8:41am Thursday 28th July 2011
By Dan Bean »
Reporter
A DEAF teenager from York is preparing to cycle more than 1,000 miles across the country to raise money for a local charity.
Chris MacDonald, 18, has been profoundly deaf since he was three, and along with his hearing friend Lucas Wetherill will cycle from Aberdeen to York, via Cornwall, from Monday, August 1, to raise funds for Lollipop, a charity close to Chris’s heart.
Lollipop provides support for families with deaf and hearing-impaired children and young people, and host free activities and trips to encourage and support the youths and their families.
Chris said: “I’ve been a member of Lollipop for the past seven years, and they have given me the opportunity to take part in lots of activities, like go-karting, paintballing, and making a deaf awareness film.
“I have also done some fundraising for them, including bag-packing and cake stalls, but this is the biggest event I have done.”
Chris and Lucas, who have been friends for 11 years, are hoping to ride 1,014 miles in about two weeks, riding up to 100 miles each day, and will camp out along the route.
Lucas said: “We talked about it last year, and have been organising it since then. We’re both really nervous.
“We got stranded last year for four hours on a training route to the White Horse from York after my tyre blew, so hopefully that won’t happen again.”
Andrea Gitsham, chair of Lollipop, said: “Chris is a really good role model for other deaf and hearing-impaired people.
“Through his achievements he has proved to himself he can live life to the full, and this is a mammoth challenge which will show people that deafness does not need to hold you back.”
Chris and Lucas have already raised more than £1,000 in advance of the trip, but hope to reach £2,000 before they reach York Minster in the middle of August.
To sponsor Chris and Lucas, text CMAC11 followed by £2, £5, or £10 to 70070 (texts cost standard rate), or post cheques made payable to Lollipop (York and district) to Lollipop, Bootham House, 61 Bootham, York, YO30 7BT with a donation.
Lollipop hearing charity receives £200k lottery boost
8:15am Saturday 26th March 2011
A CHARITY for children with hearing difficulties is celebrating after receiving nearly £200,000 of funding.York-based charity Lollipop will use the five-year lottery grant to reach out to more deaf and hearing impaired children and young people.
The charity uses a fun range of activities such as wall climbing and go-carting to reduce isolation and improve self esteem and confidence.
Tom Kilvington, 14, of All Saints School, said: “The funding will mean that we can do more here. We have done paint-balling and archery and we get to meet other deaf people and make friends.”
The £198,005 of Big Lottery funding will enable Lollipop to help more families and to take on another part-time member of staff.
Andrea Gitsham, chair and founder of the charity, said: “Lollipop is a relatively small charity. We have 129 members but there are 450 children with hearing loss in North Yorkshire. This award will allow us to expand.”
Katy Simister, 32, of Huntington, whose two-year-old daughter Molly is deaf, said: “When your baby is diagnosed as deaf it can feel like you are the first in the world. This funding will mean that Lollipop will be able to continue to be there for families in that position.” Sarah-Jade Walker, 21, who has been involved with Lollipop since she was 11, said the charity had helped build her confidence. She said: “Learning to motorbike helped me with my balance, there were lots of us doing it and we could all laugh about it and help each other.”
Grand Opera House and York and District Lollipop to present ‘captioned' performance of pantomime for deaf and hearing impaired youngsters
2:54pm Thursday 17th December 2009
OH yes, they can go to the panto …and enjoy it! More than 120 members of York and District Lollipop, which provides social support to deaf and hearing impaired children and young people, are heading to the Grand Opera House next Monday evening to see Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.
And they will be able to follow fully what’s going on because the entire performance will be ‘captioned.’ Lollipop chairwoman Andrea Gitsham said the spoken word would be converted into text, which would be displayed on a caption unit to be viewed by the audience.
“As the captions roll, delivered live from a laptop computer by a trained captioner, audience members can follow what is said, when it is said and by whom,” she said. “Sound effects and off-stage noises are also included.”
Lollipop and the theatre are funding half each of the cost.
Andrea said this would be the first captioned panto in York by the leading provider of captions, 'Stagetext.'
“Sadly I have not had the pleasure of enjoying the Panto since I lost my hearing 12 years ago,” she said.
“I speak for many other deaf and hearing impaired people when I emphasise that the inability to follow the dialect and participate fully with the audience banter can cause much distress and frustration. “I am therefore very much looking forward to my first visit to a stagetext performance. “I can't wait to see the joy and excitement that this performance will bring to many of our young members, who like myself would otherwise find it impossible to join in the fun and laughter.”
She also thanked Betty's Tearooms for contributing to Lollipop's expenses, after nominating the organisation in 2008 for its chosen charity of the year.
Kate Smith, Opera House marketing manager, said: “We are thrilled this is happening.” She said the captioning could be helpful to anyone with hearing impairment, adding: “Tickets still available.”
Hearing-impaired York Youngsters go nationwide with charity biking DVD called Riding High
7:59am Tuesday 15th December 2009
By Nicola Fifield »
Senior reporter
MEMBERS of a York charity for young deaf people are riding high after the film they starred in was broadcast on national television.
Called Riding High, the 27-minute film follows eight young people with hearing difficulties as they learn to ride a motorbike.
Produced by Lollipop, a York charity that uses social activities to bring together families of children with hearing loss, the film will be regularly repeated on Teachers TV for the next two years and is also available to download from www.teachers.tv
The film aims to raise awareness of deafness and how best to communicate with deaf people.
One of the film’s stars, Zara Emery, 20, who works as a support worker for deaf adults, said: “Most people don’t understand deafness and they don’t know how to talk to us, so they just leave us. Although it was scary at first, I really enjoyed being a presenter and the whole experience was fantastic.”
Andrea Gitsham, the deaf chairwoman and founder of Lollipop, and a Volunteer of the Year finalist in the 2006 Community Pride Awards, said: “Getting signed by Teachers TV means we are one step closer to reaching our ultimate goal of showing the film to every pupil in the UK.
“When I lost my hearing I realised a lot of the obstacles in my path were caused by a lack of knowledge and experience among the wider community, partly because they had never met a deaf person before.
“Hopefully this film will go a long way towards improving people’s awareness so they have a better understanding of what they need to do to be able to communicate with us.”
The film was directed by 30-year-old Simon Collins, of York Filming and Editing, who lives in Heworth, and was made possible thanks to a £7,000 grant from the Local Network Fund of York and North Yorkshire Community Foundation.
The film has also been distributed to every school in York.
Anybody who is interested in joining Lollipop should email lollipopcharity@york.fslife.co.uk or phone 07967 688798.
Lollipop deaf awareness charity organises treasure hunt with a serious message
8:16am Friday 8th May 2009
A CHARITY is hoping to raise deaf awareness among staff at tourist attractions in York tomorrow while giving youngsters all the fun of a treasure hunt.
Young members of the Lollipop charity will be visiting some of the main attractions to ask them to display some Lollipop deaf awareness posters in staff areas, containing good practice tips. “Reading and remembering just a handful of the many useful tips will enable staff to help deaf and hearing impaired visitors greatly,” said a spokeswoman for the charity, which brings families of children and young people with hearing loss together through regular free social activities and gatherings.
She said youngsters would also take part in a kind of treasure hunt at attractions, including Barley Hall, the Castle Museum, Jorvik, the Treasurer’s House and the Minster, working in teams to search for a particular area or item and taking a photograph. “This is an opportunity for members to get creative, use their imagination and have a lot of fun,” she said.
“Points and prizes will be awarded for their achievements.
“Lollipop will have a base in St Sampson Square from 11am to 5pm. Anyone interested in becoming a Lollipop member is welcome to come along and enquire on the day. “Membership is free and open to children and young people with any degree of hearing loss aged up to 19 and living in the York and North Yorkshire area.”an contact lollipopcharity@york.fslife.co.uk or phone 01904 446Lollipop tag taster is a hit
YORK City Knights' community section is keen to build on the success of their first tag rugby session with York-based children's charity Lollipop.
The charity, which provides activities for youngsters with hearing impairments, teamed up with the Knights and the Oaklands Sports Partnership to "sample the buzz of tag rugby" with a session at All Saints School, which saw club mascot Norris the Knights meet the children, as pictured right, and be joined later on by Knights players after their training session.
Lollipop chairperson Andrea Gitsham said they would now look at introducing regular sessions.
Knights development chief Jason Ramshaw added: "There are some talented youngsters in there and everyone went home really enthused about playing tag rugby.
"The youngsters were really excited to meet Norris and have their pictures taken with the players. It's something we're looking to follow up and hopefully it can be the start of a good partnership."
Anyone wanting details about Lollipop can email Andrea at lollipopcharity@york.fslife.co.uk or phone Susan Outhwaite at York District Hospital on 01904 726741.
Updated: 09:58 Tuesday, December 13, 2005
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