Deafness Foundation

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Deafness Foundation

• Presentation
• Better Hearing Australia
• Annual General Meeting
• 5 Sept 2006
• Wendy Maher

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Who are we?

• The Deafness Foundation is a
• not-for-profit organisation founded in
• 1973 by the Hon. Peter Howson to act as
• an umbrella organisation, forum,
• information exchange and to speak with a united
  voice for the Deaf and hearing
• impaired in the Community

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The Deafness Foundation is dedicated to the
support of the Deaf and hearing impaired in the
community through Research, Prevention,
Education, Early Detection and Technology

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The Foundations objectives
To promote communication and understanding
between all agencies and individuals involved in
the field of hearing impairment

To provide financial and other assistance to
people with hearing impairment and to
organisations working in the field of hearing
impairment
To promote research into all aspects of hearing
impairment and its prevention and into the needs
of people with hearing impairment
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Objectives continued
To acquire and publish information and to
undertake community education programs about
hearing impairment, its prevention and the needs
of people with hearing impairment

To work in conjunction with other state, national
and international organisations with similar
objectives
To raise funds to support the activities of the
Foundation
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Objectives continued

To represent the interests of people with
hearing impairment at individual, community,
municipal, semi-government and government (both
State and Federal) levels

To maintain an administrative structure to
support the activities of the Foundation
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• To achieve the objectives of the Foundation,
  working committees consisting of experts in their
  respective fields have been established

These committees are very active in embracing
the needs of the Deaf and hearing impaired

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What committees are there?
Auslan
Conductive Deafness

Education
Fundraising
Grants
Hearing Awareness
Noise Induced Hearing Loss
Medical / Audiological

Presidents Auxiliary
Rubella
Technology
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What do the committees do?

• Conductive Deafness
• This committee focuses on raising community
  awareness and educating the public about the
  potential damaging effects of Conductive Deafness
  in young children through the provision of
  information, encouraging research and
  representing this group of children at Government
  level whenever possible

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Committees continued

• Education
• The committee sees it role as one of
  disseminating information, providing support on
  all issues which arise concerning deaf education
  and contributing to public awareness of the needs
  of deaf students

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Committees continued

• Grants
• The objective of this Committee is to assess,
  financially support and monitor projects
  undertaken for the benefit of Deaf and hearing
  impaired people and to support programs focused
  on the prevention of deafness. This is an
  Australian wide initiative
• Applications for consideration for a Financial
  Grant close on 31 October each year and are
  distributed in February of the following year

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Committees continued

• Hearing Awareness Week
• The Hearing Awareness Committee coordinate
  Hearing Awareness Week. The overall aim is to
  provide information to support the Deaf and
  hearing impaired, inform the hearing community
  about a particular theme and raise community
  awareness of the issues and needs that exist

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Committees continued

• Medical/Audiological
• This committee is concerned with ensuring
  medical, nursing and educational professionals
  and parents are made aware of and continually
  updated on the technical advances being made into
  the care of the hearing impaired
• The Committee plays an important role in
  providing input to Government and semi-government
  authorities on issues relating to hearing Health
  Care

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Committees continued

• Noise-Induced Hearing Loss
• The Committee endeavours to take all steps,
  legislative or otherwise, to ensure the public is
  not unnecessarily subjected to excessive noise
  and that measures are in place to protect hearing
• To this end, it is in constant contact with
  bodies such as the Occupational Health and Safety
  Authority and the Standards Council

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Committees continued

• Rubella
• The Rubella Committee is dedicated to ensuring
  all women of child-bearing age receive
  vaccination to prevent the onset of Rubella
• This Committee is most active in pressing
  Government into an understanding of this vital
  issue, because it is at this level, both state
  and local, that action is urgently required

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Committees continued

• Technical
• As with all progressive organisations, the
  Foundation has a need to constantly monitor
  changes in technology as they affect the hearing
  impaired. This is the role of the Technology
  Committee

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More about the Foundation

• Patron is Dame Elisabeth Murdoch

Governed by a Board of Management comprising 16
members
Employs 5 part time staff (EFT 2.2) and is
supported by a dedicated team of volunteers
Has one funded position (Rubella Education
Officer) and depends on fundraising, donations,
bequests, grants etc. to continue to provide and
develop new opportunities to support the Deaf and
hearing impaired community
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The Butterfly

• The Butterfly was adopted as the Foundations
  logo after a volunteer, Judy Chancellor
  discovered that Butterflies are deaf too! They
  are beautiful, admired and lead a full and
  interesting life and above all communicate
• Judy had a vision that the butterfly could
  assist the Foundation in its quest to raise funds
  and increase community awareness of deafness and
  hearing impairment
• Thus the Butterfly Badge was born in 1994
• The success of the Butterfly Badge Campaign has
  grown over many years and become the major source
  of funds to support the Foundation and its
  Financial Grants Scheme

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Deafness Foundation Trust

The Trust was launched in October 1993 with
similar aims to the Foundation but with three
significant factors

• All donations are held in perpetuity and the
  interest only is used for Grants allocations
• Has the right to fundraise and make financial
  grants available outside Victoria
• Administered by the Trust Company of Australia

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More about the Trust
The Trust is governed by two Boards

• The Trust Advisory Board
• comprising eminent individuals who lend their
  names and assist with contacts but are not
  expected to attend more that a meeting a year

• The Trust Awards Board
• comprising eminent individuals who can spare the
  time to develop and implement marketing
  strategies to attract bequests and enlarge the
  capital base of the Trust

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About the Foundations Fundraising
The Butterfly Badge Campaign is the major ongoing
fundraising initiative of the Foundation in
Victoria and through the Trust is an Australian
wide project which commenced in 1994 Sales are
made possible through the network of schools,
organisations providing services to the Deaf and
hearing impaired, audiologists, hearing centres,
individuals etc. We are very fortunate to have
the support of IGA stores which enables us to
sell badges throughout the month of May at their
Victorian stores
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(No Transcript)
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About the Financial Grants Scheme
Applications are invited for Financial Grants
from the Deafness Foundation if residing in
Victoria or the Deafness Foundation Trust if
residing interstate Closing date for
Applications is 31 October each year Applications
and guidelines can be downloaded from our website
www.deafness.org.au or obtained from the office

Considerations will be given only to those
projects which have a demonstrated potential to
further the stated objectives of the Deafness
Foundation
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Grants continued

• Other criteria that may result in a positive
  outcome include
• That the project is innovative and not a request
  for recurrent funding of an established program
• The demonstrated inability of the project to
  attract funding from an alternate source
• The project had clearly defined goals, achievable
  in a clearly specified time, usually not more
  than two years

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Grants continued

• The project has clearly defined, inbuilt
  assessment criteria, by which progress can be
  monitored and reported
• That the organisation applying for a grant has a
  proven ability to manage funds (the ability to
  supply an ABN number would be an advantage
• Consideration of applications received after
  closing date will be deferred until the following
  year
• It is important that costs be established
  accurately in the original grant

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Grants continued

• Projects to the value of 133,000 have been
  funded in the past twelve months and include
• Information brochures on Conductive Deafness
• Inclusive Classroom listening
• Deaf Expo
• Purchase of laptop/voice recognition software and
  technical support
• Reading texts translated in Auslan
• Menieres Research Survey
• The Glendonald Speech Teaching Resource
• Makaton workshop
• Auslan Interpreting Mentorship Project
• Objective Assessment of Hearing in Babies
• Transition Camp for Deaf and hearing impaired
  students.and more.

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Education Encouragement Awards

These awards aim to encourage deaf and hearing
impaired students by recognising their commitment
and effort Two awards to coincide with Hearing
Awareness Week in late August are made available
to deaf and hearing impaired students

1. Secondary School Award 1,000 open to students
   in years 10,11 12
2. Post-secondary award 1,5000 open to students
   enrolled in post Secondary studies

Applicants must be permanent residents of
Australia
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Resources available include
Books for sale 5 each plus postage

Savvy are delightful stories about a young boy
with a Cochlear Implant
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Resources available include
Books for sale 10 each plus postage

Are you being heard Information and Teaching
Tips for teachers of students with a hearing
impairment
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Resources available include

• Rubella
• Pamphlet
• Information to raise awareness about the risks
  of rubella infection during pregnancy and promote
  appropriate vaccination strategies (available in
  18 languages)
• Video
• The risks to your unborn baby (10 each
  available in 10 languages)
• Rubella Poster
• The risk to your unborn baby available in 5
  languages

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Resources available include

• Brochures
• Fluctuating Conductive Deafness
• They cant hear you when they want to!
  available in 6 languages
• Teachers! Can your pupils hear you? English
  only
• Noise Induced Hearing Loss
• Is Loud Noise Ruining Your Hearing?

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Resources available include

• Posters
• Decibel Range
• Hear Today, Gone Tomorrow
• Dont turn a Deaf Ear
• Childhood Fluctuating Conductive Deafness