A charity whose mission is to support anyone who is deaf or hard of hearing and works to enable them to thrive has called The Bridge Centre its home for the past four years.
dDeaflinks Staffordshire have been based at The Bridge Centre since 2022 and work with a vision to foster a world where being deaf poses no obstacle to opportunity or inclusion.
And the charity has recently held its annual and fourth Community Connect event in the Centre’s Function Room. The aim of the event was to help bridge the communication gap for the profoundly Deaf BSL community and to improve access to services for deaf and hard of hearing people living across Staffordshire.
Laura Thirlwall, Charity Manager, said: “We had 22 stalls on the day and the Function Room at the Centre was a great space for us to hold what has become an annual event for us.
“There were free hearing checks on the day provided by House of Hearing, and a variety of other organisations supporting people living with hearing loss, such as Tinnitus UK, Action Deafness, Hearing products and more, plus a variety of accessible local charities and organisations offering advice and support
“We’ve been part of The Bridge Centre for four years now and really like its community feel. There’s a great mix of other organisations to connect with, and the rates for the rooms we use are very affordable. We especially like the community spaces and training rooms which are perfect for our organisation.”
Alongside running its social, support and membership activities, dDeaflinks services include bespoke training; deaf awareness and British Sign Language (BSL), BSL interpreting services, Script to BSL video transcribing, Student Placements and more. Laura added: “We have a variety of membership and volunteering opportunities, and are more than just a charity, we are a community, and everyone is welcome to get involved.”
As an unfunded charity, dDeaflinks relies heavily on fundraising ventures and kind donations. Big or small, the donation goes a long way to ensuring they can continue offering our vital services to the dDeaf community. Anyone who wishes to donate can do so by visiting: https://deaflinksstaffordshire.com/donate/
For anyone who wishes to learn more about the charity and volunteering opportunities, email admin@deaflinks.co.uk
