News Update - 20 June 2010
# Our new Patron - The Hon John Howard AC
# New sponsorship and partnership with ACE
# Mentor’s perspective of the Sydney 2010 Program
# One of our mentees gives wonderful feedback
# Welcome to the world, baby Andersen!
Our new Patron - The Hon John Howard AC
We recently met with Australia’s former Prime Minister, The Hon John Howard AC, and we are now delighted to announce that he has accepted the title of “Patron” to our organisation. Mr. Howard has also agreed to attend two Hear For You events / workshops each year sharing his experiences growing up with a hearing loss since the age of nine.
He says: “I warmly endorse Hear For You as an innovative service for young people with severe hearing difficulties. Its aim is to encourage those with such difficulties to overcome them and realise their goals and dreams. I have met the group's leaders. They are highly committed and energetic people dedicated to assist others to surmount their hearing problems."
New sponsorship and partnership with ACE
A special thank you to Australian Communication Exchange (ACE) which has given us much needed sponsorship to keep the Hear For You program going. We look forward to working along with ACE and are very excited to have built up a relationship with them.
Mentor’s perspective of the Sydney 2010 Program
Kate Locke, mentor to the Years 11 and 12 group, says:
"We had our last workshop for the 2010 Sydney program on Sunday 6 June, and it was a fantastic day that really topped off a great start to the year. It was fun to catch up again after a break of a couple of weeks, and the mentors and mentees had been keeping in touch by email. The Year 11 and 12 theme was Relationships & Wellbeing, and we had two guest speakers with normal hearing - my husband Ben, and Olivia's sister, Sophie. They chatted to us for an hour about a hearing person's positive perspective of deaf people.
We also discussed how to manage a hearing loss in social situations, at school, home and out with friends, and how to maintain your health when dealing with the stress of listening and lip-reading. It was enlightening to hear everyone's tips and tricks, and methods they use to 'stay in the loop'. We could have talked for hours more, but soon it was time for the drama rehearsals, and the Parents Session.
The Parents Session was really interesting - Olivia's husband talked to the parents about what it's like being married to a deaf person (had us in gales of laughter), and my mum spoke about the perspective of a parent of a deaf child - which had even me a bit wide-eyed. It's easy to forget how hard it can be on parents when they worry about their kids being independent and socially included.
The day ended with a short drama production put on by the kids, led by the drama coach Rebecca - it had everyone laughing their heads off, and was a nice way to finish off the day. We all went home tired and happy - and looking forward to the next series of workshops."
One of our mentees gives wonderful feedback
Not long after the last workshop on 6 June, David Brady and Kate Locke received a heart-felt email from one of their mentees, Declan, who is currently in Year 11. He wrote:
Hi guys
I just wanted see how you guys were going!
You know Sara, Miko and Christabel from our mentoring group yeah?
Well, we’ve all become really really good friends and we’re going to see a captioned movie during the July holidays.
So I just wanted to say thank you sooo much, because without you guys, I probably wouldn’t have made friends with them! You both deserve the best mentor award!
I’ll catch you later!
Looking forward to “seeing” from you – (it’s better than hearing coz we can’t hear e-mails!!!)
All the best,
Declan
Welcome to the world, baby Andersen!
And finally Olivia and Thomas Andersen were delighted to welcome Camilla Ida Rose Andersen into the world on 9 April 2010. A girl! Despite everyone telling Olivia that, from her shape of baby bump, it was definitely going to be a boy. Little Milla has her father’s blue eyes and Olivia’s dark hair (at least temporarily!)
