Deaf charity delighted after a successful event at Trafford Centre

A volunteer dog trainer for Hearing Dogs for Deaf People has spoken of his pride in helping to transform deaf people’s lives, following a successful awareness event held at the Trafford Centre last Thursday (8 May).

Ken Ness was among a group of volunteer dog trainers and deaf partners who took part in the event, parading across the Centre with their puppies in training and fully qualified hearing dogs. The event aimed to raise awareness of the charity’s urgent need for new volunteer dog trainers in the Manchester and Greater Manchester region.

“We’ve had the privilege of training seven black Labradors and one yellow Labrador since joining the charity in 2015,” said Ken, who volunteers with his wife Margaret. “It’s given us a shared purpose in retirement and brought dogs back into our lives after losing our own pet.

“There is a strong support network to help and guide you every step of the way through the puppies’ training. We thoroughly enjoy working with the puppies and watching them grow and develop as they learn new skills.

“People often ask us, ‘How can you give them up?’ It’s not easy, but we know from Day One that the puppy isn’t our dog and we’re training it to make a big difference to someone’s life. We are so proud when a dog is partnered with a deaf person.”

In the Manchester and Greater Manchester area, the charity is seeking 20 new volunteer dog trainers to help raise and train puppies who will go on to help deaf adults and children. It also hopes to take on a further 20 short-term foster carers, who will provide short-term holiday cover for volunteer trainers.

“Working with Hearing Dogs is like being part of a huge family,” Ken added. “Everyone is so friendly. We’ve met so many fantastic people and have the satisfaction of knowing we are part of an exceptional organization that brings happiness, confidence, and independence to deaf people. We would recommend it to anyone with a love of dogs and time to spare.”

Yesterday’s event was organized by Gaynor Cavanagh, Community Fundraising Manager for the North West of England. She said: “We are so grateful to the Trafford Centre team for opening their doors to us and making us feel so welcome once again, and to our volunteers and deaf partners for making the day such a success. As well as sparking new applications, it’s helped spread vital awareness of the life-changing work we do.”

In addition to dog training roles, the charity would also be interested in hearing from anyone who would like to contribute to the charity’s work by helping with fundraising events, bucket collections, and community talks.

To find out more, people can email the Volunteering team at volunteer@hearingdogs.org.uk / 01844 348100 or find out more on the website www.hearingdogs.org.uk/volunteer.