Volunteer May presented with Heather Jackson Award
Hearing Link volunteer, May Wood, has been named the Heather Jackson Award recipient for 2017 for the significant contribution she has made to the welfare of the hearing loss community in the UK.
She was presented with her award during a special celebration in Edinburgh at the end of October.
The Heather Jackson Award is awarded jointly by the National Association of Deafened People (NADP), Signature, and Hearing Link each year. It has been instituted in the memory of Heather Jackson, the former Chairperson of NADP, who passed away in 2007.
May began to lose her hearing in her twenties when she worked as a teacher. Despite dealing with the challenges of her hearing, May has worked tirelessly to support others in similar situations.
For five years she has worked as a volunteer for the Sensory Impaired Support Group (SISG) in Ayrshire. She sits on the Board of SISG and mans two drop-in centres in Cumnock and Troon which helps older people with hearing aid maintenance.
In 2014, she became a Hearing Link volunteer after she attended two of its specialist support courses. She now supports thers through our courses and provides free, independent and personalised support through our Helpdesk.
All these qualities and more, led to May being selected as the Heather Jackson Award recipient this year.
She was presented with her award during a celebration in Edinburgh by Ross Trotter of NADP. May was joined by her family, colleagues and friends from Hearing Link and SISG.
May said: “I am delighted to receive the Heather Jackson Award for 2017. It is an honour and privilege to volunteer with Hearing Link and SISG and to follow in Heather Jackson’s footsteps by offering peer support and advice to people with hearing loss, and encouraging them to manage that loss and helping them overcome the day-to-day challenges they face. To see deafened people move forward and again enjoy participating fully with their families and friends is our reward.”
Many congratulations May!