A team from our High Wycombe office are being joined by four-legged friends on their walking challenge to boost the funds of a charity which helps deaf people to leave loneliness behind and reconnect with life as part of our Big 25 Challenge.
Colleagues have been travelling between our office locations since May without using motorised transport to raise money for 25 different charities. We originally aimed to raise £25,000 from the ambitious relay, but this target has already been smashed which means that with our pledge to match-fund any donations up to £25,000 from supporters, more than £54,000 will be split equally between the 25 charities.
The team were passed the relay baton by colleagues from our Worcester and Thame last week before they began their 42-mile challenge over five days to the firm’s Hungerford office. The High Wycombe team has chosen Hearing Dogs for Deaf People as its beneficiary. The charity, which has an office in High Wycombe, supports deaf people throughout the UK. Their hearing dogs provide invaluable support by alerting their deaf person to important sounds such as smoke or fire alarms, cooker timers, baby monitors, doorbells and phone alerts as well as helping deaf people feel less lonely and isolated by offering companionship and helping people get back into society.
Hearing Dogs for Deaf People is a national charity but works on a local level, with dogs being trained through volunteer training hubs across the country, with their main training sites at the Grange in Princes Risborough and Bielby in East Yorkshire.
The charity receives no central government funding, with over half of their funding coming via legacies and through their sponsorship packages of training dogs with the rest being raised through the hard work and generosity of its supporters.
Victoria Smart, Senior Facilities Manager at our High Wycombe office, said Hearing Dogs for Deaf People had been nominated by a colleague and the whole team was unanimous in supporting the charity.
“None of the team has a direct connection to Hearing Dogs for Deaf People, but some of us have previously supported the charity,” she said.
“Our route is split over five days with two or three colleague walking each day, averaging about 10 miles a day, with some dogs joining us on the way!
“Hearing Dogs for Deaf People is a fantastic charity which provides a visual reminder to the general public that the person is deaf and to make them more visible in their communities.
“In turn, people can make more concessions for a deaf person such as looking at the deaf person when they speak, and understanding that someone may not be being rude, but just haven't heard them.
“It is brilliant that Big 25 is supporting such a wide variety of charities in our communities and that we have already reached our £25,000 target, but we are not resting on our laurels and want to raise as much money as possible so that they can all continue their wonderful work.”
Kevin Game, Community Fundraising Manager at Hearing Dogs for Deaf People, said: “Hearing Dogs for Deaf People is thrilled to have been chosen by Fisher German as one of its charities for this challenge.
“They will be helping deaf people throughout the country. Their generosity will make a huge difference to us, and they are real ‘Hear-oes.’”
Big 25 legs have already seen colleagues travel by tandem bikes and unicycles, swim across open water, paddleboard and even sail as part of the mammoth 2,400-mile journey between the offices.
Anyone wishing to donate should visit our GiveWheel page.