A Cumbrian charity has received almost £2,000 from the Yorkshire Building Society.
Back in August Cumbria Deaf Association (CDA) submitted an application to Tricia Dixon, the Yorkshire Building Society Branch Manager for Kendal, to ask for support for a series of nutritional workshops and exercise classes that are planned for the new year.
This month CDA received the news that they would be awarded £1,970 after a successful application.
As with many day to day health conditions, it requires an element of education, much of which is not heard by or accessible to the deaf community. By delivering a series of workshops the programme seeks to improve the nutrition and understanding of stomach health conditions e.g. Crohn’s, IBS, Diverticulitis and diet management for diabetes.
As well as learning about the benefits of healthy eating, there will also be exercise and physical movement sessions with a British Sign Language interpreter to aid understanding.
Most exercise classes have background music, flashing lights or studios/rooms that have poor acoustics – not helpful if you are hearing impaired or d/Deaf. These sessions will help to get the deaf community moving more with a BSL interpreter on hand to explain movements and exercise modifications for those with mobility issues.
Caroline Howsley, manager of Cumbria Deaf Association, said: “I am hard of hearing and stay away from noisy environments such as gyms and fitness classes with loud music or, classes where the instructor faces away from the class because it makes lip-reading impossible and the sensory overload is exhausting, never mind the exercise!
“Our deaf community have health conditions that would be better supported through nutritional awareness and asked for our help in finding a way to improve their agility and diet. We are so grateful to Tricia and Yorkshire Building Society for their support.”
Yorkshire Building Society Charitable Foundation was established in 1998 as a registered charity independent of YBS Group. Since it made its first donation in 1999, the charitable foundation has made a difference to local communities across the UK by donating over £8 million to charities and good causes nominated by colleagues and members.
Tricia Dixon, Kendal Branch Manager, said “I was delighted to nominate Cumbria Deaf Association for this donation to further expand its activities to help people in our community. Many of our customers have hearing loss and we work hard to support their communication needs, being patient and offering an unhurried approach to banking. We look forward to seeing the outcome of the nutrition and exercise activities.”
