A new Charity called “Signal” is the result of the union two Shropshire based charities- The Woodford Foundation and Shropshire Deafness Association (SDA) 

This Wednesday the official launch will take place at the Sovereign Suite at Shrewsbury Town Football Club. SDN are really please to have been invited to it and two representatives are looking forward to attending.

 Many members will remember the Woodford Foundation talking to our members at one of our quarterly meetings. Woodford are based in Shrewsbury and work with people with hearing loss mainly in sub-Sahara Africa. 

The Shropshire Deafness Association which dates back to 1856 years works does work more locally. The Woodford Foundation is named in honour of Doreen Woodford, who had a lifelong commitment to the interests of deaf and deaf-blind children and has been in operation almost a decade. Both organisations work with sensory impairment, predominantly helping those who have different forms of hearing loss. 

Both organisations have been working together for a while and now as one they will continue to focus on supporting individuals, families and communities both in the UK and overseas. 

Mathew Gilbert Chief Executive for Signal said “Hearing loss is a major issue both in the UK and overseas, yet because it is invisible many people do not realise what a serious impact it has on people’s lives” he continued “It is great news that Woodford and SDA are now coming together to share their expertise. Signal will continue to make a difference to people lives here and abroad” 

Woodford have carried out many life-changing projects in Malawi, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia. SDA carries out much outreach work in Shropshire. It is materially supported by Shrewsbury Hard of Hearing Group and the Telford Deaf Club. 

At the launch guests will learn about Signal’s plans to take forward deaf advocacy in Shropshire and Telford and Wrekin. We at SDN hope to share with you again after Wednesday evenings launch.

Don’t miss out on joining together by making purchase of heating oil cheaper for you readiness for winter!

Shropshire Towns and Rural Housing have teamed up with Shropshire’s Rural Community Council (RCC) and local credit unions to offer access to cheaper oil to their tenants.

The oil-buying scheme is aimed at bringing communities together to make the most of joint buying power, so that greater savings can be made and passed on to customers.  Typically a person ordering the minimum of 500 litres can save up to £25 on their order.

The scheme, set up by Shropshire RCC, can reduce the cost of domestic heating oil each time an order is placed.  All tenants need to do to take advantage of the scheme is simply complete a membership form and pay an annual membership fee of £24, which will cover as many oil orders as they need during the course of the year.  For those in financial hardship, the membership fee could be waived.

With the colder months just around the corner, now is a good time to start thinking about filling up the oil tank.  The order deadlines are:

• Tuesday 22 October
• Tuesday 19 November  – last order date before Christmas

Tenants who may not be able to afford the upfront cost for their oil can apply for a short- term loan from their local credit union.

Sue Adams, Managing Director for ShropshireTowns and Rural Housing, recently said:

“This is a great opportunity for tenants who rely on oil to heat their homes and who may struggle to afford large payments, to take advantage of the oil buying scheme.  Too many people live in fuel poverty and cannot afford to put oil in their tank, so any saving on price is a bonus plus.   This is a great offer and one well worth considering; I would encourage any tenant who has oil heating to sign up to their local scheme.”

There are also environmental benefits to the scheme, as bulk buying helps to reduce the number of oil tankers on Shropshire’s roads, thereby reducing Shropshire’s carbon footprint.

Shropshire Towns and Rural Housing tenants can sign up to the scheme by contacting Caroline Morris at Shropshire Towns and Rural Housing  on 07852 005479.

To find out more about the oil bulk-buying scheme in Shropshire, contact the Shropshire RCC on 01743 342167.

With our 2014 Disability Challenge in mind Ruby Hartshorn has been busy organising a Justgiving page for SDN! Pleased to report we have just had our first £10 donation – way to go Ruby!.

Ruby Hartshorn receives a cheque for SDN from the Rotary Club last year

If you’re interested in the work of SDN and want to support us why not go to:

http://www.justgiving.com/shropshiredisabilitynet 

and make a small donation. You can read about our fund raising efforts here: https://shropshire-disability.net/fundraising-ideas/ we make sure that we make every penny count. 

Shropshire Together have published their latest e-Newsletter. Click here to view the web version. (Opens external website)

Following on from the recent blog post by Penval on the need for Superfast Broadband access for Shropshire’s disable population and their carers Age UK have issued a stern warning about the digital divide faced by disabled people. You can read more about it here on the Age UK website . Why not have your say via the new SDN Forum pages where we have set up a topic on the digital divide.

Once again we have a range of activities and information from Action on Hearing Loss. You can access the articles by clicking on the links below:

The Ear Foundation’s 8th Annual Conference

The 3rd Annual Hearing Loops Conference

International Deaf Week