Andrew Campbell is a member of Hope Valley Rotary Club, Gill is his wife.
Andrew and Gill started their Rotary Hearing Ambassadors talk by telling us this has become a Rotary District 1220* Initiative after they launched the idea in October 2018. They spoke passionately about raising hearing loss awareness and their vision for this Rotary initiative, explaining what difficulties people can experience when living with hearing loss. This can include trouble socialising, leading to increased isolation, which in turn can result in anxiety and depression.

There are 11 million people in the UK (1 in 6) with some form of hearing loss, and this is expected to rise to 15 million by 2035. 42% of the over 50's are affected. Should you think your hearing has deteriorated, please do consider a simple hearing test as the first course of action. Shockingly, the average time for people to start to seek help is 5-7 years.

Andrew & Gill then explained what we could do to help within our club and also out in our local community concerning the Hearing Ambassadors campaign. In the coming months, Hearing Awareness presentations will be rolled out for use in the local community and to other Rotary Districts. The long term goal is that this becomes a Rotary International Awareness Campaign.

Andrew & Gill have worked tirelessly and achieved so much in a short time, and the members of Church Wilne are now keen to appoint Rotary Hearing Ambassadors to work within the club and the local community.

Often when we have full hearing it is something we tend to take for granted – however, the message is clear, please be mindful of family, friends and colleagues who may be living with hearing loss.

One of the mnemonics that the Ambassadors will be working towards at Rotary meetings is detailed below.
T     Technology – if a T-loop is available to make sure it is switched on. Provide head or lapel microphones for any guest speaker and hand microphone for any audience members who want to ask questions.
E     Environment – be prepared to make changes to the room (concerning speaker evenings). Can chairs be moved to a better position? Is the speaker standing and clearly visible to everyone? Is there good lighting? Switch off unwanted noises such as background music and air conditioning units.
A     Advocacy – be approachable and take time to ensure that everyone feels involved, included and understood. Be willing to repeat things in a slightly different way. Discuss and champion individual needs, however small or large.
M     Make a difference – by following these simple steps you will make a difference in our community.

*Rotary District 1220 covers 2000+ Rotarians in 66 clubs across Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire, Leicestershire, Lincolnshire, Staffordshire and South Yorkshire.

Church Wilne Rotary Club is attracting new members through various initiatives, associate membership, satellite clubs and Friends of Rotary, where people can assist with running some of our events. Volunteering helps to get a taste of what it would be like to join the club

For more information on Rotary, our speaker evenings, events and the main activities organised by our club please contact our Secretary, Mick White at: rccw1220@gmail.com

Rtn David Smith
For Church Wilne Rotary