Donation to Bring Park Alive for Deaf and Hard of Hearing Community
Visitors to Ferry Meadows with hearing impairments will have their experience of the Park’s facilities improved following two kind donations.
The Rotary Club of Peterborough has made a donation of £500 with Yorkshire Building Society Charitable Foundation making a donation of £600 to Nene Park Trust towards hearing support equipment at Ferry Meadows.
The money has enabled the Trust to go beyond providing hearing loops for inside its main visitor buildings. These additional donations means the Trust can invest in a tour guide system which will allow Park staff to be heard directly by hearing aid users or those hard of hearing when out on guided walks of the Park, on educational trips or taking part in other Nene Park Trust organised activities.
Susan Evans, Projects and Development Officer at Nene Park Trust, said “We are delighted that these two local organisations have chosen to support our work in making Ferry Meadows more accessible to the community. With the statistics on hearing loss currently standing at more than 10 million people in the UK with some form of hearing loss, or one in six of the population, we believe the hearing support equipment really will make a difference to our visitors’ experience of the Park.”
Nene Park Trust was nominated for the Yorkshire Building Society Charitable Foundation donation by colleagues at Norwich & Peterborough (N&P) Building Society, which is part of The Yorkshire.
Nigel Smith, N&P Branch Network Manager, said: “I’m really proud the Charitable Foundation has been able to help Nene Park Trust install this new equipment. The Foundation is funded by our members donating the annual pence from the interest on their accounts.”
“Although it could be considered small change, when it adds up it really can make a difference and I’m sure our members would be delighted their money was supporting such a worthwhile cause.”
John Wilkinson, the outgoing president for Rotary Peterborough added “I am delighted to present Nene Park Trust with a cheque for £500 to contribute towards the purchase of the tour guide system. I am certain this equipment will open the Park up to a wider audience to enjoy.”
This investment towards improving accessibility at Ferry Meadows comes shortly after the Trust published large print and braille maps of the Park for the visually impaired. This work all contributed to Nene Park Trust being awarded Highly Commended in the national Accessible Britain Challenge Awards for its on-going work in making Nene Park accessible to all.
To find out more about the accessibility of Ferry Meadows please visit www.neneparktrust.org.uk/ferry-meadows/accessibility or contact Nene Park Trust directly on 01733 234193 or visitor.services@neneparktrust.org.uk
