Congratulations to Teresa Waldron, CEO of Derby-based charity Deaf-initely Women, who has been awarded the Outstanding Female Disability Champion Award 2024 at the Women’s Awards East Midlands!
The award celebrates Teresa’s dedication and her tireless work to ensure inclusivity and support for all D/deaf, deafblind, and hard-of-hearing women and her determination and leadership in making a lasting impact on deaf people's lives.
Teresa, who has a Deafblind condition, diagnosed at 33, gave an inspiring speech during the awards ceremony, saying:
"I believe in the charity sector – we make a real difference to people’s lives. This award goes to all Deaf, Deafblind, and Hard-of-Hearing women. I never let disability stop me."
Find out more about Deaf-initely Women on their website
The Big Give Fundraising Campaign for Deaf-initely Women
In addition to this exciting recognition, Deaf-initely Women has been selected to participate in The Big Give’s Women and Girls Week – a week-long fundraising campaign that supports organisations dedicated to improving the lives of D/deaf women and girls across the UK. This will support Deaf-initely Women's International Women’s Day 2025 event to enable D/deaf women to celebrate ther diversity and culture. D/deaf women can access health checks, employability, talks, workshops on health and wellbeing and support for deaf female business owners and traders.
Janice Silo, Chair of Deaf-initely Women, expressed her excitement:"We are thrilled to be chosen by The Big Give as one of the charities to help us fundraise for our essential services."
From 10th – 17th October 2024, donations made to Deaf-initely Women through The Big Give will be matched, doubling the impact of each contribution. The campaign’s goal is to raise £10,000 to promote and continue providing accessible services such as abuse support and advocacy for D/deaf, deafblind and hard-of-hearing women.
Every donation, no matter how small, can make a real difference. For example, a £5 donation becomes £10 with match funding, and with Gift Aid, it becomes £12.50 – enough to cover a D/deaf volunteer’s travel expenses to provide free health checks for D/deaf and deafblind and hard-of-hearing women.
Click here for more information on Deaf-initely Women's campaign or to donate
