Students from the Holme Lacy Campus Raise £300 for Hearing Dogs Charity
Herefordshire College of Technology students, who have recently completed the C&G Level 1 Diploma in Practical Horticultural Skills, at the Holme Lacy campus, have successfully raised £300 for the charity Hearing Dogs for the Deaf. One member of their class, Andrew Ellard, is totally deaf and relies on sign language and lip reading. William Stavert (pictured) is also deaf and through Worcester City Council frequently visits the College to support Andrew with his learning. To help the other students to understand some of the difficulties Andrew and others face, William taught the group about signing and some signs to use in the event of an emergency, he also explained about hearing dogs and the fantastic role they play in assisting deaf people. Students have enjoyed working with William and his hearing dog, Mambo.
The students decided as a group that Hearing Dogs for the Deaf was a charity close to their hearts and set about organising a range of fundraising activities that took place over 6 weeks. One of the contributors was their entry at the Three Counties Spring Show where they designed a garden. This included a pond and the public generously threw money in to assist with the fundraising. Other activities included car washing sessions, cake sales, dressing up for a day and many more.
Students would like to take this opportunity to thank members of the public that helped with their fundraising.
Natasha West, one of the students involved (pictured left), commented “Learning sign language was great! It was also fascinating to learn how the dogs were trained to react to phones ringing and even how they help a deaf person in an emergency situation, such as a fire. Our thanks must go to William and his hearing dog Mambo, and we thank them both for all the time they spent training us. Next year we hope to be at the Three Counties show again, to raise more money!
