Shaila started volunteering with us in 2019. She is an administration and information outreach volunteer, and helps hundreds of people with hearing loss by giving information in both English and Gujarati.
“I feel very happy volunteering for RNID. Volunteering has brought me a lot of opportunities and certainly helped me boost my confidence!”
Shaila’s volunteering journey with RNID started in January 2019:
“After retiring in 2011, I really wanted to do something to serve the community and help other people who, like me, have hearing loss. I was always aware of the RNID, and I was hoping to get involved and support as much as I could”.
In her role as Administration and Information Outreach Volunteer, Shaila’s been supporting the charity in a variety of tasks: from her admin role in the London office, to providing a wide range of information about hearing loss in the community, helping staff at key events like Deaf Awareness Week 2019 in Brighton – where she carried out over 30 hearing checks with members of the public!
Shaila’s background and great communication and language skills have certainly made a huge and positive difference to the success of the Hear to Inform and Connect project in the South East.
“I come from a big family, with a wide understanding of the importance of
communication. I thought I could go a long way in helping other people by using my language skills, and particularly supporting the Gujarati speaking community in the UK”, she says.
Shaila’s great spirit of initiative also led to a series of very successful events
involving the Oshwal community in the South East of England. Since the summer of 2019, Shaila has been supporting RNID staff at several fairs and large events, helping hundreds of people with hearing loss by translating presentations and talks and providing information in both English and Gujarati.
“I would like to recommend volunteering with RNID. Knowledge about hearing loss, tinnitus and deafness is so important to everyone, at any age. The more knowledge and information we are able to provide to the community, the better it will be for everyone.”