Loud shirts raise awareness of hearing difficulties

SUPPORT: Cubby House teacher Rebekah Bruce and Chelsea Lukito proudly wear their handmade loud shirts. Photo: SUPPLIED

Last Friday might have seemed brighter than normal as Loud Shirt day events were held across the country for children with a profound hearing loss.

The annual Loud Shirt Day appeal is the biggest fundraising event for charities, the Hearing House in Auckland and the Southern Cochlear Implant Paediatric Programme based in Christchurch.

Both charities are dedicated to enabling deaf children with cochlear implant or hearing aids to listen and speak like their hearing peers. Neither organisation charges deaf children or their families for their services.

The Cubby House Early Childhood Centre on Pioneer Highway was one of the many local businesses who took part.

Centre manager Heidi Massicks says parents, staff and children had a particularly strong connection to the cause.

"These are charities that are especially dear to us as we have one of our children with a moderately-severe hearing loss who is currently being supported by the Southern Cochlear Implant Programme. We thought this would be a great chance to fundraise and give something back."

As part of the Cubby House fundraising, staff tie-dyed loud t-shirts with the children ready to wear on Loud Shirt Day. The team also set up an online donation page and the children created t-shirt art works that were auctioned off. Donation tins were also placed in each classroom.

"So far, we have collected $565.90 with donations still coming in. The children were super proud to wear their personally designed t-shirts and we received many positive comments from our families."

The day also saw the centre invite a special guest to their Nursery, to introduce some New Zealand Sign Language (NZSL) to parents. The hands-on workshop was designed to set parents up so they could continue to support children to learn NZSL at home.

"The teaching team have also been using a lot of NZSL with the children and they are beginning to pick up on some of these already," Ms Massicks says. "This will definitely become an annual appeal we will support again next year - bigger, brighter and louder than ever."

Hearing House fundraising and communications manager Melanie Louden says she's blown away by how many people across the country have come on board.

"This year's Loud Shirt Day has been fabulous, it's been so much fun. This week we've been receiving incredible photos of workplaces, kindies, schools and resthomes who have gone all out to support Loud Shirt Day."

"The money raised from Loud Shirt Day is vital to the work both organisations do to change the lives of deaf and hearing impaired children with cochlear implants and hearing aids. We are grateful for every bit of support that enables us to help parents give their child the gift of sound and the spoken word."

Hearing House chief executive officer Scott Johnston says with today's technology, a deaf child can speak just as well as any hearing child.

"Loud Shirt Day provides a wonderful opportunity to tell their stories and to raise much need funds to support them in their early years."

For more information, or to donate go to loudshirtdaynz.org.