CoCreate are back with us for another Coffee & Crafts at Bournemouth Deaf Club on Friday 27th October 2023. 10am-1pm. This event is free to attend and open to anyone in the d/Deaf or Hard of Hearing community. BSL communication and all materials provided. Come together in a welcoming space and get creative with the support of professional artists.
CoCreate are back with us for another Coffee & Crafts at Bournemouth Deaf Club on Friday 22nd September 2023. 10am-1pm. This event is free to attend and open to anyone in the d/Deaf or Hard of Hearing community. BSL communication and all materials provided. Come together in a welcoming space and get creative with the support of professional artists.
Mobile phones now make it possible for deaf people to enjoy immediate communication and give them the independence to have real-time conversations and exchange information. Smart phones give access to a range of video calling apps such as FaceTime, WhatsApp Call, Facebook Messenger, Skype and Glide as well as video relay apps and a whole range of subtitling apps and entertainment apps with BSL and/or closed captioning.
WDDA has been awarded 50 Pay as You Go SIMs by Vodaphone (that each come with 20GB data plus unlimited calls and texts each month for a period of six months) as part of their Charities.connected initiative. If you are are d/Deaf or Hard of Hearing, live in Wiltshire or Dorset and would benefit from 20GB of data plus unlimited UK calls and texts every 30 days for six months please comment below, message us or email admin@wdda.co.uk by NO LATER than Monday 31st July 2023 (SIM cards must be activated by 19 August 2023).
Join Wiltshire and Dorset Deaf Association for a social coffee morning at Bournemouth Deaf Club on Friday 14th July 2023.
– Coffee & Cake
– Natter
– Scrabble and table games
– Quiz
This event is open to anyone in the d/Deaf or Hard of Hearing community. No need to book. Drop into Bournemouth Deaf Club 10am-1pm. Email Zoe at admin@wdda.co.uk or call/text 07793284109 for more information.
https://fb.me/e/HXqzAh6RCoCreate are back with us for another Coffee & Crafts at Bournemouth Deaf Club on Friday 28th July 2023. 10am-1pm. This event is free to attend and open to anyone in the d/Deaf or Hard of Hearing community. BSL communication and all materials provided. Come together in a welcoming space and get creative with the support of professional artists.
Being creative is good for you! The winter months can be difficult for many of us and our mental health. While we’re all familiar with the stats on one in four people in the UK experiencing mental ill-health, in the deaf community the prevalence of mental illness can range from 30–60%. The main thing it often comes down to is communication. Some deaf individuals feel incredibly isolated due to not being able to hear or speak with others easily, which can have a knock-on effect on their mental wellbeing.
Wiltshire & Dorset Deaf Association is joining forces with CoCreate Dorset (CIC) and Bournemouth Deaf Club to create a warm, welcoming and accessible space for the d/Deaf and Hard of Hearing community to come together to socialise and develop creative and practical skills through visual arts projects.
CoCreate has a proven track record of working closely with the Deaf community in Dorset and supporting people to express their ideas and experiences through creative means.
Join us for some Christmas Crafts with CoCreate at Bournemouth Deaf Club on Friday 16th December 2022.
This event is open to anyone in the d/Deaf or Hard of Hearing community. BSL interpreter and all materials provided.
Come together in a warm, welcome space and get creative with the support of professional artists.
www.cocreate.org.uk
No need to book. Drop into Bournemouth Deaf Club 10am-2pm.
Email Zoe at admin@wdda.co.uk or call/text 07793284109 for more information.
A huge thank you to everyone who helped to make our ‘Sign for Change’ Family Fun Day such a huge success! The pandemic put a stop to last year’s event so it was very special to be able to bring so many d/Deaf and hearing families together again to mark the final day of ‘International Week of Deaf People 2021’.
The sun was shining on us and the fabulous team at Picnic Park Deli made us very welcome. The day kicked off with a performance by local singer/songwriter Nick Braunton who warmed up the Sunday morning crowd with a mix of well known songs as well as some of his own songs. Next up was WDDA Trustee, George Raggett, who led a beautiful performance by the St Clements Signs in Worship Group quickly followed by our award winning ‘Significance’ Sign Choir. It was fantastic to see so many people join the ‘Sign-a-Long’ and learning some basic sign language and the support from the general public and passers by was incredible. So many people stopped to find out more about the work of Wiltshire and Dorset Deaf Association and learn more about the steps they could take to become more deaf aware. We gave out so many leaflets and BSL finger spelling charts throughout the course of the day and our #Make It Clear clear panel face masks proved a real hit.
Such a lovely day, thank you!
Such a great event! Really enjoyed it!
Fabulous day and even the weather smiled on us. Hopefully see you all next year!
Great day had by all! Thank you Zoe and George.
What a fabulous day! So many special memories made and shared by so many.
In the children’s entertainment area Sarah from Diamond Faces made LOTS of children (and some adults!) very happy with some truly impressive face painting and Lisa from Squidge & Pop WOWED the crowd with an incredible interactive bubble show. Children and families got involved in the arts and crafts activities and got creative with our makeshift chalk graffiti wall.
Back on the stage we were lucky to be joined by internationally renowned violinist Barbara Gasior who put on an incredible performance and even got some of the crowd up on their feet dancing! We welcomed ‘Significance’ Sign Choir back to the stage to round the day off with another performance and a final ‘Sign a Long’ with the audience. A All in all it was a fabulous day. Thanks again to Adam and the team at Picnic Park Cafe, WDDA Trustees George and Donna, members of the St Clements Signs in Worship group, ‘Significance’ Sign Choir, Nick Braunton, Barbara Gasior, Sarah from Diamond Faces Professional Facepainting, Lisa from Squidge & Pop and to ALL of you who joined us on the day. THANK YOU!
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Fancy learning something new in lockdown?
Thanks to the National Lottery Community Fund we are able to bring our popular Bite-sized Deaf Communication Skills training sessions to you online for FREE as part of our ‘Make It Clear!’ Campaign.
The session is for anyone that wants to know more about how varying degrees of deafness impacts on the daily lives of Deaf and Hard of Hearing people. It provides some useful skills that can be quickly mastered to begin communicating with any deaf or deaf blind person as your patient or their family member, colleague, or acquaintance.
On completion you will be issued an individual certificate of achievement. In addition, customer facing groups and teams will receive a, “We are Deaf Friendly” certificate for public display.
Various dates available.
Places are limited. Booking essential.
Thank you for your valued support in 2020. From all of us at WDDA we wish you a very Merry, Safe and Peaceful Christmas!
Check out our Social Media channels for some more festive cheer in the form of some beautifully signed Christmas songs and poems kindly performed by George.
