spike have been featured several times in the

local press including being named amongst the Top 40

Fifers who made a difference in 2014 and, along with

Sandra, have been nominated for a Volunteer of the

Year award by Kingdom FM (the local radio station in

Fife). Spike himself has additionally been shortlisted for

Hero Animal of the Year at STV’s (Scottish Television)

Hero Awards.

Stamp of success!

The total raised in 2015 so far through stamp collecting

is just over £7,000. We are overwhelmed by the support

and enthusiasm volunteers have shown towards the new

system. Don’t forget to tell your friends and family about

how easy it now is to collect stamps for Hearing Dogs. Foreign Coin Collection Don’t let your purse get weighed down with your leftover

holiday coins; donate them instead! We now have a neat little box available for collecting

coins. You can request for the boxes to be sent out and

then collected from you (they can hold up to 7kg). Alternatively we have a box in Reception at The Grange

where you can pop any extra coins in if you’re passing

by. For a kit, contact T 01413 289 357 E hearingdogs@xchange-master.co.uk

Update from the North West and

Northern Ireland The first ever community day in Northern Ireland was

held in June. Our community days are led by our Partnership Instructors for recipients to have the opportunity to link up with other local partnerships. Volunteers from the North West Ireland and the Ulster branches were invited to promote fundraising activities

in the area. It was a great day and we look forward to

further building up our awareness in Northern Ireland.

Changes in Cheshire Terry Webb is moving on from his role as Cheshire

Branch chairman. The Cheshire Branch raise around

£20,000 each year and the annual Arley Walk that they

organise has raised over £30,000 since it began 9 years

ago. The recent opening of the new puppy socialising

satellite area in Cheshire has been a real boost to the

area. Terry has been instrumental in the success of the

branch and we will be very sorry to see him leave this

position, however he will remain a branch member and

speaker on behalf of Hearing Dogs. I would like to say a

big thank you to Terry for everything he has done during

his time as chairman.

The Bolton Branch (pictured above) held their annual

fun dog show on May bank holiday, raising over £1,500!

It was a supremely successful event and people came

out in force to support the branch, despite the rain! Rachel Hassey, Community Fundraising Manager, E rachel.hassey@hearingdogs.org.uk

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Speakers’ Corner

So far in 2015… 150 recorded talks have been given

4,500 people were in the audience

£10,000 has been raised

These are fantastic figures so thank you to all of our

Volunteer Speakers for all your great work.

Updates We are currently rolling out updates to our talks. All registered speakers should have been informed about

this at the end of July. If you haven’t received any information please get in touch.

Talk Forms Talk forms are invaluable to us as they are the only way

we are able to record the above statistics. The Talk

Form has recently been updated and you can find it on

the speaker resources page online or from your Community Fundraising Manager. If you are doing a talk, please remember to complete

and return a form to your Community Fundraising Manager or Jessica Grant at The Grange. E jessica.grant@hearingdogs.org.uk T 01844 348135

Speaker honoured as Freeman of the City A massive well done to volunteer

speaker and Chairman of the Berkshire Branch, Sally Botwright,

who has been admitted as a Freeman

of the City of London passed by the

Court of Common Council. The Freedom of the City is an honour,

dating back to the middle ages, bestowed by a municipality upon a valued member of the community,

or upon a visiting celebrity or dignitary. There are a number of unusual rights traditionally associated with freemen—the right to drive sheep and cattle over London Bridge; to a silken rope, if hanged; to

carry a naked sword in public; or that if the City of London Police finds a freeman drunk, they will bundle

him or her into a taxi and send them home rather than

incarcerate them! Today, most of the traditional benefits for obtaining the

Freedom of the City have become irrelevant. It nevertheless remains a unique part of London’s history to which people who have lived or worked in the

City are proud to be admitted. Sally says of this prestigious award: “If you need any

sheep walked across London Bridge - I'm your girl!”

Hints and Tips for Speakers, from Speakers

If doing a talk to kids take along props! If you can get

hold of a hearing dog coat to take along, even better as

kids like to touch and feel. Also stickers and children’s

packs are available from your CFM or Jess Grant. - Vickie Tapp

Take along a puppy or hearing dog if you can—

remember to check with the puppy’s trainer or hearing

dog’s Partnership Instructor before you do so. Finishing your talk on the ‘Moves like Jagger’ video always goes down really well! - Janet and Bryan Hollingsworth ‘Moves like Jagger’ can be found on YouTube.

Many of our Thursday Tour visitors to The Grange and

Beatrice Wright Centre, mention that they heard about

the tour through one of our Speakers. Recently a Thursday Tour group at The Grange had

been looking forward to visiting us since having a talk

from speaker (and newly appointed Freeman of the City!)

Sally Botwright 3 years ago! Both our sites are open to the

public on Thursday afternoons

for pre-booked guided tours

from February to December.

You can find out more on our

website. Did you know...as a volunteer

you are entitled to one free tour

at The Grange or Beatrice

Wright Centre.

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Thank you! ...on behalf of the whole Hearing Dogs community, we’d like to say

a huge thank you to everyone who helped out, attended and raised

money during our first series of Great British Dog Walks. We had a

fantastic turn out to each walk including; volunteers, hearing dogs

in training, recipients with their hearing dogs, public and their pets, celebrities. We’ve raised an amazing

£30,000 – all of which will be going directly into training more hearing dogs so we can create more life-changing partnerships! Here are some of our favourite photos...

Walkers brave the wind at

Formby Beach, Liverpool

Puppy socialisers, Jilly Hay and Pam Kermode

with sisters Anya and Aida outside Hughenden

Manor.

Our walk in the beautiful grounds of Ickworth

Park in Suffolk, was one of our most successful

with over 350 walkers in attendance!

A fantastic turn out at gorgeous locations;

Rhossili, South Wales & Ashridge Estate in

Hertfordshire.

Recipient, Richard Carr (with Michele Jennings)

and hearing dog Cameron, impressively

walked all 10 walks!

15

Updates from around the charity Volunteer Recruitment Event at the

Beatrice Wright Centre Hearing Dogs is looking for more volunteers to care for

dogs during the day and overnight whilst they go through

their sound work training at our northern training centre

in Bielby, East Yorkshire. In July, our fantastic team of dog trainers and local volunteers came together to open the doors of the Beatrice Wright Centre to the public. People were invited

to meet the team, have a tour of the site, watch a hearing dog demonstration and speak to other volunteers about ways they could get involved. We had a great turn out with lots of new enquiries generated. Hayley Simpson, Dog Trainer, would like to

say a special thanks to those volunteers who gave up

their Saturday to help out; Jenny Greaves, Phil & Jean

Todd (who gave a talk about volunteering), Margaret

Griffiths, Carole & Issy Hendry, Keith & June Dibble,

Jayne McGlinchey, Kathy & Greg Sharp, Edward Watson, Vicky Blake, Emma Hartley (who gave a talk

about the impact of volunteering), Jonathan

Postlethwaite, Ruth Sheppard, Bev Kendra, Julie Axup,

Ian Snape, Liz & Richard Greatorex and Judith Smithies. The event was a real team effort and we are immensely

grateful to everyone who got involved. This was definitely an example of Hearing Dogs at its best!

Oyez! We were so lucky to get the Pocklington Town

Crier involved in advertising

our recruitment event! Some of

the staff and dogs from BWC

went along to support; Sam

Bennett with Peppa, Vicky

Croser with Dusky and Helen

Dews with Sweep.

Jean & Phil Todd

help Lizzie & Hayley welcome guests

at the registration point. The Todds helped enormously

with the whole event.

Judith Smithies gave an excellent presentation

about Hearing Dogs.

Carole Hendry & Keith Dibble smile

for the camera!

Margaret Griffiths in our sandy

compound with retired hearing dog Rhea.

Ding, dong...it’s Sooty!

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Breeding Here is our latest round up of new pups this Summer— we look forward to seeing how they get on!

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K Litter 10 pups, born in April Mum: Kacie Dad: Darwen Breed: Labrador Names: Kacey Jr, Kosma, Kiwi, Kenya, Kit, Kester, Karmen, Kennedy, Nelson & Cyril. Another bumper sized litter of Labs from Kacie & Darwen! This litter were great fun, with Kiwi being nicknamed, Dora The Explorer, as she was always the first to try something new out, or go off to see what was around the corner, before all the others. The boys all particularly loved cuddles and fosterer Claire Jones has a feeling they may always think they are lap dogs even when they weigh 30+kgs! All ten have now ventured into socialising and we are hearing good things about them already. Good luck to them all!

L Litter 5 pups, born in May Mum: Cora Dad: Dale Breed: Show X Working Cocker Spaniel Names: Lexi, Ludo, Leo, Luca & Logan This is the third consecutive L litter for Cora! Fosterer Irene Rich did a sterling job of coming up with yet more L names and we duly welcomed only girl Lexi and her brothers into the hearing dogs family! Cora proved to be an excellent mum with this is being her final litter for the Charity. All the pups are now out with their socialisers while Cora starts her well-deserved retirement with Irene and her family– although Irene herself is getting no such rest. She has just welcomed Evie into the family, a new Hearing Dogs brood bitch to live alongside Cora and their other family dog, Sam.

M Litter 6 pups, born in June Mum: Lola Dad: Dale Breed: Show Cocker Spaniel Names: Max, Marcus, Molly, Milligan, Megan & Amber Lola produced her second litter, the Ms, on 10 June. With Dale as dad (his 2nd summer litter) it means they are full show type Cockers. Six adorable blue roan pups arrived in quick succession, with their very distinctive markings making them look like a herd of tiny Friesian cows! There are three boys and three girls so Lola really couldn’t have done it any better. All the pups are enjoying plenty of time out playing in fosterer Carolyn Howell’s large garden, to which they have returned after spending a couple of weeks with Annette Pollock. Annette is one of our very dedicated home whelpers, who had them to stay while Carolyn was on holiday, and to whom we are extremely grateful.

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N Litter 7 pups born in June Mum: Martha Dad: Rosco (Guide Dog stud) Names: Ned, Nala, Noah, Nora, Norton, Nelly & Nimble Martha produced her second litter of pups in the small hours of the morning—5 little black labs and 2 yellows. Martha’s fosterer, Anne Weatherill was pleased to have a litter of pups in the summer this year, with plenty of time in the garden, after having a winter litter previously where they were running around indoors! The pups loved the grass under their feet and had a great idea of toilet training with this wonderful outdoor start. Dad to this litter was Guide Dog stud Rosco (Yellow Labrador), brother to Ralph, who has sired litters to us in the past and who will hopefully be dad to two more litters shortly.

O Litter 3 pups born in July Mum: Polly Dad: Sena Breed: Miniature Poodle Names: Olaf, Oakley & Olney Polly’s O litter were born on the 4

July – not only

Independence Day but the weekend of the Grand Prix at Silverstone, where Alison Duffield, Polly’s Fosterer, lives only a few miles from. Alison, ably assisted by puppy socialiser Carole Muddiman, dealt faultlessly with the quick arrivals of Olaf, Oakley and Olney, and Polly is once again being a very good mum. The three boys are becoming more active by the day. Dad is Sena so adding yet more lovely Poodle puppies to his already long list of child maintenance charges!

P Litter 4 pups born in July Mum: Tandy Dad: Sena Breed: Miniature Poodle Names: Peach, Pete, Peppa & Penny Tandy gave birth to her ’sweet P’s’ at the end of July. This is her 2nd litter— her last were featured on the front cover of last year’s Summer Volunteer News. The Sweet P’s are 3 gorgeous little girls and 1 boy (Pete the Poodle!). Tandy’s fosterer, Gillian Bannister was on holiday at the time so experienced brood bitch holder, Donna Brown, helped whelp the pups in her own home. Her own brood bitch, Nellie, is now retired and had her last litter for us earlier in the year. The puppies are now back with Gillian and doing really well. We look forward to seeing how they and all of our little pups get on!

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Did you know… not all of our puppies come

through our Kennel Club Assured Breeding

Scheme. The remaining numbers of puppies are

carefully selected from known breeders by our Puppy Supply team. It’s been a busy few months for external puppy supply. Since April we have assessed and successfully adopted 20 puppies. These have mainly been Show Cocker Spaniels with a few

Working Cockers and three Miniature Poodles. We have had an array of colours, keep a look out

for Mini & Cooper who are two brown & tan brothers, they will grow up to be very handsome.

Recently we have been working with both new and

previous breeders. Little Show Cocker Ed (named

after a certain well-known singer) was adopted from

a breeder whom we have used in the past with all of

her dogs going on to do wonderfully. Working Cocker Finn came from an entirely new breeder that

we haven’t worked with before, so it will be interest-

ing to see how he does over the coming months. We have had a few pairs of siblings come in as well

as single pups, to name a few Mickey & Della, Abney & Teal, George & Peppa, Woody & Bella and

Dolly & Stanley. Can you guess our current naming

theme? Ne

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Some of our new arrivals; Ed,

George & Peppa, Cooper, Teal &

Finn.

On site at the Beatrice Wright Centre

and The Grange Everyone knows about our standard volunteering roles;

puppy socialising, fostering, fundraising and speaking to

name a few. As well as these, we also have a small

number of volunteers who come into both of our sites in

Bielby and Saunderton to carry out roles that people

don’t always know volunteers do. These include: gardeners, maintenance and housekeeping and most

recently car valeting. Tom Miller is already a puppy socialiser, but he has also taken on the role of looking after our recipient gardens. He cuts the grass weekly and tends to the borders. He also has put

window boxes up outside

the training centre and

puppy hall, which look gorgeous. Recently he took

the time to completely

transform a rather unsightly

corner of the site. Thanks Tom!

The Grange was looking lovely in bloom earlier in

the year with tulips in specifically selected Hearing

Dogs colour. Fudge was impressed too!

One of our more unique voluntary roles is as a volunteer

valeter. Our vehicles are used for transporting recipients, volunteers, staff, supporters, trustees and, of

course, our dogs! We have a number of vehicles that

carry the Hearing Dogs logo and it’s important that their upkeep and appearance matches the professionalism

and care of the work the charity does to help deaf people. We are lucky enough to

have fantastic valeting

volunteers; Jozsef at

The Grange and welcoming new volunteer, Stephen

Brown at BWC in Bielby.

Thank you to you both,

this work is invaluable.

19

Puppy socialising

Welcome to Michelle Taylor and the new

Cheshire Puppy Socialising area!

It has been a very exciting few months in Cheshire &

South Manchester as the puppy socialising area was

officially launched at the Cheshire Fundraising Branch’s

Annual Dog Walk held at Arley Hall. New Puppy Training Instructor, Michelle Taylor, is now

up and running, and we would like to welcome our new

Puppy Socialisers and the 5 puppies placed so far—

Abney & Peppa, both Show Cockers, Mia the Poodle

and Labradors (and brothers) Kennedy & Cyril. All the

pups are settling in well with their new socialisers. As

the first hearing dog puppy in Cheshire, Abney has already been featured in numerous news articles, been

on BBC Radio Manchester and filmed for ITV News – all

of which she took in her usual laid-back style! All three

are now working towards their one star puppy awards, demonstrating some great obedience work.

“I would like to say a big thank you to all of the socialisers we have on board so far. Everyone has taken to the role with real enthusiasm for both training

and socialisation; pups have been to garden centres, on

public transport, visited local shops and even visited a

local fire station! Special thanks to Lesley & Mark

Thornton and Liz Nield-Siddall who have been involved

in various interviews and photo-shoots. Our first puppy socialising class was held at the end of

July and was great fun!” - Michelle Taylor

Puppy Socialisers Ken & Margaret Ness

signing up at the Arley Walk! The Ness’

now have puppy Kennedy.

Kelly Maguire—Buckinghamshire

I’d like to take this opportunity to welcome all my new

socialisers who have joined me over the last year.

Thank you also to my existing socialisers who have

kindly taken all my ‘newbies’ under their wing and for

making them feel so welcome. I would like to say a couple of extra thank yous to some

of my puppy socialisers: Dionne & Stuart Nelder, along

with their daughter, Jordon have been amazing at train-

ing the first VDT (volunteer

dog trainer) dog in my area.

The Nelder family have been fantastic with Nina, she wouldn’t be the dog she is

without them. The Higgins family are working with their first hearing

dog puppy Brian and have

been doing a brilliant job despite some bumps in the

road. Keep going, you truly are amazing. Rob & Julie Every and family have helped out a lot with

holiday cover for me and continued any training needed.

Julie has been brilliant at keeping me informed and

working on particular training requirements. The whole

family has been involved, with the children assisting as

well. To Wendy Baldwin, Cathy Miles and Graeme & Vicky

Clarke, I’d be completely lost without you and your continued support working with Josh. Thank you. I always feel so proud of all of my socialisers as I know

how you all go above and beyond to raise these hearing

dog puppies. You take pride in what you do and make

the time to follow any request I may have asked of you,

no matter how bizarre it may first sound!

Nina

Vicky, with socialiser, Bridget Wythe, teaches some

children about what hearing dogs do...that didn’t

include telling them about swimming in dirty rivers!

Vicky then buddied up with Willis to practise riding

on the train.

20

Bryony White—6 months on in Edinburgh The Edinburgh socialising group is going from strength

to strength and our numbers are growing steadily. All of

the volunteers are settling into their new lives with a wee Hearing Dog to look after and all of the chaos and fun

that brings! Our pups are now often seen out and about

in the city, making friends and helping to spread the Hearing Dogs word up here.

In the last few months we have had a few outings and

events that the pups and socialisers have thoroughly

enjoyed. On election day in May the pups voted with

their feet and so we had our first ever group walk at Portobello Beach. It was a fine, sunny day, although the

wind of the North Sea was a bit brisk! All the pups had a

whale of a time discovering the new scents and sounds,

although the big ‘pond’ at the bottom of the beach was a

bit scary for a couple of them! Their socialisers were

amazed to discover that, yes, their pup WOULD recall

from all the other dogs, although we maybe need to do a

bit of work on leaving dead seagulls alone! In June we were treated to a Gundog Workshop with

Ailsa Ramage. Luckily we had another sunny day as we

were doing the workshop in one of Edinburgh’s many

lovely parks. The pups had a blast doing all the exercises, although young Echo thought it was much

more fun having cuddles rather than retrieving his toy!

Our volunteers also really enjoyed the workshop and

came away with lots of enthusiasm and plenty of ideas

and tips for games to play with their pups.

Evita in her first

week ...concentrating!

We finished June with an end-of-term trip to Craigies

Farm. We had a great walk through the woods on Craigie Hill, then met some of the farmyard animals and

finished off with a delicious lunch in the café. The pups

behaved brilliantly throughout and enjoyed doing some

‘leave it’ practice with some chickens (who were safely inside an enclosure) and meeting the Shetland ponies. It was a great way to round up our first 6 months of classes and see how the pups (and volunteers!) have

grown and developed in this

time. I would like to take this opportunity to thank all of our

Edinburgh volunteers for their

hard work, enthusiasm and

dedication to their role. Both

full and short termers are doing a brilliant job of looking

after the pups and make my

job that much easier. Here’s to the next 6 months!

Dizzy hard at work snoozing!

Training at the Beatrice Wright Centre

When our puppies come into training, some go to our

training centre in Bielby, East Yorkshire. Here they get

to experience one of our fun dog compounds during

their ‘down time’ between training sessions...

Harvey loves playing catch and

Cookie enjoys some agility!

Ivan loves digging in the

giant sand pit!

‘There aint no party like

a Spaniel party!’ with

Arthur, Levi, Sweep and

Marty.

21

Looking after your dogs over Summer from

the Welfare Team Wasps, prolonged exposure to the sun and the dreaded

grass seed can all cause your dog problems over the

summer months. Here are a few things to think about

and to help keep your dog safe this summer.

Hot Weather It’s never okay to leave a dog in a hot car, not

even with the window ajar. When it is 22ºC outside the temperature inside a car can reach

47ºC within an hour, even in the shade. Dogs are

unable to cope with the sudden increase in heat

and they will start to pant to try to cool down. Consequently becoming dehydrated and risking

heatstroke. Sadly we see it happen every year.

If you see a distressed dog trapped in a car, call

the police immediately. Always have plenty of drinking water available; a

non-spill bowl is very useful for car journeys.

Freeze a bottle of water to keep in your car for

longer journeys or as an aid to cool down a hot

dog. Exercise your dog out of the heat—either in the

morning or the evening. Avoid going for walks

between 11am-3pm as this is the hottest time of

the day. If you have training sessions during the

day, keep them short and allow your dog lots of

rest periods. Try to stay in the shade as much as

possible. If temperatures reach 20ºC-30ºC bring

your dog inside as they may get overheated. Hot pavements—metal or tar covered asphalt can

become extremely hot for a dogs soft paw pads,

especially for puppies. Try to walk your dog on

grass or in shaded areas. Avoid metal drains and

avoid standing still for too long on pavements.

Heatstroke Some dogs are more prone to heatstroke than others. If

you notice; heavy panting, rapid breathing, excessive

drooling, bright red gums and tongue, weakness in balance, vomiting or diarrhoea your dog may be suffering from heatstroke. Don’t panic, move your dog

to a cool, shaded area and contact your vet as soon as

possible. Heatstroke is not just a summer problem it can

happen anytime. Grass seeds & awns Dog (especially Spaniel) owners will be aware of arrow-shaped grass seeds;

small and sharp they attach

themselves to your dog’s

coat – usually between toes

where they can burrow up through skin, or become

trapped in eyelids or ear canals giving rise to head-shaking and discomfort. When returning from walks inspect your dog’s coat thoroughly and pull out any seeds. Make sure to check regularly for ticks and fleas which

can irritate your dog and spread disease. Stinging insects and other bites Bees and wasps are also hazards especially to inquisitive puppies exploring new gardens, sometimes disturbing stinging insects and then eating them! Similarly, dogs rummaging around in undergrowth when

off-lead are at risk from adder bites, affected areas

quickly becoming swollen and painful. Contact your vet

immediately if you suspect your dog has been bitten.

If you have any of the above issues with your hearing

dog or puppy then please remember to let your Trainer,

Partnership Instructor or a Welfare Officer know.

22

Spread the word We are always looking for new people to join our volunteer family, and as always all our roles are

listed on our website. E volunteer@hearingdogs.org.uk T 01844 348100 W www.hearingdogs.org.uk/volunteer

Cards for Good Causes— help required!

Cards for Good causes is the UK’s largest multi-charity Christmas card organisation, who sell on

behalf of more than 300 national and local charities. With

a network of around 300 temporary shops set up in

churches, libraries, community centres and museums,

the organisation is entirely staffed by volunteers from the

participating charities ...which is where YOU come in! Christmas will be here before we know it and in the few

years that Hearing Dogs have been taking part in Cards

for Good Causes, we have raised over £50,000! We

wouldn’t have been able to raise this incredible amount

without the tremendous support of our volunteers who

help us man the pop-up shops. This year we have some new locations, as well as old,

that we are looking for Hearing Dogs volunteers to man.

If you live near any of the listed locations (below) and

can spare an odd morning or afternoon please get in

touch. The shops will be open for 6-8 weeks from October and we really need your support. If you are interested please contact: Dawn Woodhall T 01844 348117 E dawn.woodhall@hearingdogs.org.uk

Locations of pop-up shops:

Give a dog some tender loving care

Our volunteer fosterers look after any dogs who are ‘out

of the system’ for any reason, for example, having a

break from training or working as a hearing dog. Sometimes, a recipient may fall ill, be taken into hospital

or be away for an extended period of time. In this situation, their beloved hearing dog would be brought

into one of our two training centres, and then cared for

by a temporary volunteer fosterer. If a dog has experienced a medical issue, we sometimes look for

local homes for them to stay in whilst they fully recover. We also have some dogs that require a break from training and need a quiet, full-time home to stay in until

they are ready to move on to the next stage of their

training or life.

We’re looking for fosterers both in Buckinghamshire and

Yorkshire. Volunteers should live locally to the centre,

have a fairly quiet lifestyle, ideally with no very young

children or other pets, and be able to take on a dog from

anywhere between one and eight weeks. If you, or any friends or family, are able to give some of

our dogs the TLC they need on a short-term basis,

please get in touch.

Abingdon Marlow

Amersham Norwich

Beaconsfield Reading

Burgess Hill Saffron Walden

Bury St Edmunds Sheffield

Chesham Sudbury

Colchester Sunninghill

Esher Sutton

Harpenden Wallingford

Ipswich West Byfleet

Leominster York

Lewes

Office roles at The Grange

Fancy getting involved with something new? We’ve a

couple of office-based, volunteer roles at The Grange

that might suit someone with relevant experience. Firstly,

we’re looking for someone skilled

and knowledgeable in writing risk

assessments and secondly,

someone who has accountancy/

bookkeeping experience. A regular commitment of a few mutually agreed hours each

week would be ideal. Please get in touch if either of

those ideas float your boat!