What will 2019 bring?

Hello Readers,

So, we’re almost half way through January! Is it me or did 2018 go really fast? It’s a constant reminder to cherish each day as it comes and to live life to the full!

2018 was an incredible year! Although a few barriers and challenges arose, there were lots of fantastic experiences – too many to list! Here are my…

Top 5 Highlights

Winning the Leadership Award at the Signature Deaf Annual Awards in November!

Me on the left, with a green lace dress, blonde hair smiling with a red trophy in my hand, with Mark Hopkinson in the middle wearing a black suit, white shirt and purple tie and Pip Tomson on the right wearing a black and white animal print dress and long brown wavy hair.

Leadership Award Winner

10 Award Winners on the stage smiling with their trophies along with Pip Tomson, I am in the middle next to Craig Crowley MBE in front of a podium.

All the Award Winners

Still today it’s a shock, but it’s nice to know that all the hard work I’ve put into campaigning and raising Deaf awareness has been recognised. The award motivates me to continue making a difference for the next generation of deaf people.

#SubtitledCinema

Image of myself standing outside the UK Cinema Association office. I am wearing a black short sleeved top with embellished neckline, and a green, black and white chequered skirt. I am smiling and my hair is in a bun.

We saw a huge push in the #SubtitledCinema campaign, with an astonishing 11,000+ signatures on my petition!

With invaluable support from Michelle and Deaf Girly, along with our supporters, we succeeded in arranging a meeting with top people from the UK Cinema Industry to discuss increasing the current provision. We look forward to seeing what they come back with next month.

Accessible Banking

Throughout the year, I worked with 3 major banks to help make their services more accessible for deaf people.

Virgin Money invited me to their offices for #ICANuary (‘making banking accessible so everyone CAN’). I delivered a Deaf awareness training session and helped their teams to make their website more accessible.

A banner with the Virgin Money bank logo on the left and on the right is a picture of DB and Vick from Virgin Money with a wall collage with images of Virgin's services

I was so pleased to work with Barclays Bank to introduce a NEW Lipspeaker service! This means deaf people are able to contact the bank securely using a third party lipspeaker (details have to be registered directly with the bank).

Seeing these fundamental changes from the major banks is incredible. I hope it helps to make deaf people’s banking experiences easier and I hope other banks will follow suit!

BBC Radio 5 Deafie Blogger smiling sitting in a Radio Recording Studio wearing a red top, heart necklace with recording panels and microphones in front of her

We also saw a rise in #DeafTalent in the media, especially with The Silent Child film winning an Oscar!

I was chuffed to be invited to talk live on BBC Radio 5, discussing deafness and the importance that The Silent Child has on raising Deaf awareness for future generations.

What will 2019 bring?

I am excited to see what this year has to offer, but here are some of my hopes and resolutions!

– I hope to see a permanent increase in #SubtitledCinema showings

– To tackle access to healthcare for deaf people

– For YouTube to bring in official lyrics/subtitles to music videos

– To do more Deaf awareness talks

– To pass my BSL Level 2 exams

– Perhaps another fundraising challenge! What beats a skydive?

And one I am looking forward to the most;

– Volunteering at a Deaf school in Sri Lanka for two weeks!

Any sponsors would be greatly appreciated!

Banner. Left is the 'Voluntears' organisation logo which has a globe to the side of the name, underneath says 'Overseas Volunteering for the Deaf Community'. To the right is a photo of Dylan and I smiling on top of a hill.