Sporting Bears Motor Club
The “Bears”, as we are affectionately known, are a dedicated group of classic car and sports car enthusiasts with one primary aim – to raise money for children’s charities through our own social and touring events, and to support other charitable events. It is to the club’s credit that annual subscriptions support the club overheads thus allowing all monies raised from events to be directed towards the selected charities. Since the Club was formed in 1989 we have been very active and have raised over £1,000,000 for children’s charities in the UK.
Help 4 Heroes
Our Charity of the Year, 2014/5, was Help 4 Heroes. Chris’ son, Andrew was in Afghanistan for 6 months during the recent conflict, and so it is a charity very close to our hearts. We held several fundraising events for them, and would like to thank everyone for their continued kind donations.
Help 4 Heroes’… “mission is to deliver an enduring national network of support for our wounded and their families. We will inspire and enable those who have made sacrifices on our behalf to achieve their full potential.”
The war in Afghanistan may be over, but for those who have suffered life-changing injuries, their battles are just beginning. We will not let them fight these battles alone.
“We’re delighted that Hearing Healthcare Centre has chosen Help for Heroes as their Charity of the Year and we would like to say a huge thank you to all their clients, staff and suppliers for their support. Their backing demonstrates how people across the country have chosen to ‘do their bit’ for our wounded servicemen and women”
Bryn Parry OBE, CEO & Co-Founder, Help For Heroes
Hearing Dogs for Deaf People
We train dogs to respond to important sounds and danger signals such as the doorbell, alarm clock and smoke alarm. Every hearing dog is specially matched to a deaf person so that the dog’s skills and personality perfectly complement the lifestyle and needs of their new owner.
Deafness can be incredibly isolating leaving many deaf people without the confidence to leave their houses, avoiding social situations and feeling cut off from the world. Hearing dogs provide companionship and help to reduce these feelings of isolation, stress and anxiety, and build their owner’s confidence.
Hearing Healthcare Centre are proud to support this worthwhile charity, and have held a variety of Fundraising Events in our Saffron Walden branch. We continue to support this excellent cause, and can receive donations on their behalf.
The Royal British Legion
As a prior member of the Independent Hearing Professionals (IHP), Hearing Healthcare Centre were proud to be able to support this campaign, in the centenary year of the outbreak of the First World War, and raised £20,000 for The Royal British Legion through IHP’s nationwide Hearing Aid Battery Campaign.
Tanzanear
Tanzanear’ is a UK charity dedicated to helping deaf people in Tanzania lead richer and more fulfilling lives. They currently do this by working with two organisations: Buguruni School for the Deaf, a primary school, and UMIVITA, a small NGO, run by young deaf adults, which provides advocacy and support services to deaf people in Dar es Salaam.
They also work closely with the Tanzania Society for the Deaf, the NGO which owns Buguruni School, and are linking to Soundseekers in Tanzania, which used to be the Commonwealth Society for the Deaf.
“Tanzanear is a great charity, and one that we felt would truly benefit from our support. As Audiological Specialists, nobody knows better than us the importance that hearing aids play in enabling good conversation and social interaction. Most importantly, we understand the need for early intervention in children with deafness. Undiagnosed, hearing loss in children can cause social withdrawal, learning difficulties, as well as depression.
The work that ‘Tanzanear’ does is vitally important for these children. They provide a formal education using sign language, and hearing aids to the children that would most benefit. This allows them to develop better language skills and gives them the tools to cultivate and obtain jobs in the future.
Unfortunately, ‘Tanzanear’ is only a small charity and therefore they cannot help everyone that has a need. Currently, only 1% of deaf children in Tanzania go to school, which means that there are almost 38,000 children who still need help. We are very keen to raise the profile of this great charity and we would invite people to donate their old and unwanted hearing aids”
Daniel Bainbridge, Hearing Healthcare Centre’s Audiologist
Lions Club
Twenty-seven years ago, Chris was approached by the Lions Club about the disposal of client’s old and unwanted hearing aids. As a result, Hearing Healthcare Centre and the Lions Club worked collaboratively to set up a nationwide process to collect and refurbish old hearing aids and audiological equipment to send to Third World countries, where they are desperately needed.
Come And Be Heard
As well as fundraising and donations, we also aim to help educate and inform people regarding good hearing health. We have had involvement with Come And Be Heard, a Cambridgeshire group for people who are hard of hearing.
Come And Be Heard are an affiliate of the Charitable Organisation, Hearing Link, whose mission is to help those with hearing difficulties.
We were privileged to attend one of their meetings as guest speakers, and provide them with useful information regarding hearing health.
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