Volunteers' newsletter updates: spring 2023

Selected stories from our quarterly volunteers' newsletter. 

Dominique-Nicole’s journey to finding a job she loves

Dominque-Nicole is one of our Presenter Volunteers. She uses her personal experiences of deafness to deliver presentations about different topics and services for a range of audiences. Here, Dominque-Nicole shares her experiences of education and finding a job she loves.

“I was born profoundly deaf and wear two hearing aids. Being Nigerian-British has given me a unique perspective and experience. I was brought up orally but picked up some BSL (British Sign Language) from secondary school friends.

After struggling at mainstream school, I went to a deaf secondary school. The teachers and friends I made there gave me the confidence to want to continue my love of art at university.

I studied at Loughborough University, which was a great experience. My family and I met with some staff before I started so that lecturers and other staff could become deaf aware. While I was there, I had notetakers and interpreters. It was difficult but I graduated with a Fine Art degree. It meant a lot as some teachers at my primary school were surprised when my mum said she had plans for me to go to university after leaving secondary school.

After university, I planned to focus on my art and sculpture, however finding a studio or work in an art gallery was tough. I applied for lots of jobs and went to many job fairs. At one, I met a wonderful person from Action on Disability (AOD). She helped me with job applications and accompanied me to interviews. Through AOD, I applied for a 2-year apprenticeship with Hammersmith & Fulham Council which started just before lockdown in March 2020. I also attend college for a course related to the job.

AOD and Access to Work have been brilliant. My BSL interpreters and note-takers are supportive and encouraging. They give me useful advice and always cheer me up! This support is essential to communicate with colleagues and teachers at college. There are still challenges as people at work and college are not very deaf aware, which can be a pain.

I also volunteer as a gallery steward. During lockdown, I was able to create some work and exhibit one piece for an online exhibition. After this, I took a booth to exhibit more work at the Parallax Art Fair. I really enjoyed the experience and meeting other artists.

There are always going to be challenges, but don’t be discouraged. It can be frustrating but keep repeating your needs and hopefully adjustments will be made. Make sure you have a good support system of professionals, family and friends to help you overcome the challenges.”

Help us get much-needed media coverage

In the media team, we work to secure the news coverage we need to improve the lives of the UK’s 50,000 deaf children. To help us achieve this, it’s crucial that we find volunteers who can talk about their experiences and provide insight into the issues that deaf children and their families are facing.

We now have a secure email database so we can quickly get in touch with people when media opportunities come up and we wanted to know if you’d be interested in being added?

Being on the list would only entail receiving an email every now and then. This email would outline the media opportunity and ask you if you’d like to take part. If you decide it’s something you’d be interested in, we’d then provide more details and ask you a couple of questions.

So, if you’re the parent of a deaf child and you’d like to help us get the media coverage we need and deserve, we’d love to hear from you. If you’d like to be part of this, simply email [email protected] and we’ll get in touch.

Thank you so much for your time,
The Media team