Deaf community raised £6000 for our campaign at their big bash
They danced the night away at the charity ball

By Sarah Johnson LAST Saturday, Scotland’s deaf community had a ball after six childhood friends organised a night to remember and raised £6000 for our appeal. The Edinburgh International Conference Centre was the venue for the country’s first Deaf Charity Ball, organised by Gerry and Kay Hughes, Caroline and Andrew Thomson and Rod and Audrey Dawson.  Awareness The six, all born deaf, decided to form a committee last November and arrange an event on behalf of their community to raise money for CHAS.

From left — Organisers Andrew and Caroline Thomson, Rodney and Audrey Dawson, Kay and Gerry Hughes.

Gerry, a teacher at St Vincent’s School for the Deaf in Glasgow, said, “After a lengthy discussion we felt CHAS would be our priority as the parents and children need a lot of support. We contacted the deaf community to raise awareness for CHAS across the UK. “We had monthly meetings in our homes. We’ve known each other since we were little so didn’t want roles like chairman, secretary or treasurer, it simply worked that you were chairman in your own home.” Kay, a Communications and Support Worker at St Vincent’s, said, “We had discussions on how to keep the costs down and reduce expenses. We had to pay for the band, the venue and food.  “We had great fun selecting the champagne and canapes. “We chose the EICC as the venue because we wanted room for lots of people to come. “One of the most difficult things to organise was the piper. We wanted the Black Watch but they’re away in Iraq, so we wrote to a piper in Edinburgh who was delighted to play. “We contacted Chas for information and asked for a video to show the guests. But we couldn’t hear it and it had no subtitles, so we made our own.” With help from a friend at the BBC, the committee incorporated the original CHAS video into footage of Linda Richards using sign language to interpret. Kay added, “We had screens around the venue showing the video, to explain to all the guests why we chose CHAS.  “Many guests travelled from all over Scotland and England.  “Some of the 700 guests could hear so it gave them the opportunity to meet the deaf community, and the chance to learn sign language. “Audrey, Caroline and I all wore the same dress so everyone would know we were on the committee. The men dressed the same too, all in black and white.” Gerry said, “Everything went very well. “We had two sisters, one is deaf and the other is hearing, who demonstrated Scottish dance. There was a wonderful atmosphere with dancing and laughter. “The ball finished at 1 am and the committee had to push guests out the doors to go home. “When we get going there’s no stopping us! “We handed over the cheque for £5250 to Kerry Jackson from CHAS with such pride. Raffles and donations came to roughly £600. Delighted “We’re delighted with the amount we’ve raised. It’s made all the work worthwhile. We had a few wines to celebrate! “It’s been pretty tough and taken up so much time, but we’re all very happy to support CHAS. This is something to be proud of.” Kerry Jackson said, “I’m always amazed at the titanic efforts and commitment shown to CHAS by our many supporters — it’s truly inspirational.  “But what makes the fabulous achievement of the Deaf Charity Ball committee even more special was that they chose to look past their own cause to support CHAS. It just goes to show that the stories in The Sunday Post about our children and families touch the lives of everyone.” Next

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