Deaf Today: Now hear this – Rotary and Lions boost pupils

February 14, 2003

Now hear this – Rotary and Lions boost pupils

From: Romford Recorder, UK - 14 Feb 2003

By IAN LYNCH

HARD-of-hearing pupils at a Hornchurch school had plenty to cheer about after donations from two local groups enabled them to afford state-of-the-art new equipment.
Hornchurch Rotary Club and Hornchurch Lions Club combined to contribute to new technical gear for The Sanders Draper School hall.
Rotary Club member John Doe, pictured at the right of the back row, co-ordinated sponsorship between the two clubs. And last week Steve Major (centre left), the Lions' President, and Gerry Harrington (centre right), the Rotary President, handed over cheques.The money will pay for a new audio induction loop system that will help hearing-impaired pupils hear what is being said at assemblies and at other events.
The microphone-and-amplification system maximises speech reproduction. The children need need no special equipment of their own, other than their hearing aids.
In the past few years, hearing aids have incorporated a switch to make it easier for the wearer to hear over the telephone. For the same system to work in the hall, a magnetic field is needed by means of which the sound is transmitted. This will be created by an induction loop coil, which will be discreetly installed so that the hearing-impaired pupils benefit.
Julie Hewston (centre), head of the school's Hearing Impaired Unit, said: "The members of these clubs give their time freely to raise money for the community and donate it where they feel it is most needed.
"We cannot thank them enough for their work and for this most generous gift, which will benefit our children, as well as other members of the local community who use the hall."