Hearing Dogs for Deaf People
In this role you will be supporting the charity by helping with regular fundraising and awareness events or activities which have been co-ordinated by the local Community Fundraising Manager (CFM), branch or volunteer. Our supporters can work as individuals or in fundraising groups.
Individual Fundraising Volunteers sell raffle tickets; sell Christmas cards and merchandise through our catalogue; publicise puppy sponsorship; run fundraising events e.g. coffee mornings; place publicity material in suitable locations. Information and resources are available to assist.
Collection Box Coordinators place collecting tins in shops and businesses in a small area and every few months bank the money collected (training and equipment provided).
Branch / Group Members work together in a team to raise funds. There is scope for all levels of involvement, from arranging events and co-ordinating activities (such as a stand at a local show), through making or collecting items for a raffle, to buying the biscuits for a planning meeting.
Sponsored Event Organisers arrange walks or other sponsored events within their local area, either alone or with support from local volunteers or friends.
Local Grants & Trusts Researchers look into local and regional sources of grant, trust and charitable funding to assist our work.
Administration Supporters assist the local CFM with general administration, letter writing and record keeping.
Registered Speakers give their time to visit all sorts of groups (such as WI’s, schools, youth groups, churches - whoever you are comfortable speaking to) to tell them about our work.
Hearing Dogs For Deaf People train clever dogs to alert deaf people to important and life-saving sounds they would otherwise miss - such as the smoke alarm, alarm clock and even a baby's cry. Being aware of these - thanks to a hearing dog - makes a real difference to deaf people’s lives, and can even save them.
Our clever canines do so much more than alert their partner to sounds. Deafness can be a very isolating disability. A hearing dog provides lots of love, companionship and emotional support. This is really important as many of the deaf people who come to us for help have felt very lonely and isolated. Our amazing dogs help deaf children and adults to leave this loneliness behind and reconnect with life. Hearing dogs have saved countless lives in their important role; fire alarms sounding at the dead of night, alerting them to the shouts of a loved one who is in peril, even saving their deaf partners from potential car thieves!
Dogs are known for their loyalty and love - and we see these valuable traits in a hearing dog every day.
We have matched thousands of our adorable dogs with deaf people since our humble beginnings in 1982. At the moment, we have over 1,100 working hearing dog partnerships across the UK. We are also helping thousands more through our other personalized services, such as our Helpdesk and support groups. The cost to train and support each hearing dog throughout their lifetime is £40,000 - we rely heavily on our amazing supporters to help us change lives.
Depending on how you get involved, tasks could include:
The possibilities are only limited by your time, energy and imagination!
We are indebted to our volunteers who assist in attaining and furthering our objectives. Every single volunteer contribution is equally as valid in making Hearing Dogs such a worthwhile charity.
By volunteering with us, you are, either directly or indirectly, playing a vital part in training highly skilled hearing dogs and providing personalised services because nobody with hearing loss should feel alone.
As well as helping others, volunteering has been shown to improve wellbeing too. It’s human nature to feel good after helping someone out. Volunteering can also help you gain valuable new skills and experiences and boost your confidence.
We endeavour to champion and thank all our volunteers. We hold events and offer various opportunities to meet up with other volunteers, partnerships and dogs, either in person or online. From our most recent survey we know that 99% of responders enjoy being a member of the volunteer family and 99% would recommend it to others. When asked to give a TripAdvisor style rating to their volunteer experience, we received an impressive overall 4½ star review. We hope all volunteers feel their time is well spent in supporting Hearing Dogs.
What are we looking for?
We would have an informal discussion first to establish how you can support, if appropriate our volunteering team will ask you to complete a registration form. We may ask that you come along to a fundraiser event to see how you get on.
This is a flexible role available on various days/times.
If you have spare time during the week and at weekends that’s great. If you are retired or work part time or you are willing to dedicate weekends to fundraise for, it can be flexible. Our events and collections vary but we often aim to do a few per month if we can and would welcome any support in the sourcing and coordinating of collections.
West Berkshire
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