LIPSINC CHALLENGE WALK RAISES OVER £2700!

Four members of the JDA's LIPSINC Challenge group have raised over £2700 after completing a two-day, 25 mile walk over the Bank Holiday weekend. The four, a team of young deaf men in their 30s, made friends through the LIPSINC group and have been planning and training together since January 2005 to prepare for the ambitious challenge - to walk 25 miles from Windsor to Henley-on Thames in two days and raise funds for a new project at the Jewish Deaf Association that will revolutionise the way parents of D/deaf children can access information at its North London community centre.

Steven Bloomfield, Simon Myers, Adam Rowe and Ben Leigh belong to LIPSINC, a unique group initiated by the JDA for deaf and hard of hearing people in their 20's and 30's who use speech to communicate. The group reaches out to young people in similar situations, so that they can exchange valuable information and share life experiences with each other. LIPSINC has enabled these young people to develop better employment skills and gain greater knowledge and increasing independence.

As members of the LIPSINC Challenge Team, the men are aiming to raising the profile of LIPSINC whilst fundraising for a brand new library for the Jewish Deaf Association. The library, which will replace the existing facility, will for the first time be equipped with a wealth of information and access to resources specifically for parents who often find themselves bewildered and confused by the decisions they will need to make on behalf of their D/deaf children. There is a huge demand for support, information and guidance for hearing and D/deaf parents of D/deaf children - and these four young men are more than aware of this, as their own parents had little or no support whilst they were growing up.

Topics covered in the library will include special needs education, advice on audiological issues, access to information about D/deaf friendly schools and nurseries, speech and language training and development and advice on positive self esteem and coping strategies…. the list is endless. This resource will open up new opportunities for these families and their children, coupled with the support and guidance of the Family Services of the JDA, which allows parents to network and exchange information with each other and offers support and guidance every step of the way.

JDA Executive Director Sue Cipin says: "We are so proud of the magnificent amount of time and effort these four men have put into their Challenge - and very grateful for the funds they have raised, which will more than cover the cost of creating our state-of-the art library. I believe they are planning an even more ambitious Challenge for next year!"

Further Press information from: Sharon Graham, Tel 020 8952 4676 Email: familygraham@aol.com

 

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