Volunteer of the Month - August 2022 - Sheila Hodge

It’s the icing on the cake when hearing dog partnerships decide to give back to the charity by giving their time to volunteer fundraising and spreading knowledge of Hearing Dogs for Deaf People in their local community.

This may seem an easy and logical step, however it shouldn’t be overlooked that public speaking and putting yourself forward in social situations might not necessarily be the strong suit of someone with hearing loss.

It’s for that reason we are forever grateful when volunteers like Sheila Hodge step out of their comfort zone to champion the organisation that means so much to them. It’s brave, courageous and inspiring to others. Plus – there’s no two ways about it – who better to explain the purpose of what Hearing Dogs does, than someone who knows first-hand the difference a hearing dog like Hylton has made to their lives.

Vicky Ryan, Community Fundraising Manager, says:

“Sheila is an amazing woman who has been volunteering with us for three years now. Her hearing dog Hylton helps with her anxieties, however she still has them, so the fact she turns up to pretty much everything we ask her to come along to, makes her support of the charity even more impressive, I think.

Sheila regularly supports me by providing a real-life partnership story to my talks, and of course Hylton is there too to meet and greet in his burgundy jacket.

She regularly attends events and bucket collections in the West Midlands and will very often lend a hand with fundraising activity in Worcestershire too. During the Paws Appeal earlier this year, Sheila attended four collections helping to raise over £1,300 in one month alone! Even whilst on holiday, she kindly supported the recent Pets at Home Summer of Fundraising campaign by visiting a store on the Isle of Man to thank the staff for taking part.

Sheila is active on social media, retweeting and reposting to support everything Hearing Dogs does. She even came up with the idea of a first-day-of-the-month calendar post, which was so popular our own social media team plagiarised it as their own!”

Fellow volunteer, Anne Pickett, first met Sheila through social media over five years ago:

“She responded to one of my tweets about my own wonderful hearing dog Tegan (pictured below with Hylton). At that time, Sheila was on the waiting list for her first dog, so we started to message each other as she had many questions and anxieties that it was nice to talk through and allay.

We spoke about the many volunteering roles within the Hearing Dogs family, and she committed herself - right from the outset - to becoming a volunteer so that she could give a little back to the Charity.

Once Hylton was settled with her, she fulfilled that promise and continues to do so. Knitting dog toys and beautiful dolls to sell on Hearing Dogs stalls, cheque collections, taking part in bucket collections, numerous events - her presence is appreciated and valued wherever she goes.”

Caroline Girling, Major Giving Officer and volunteer, gets goosebumps just thinking of Sheila’s journey:

“I first met Sheila when she came for her placement at The Grange as I was the volunteer who had looked after Hylton for about nine months during his soundwork training. He was 10 months old when he arrived; my first proper hearing dog-in-training, so we went through some adventures together!

Hylton holds a special place in my heart, as does Sheila. If I remember correctly, Sheila had never gone to places on her own without either her husband Tim or her parents. She shed tears of joy when she and Hylton went into the gift shop at The Grange on their own for the very first time.

In the three and a half years that they've been together, Sheila has kept in contact, and we've shared Hylton's milestones. She's so appreciative of what Hylton's volunteers and trainers have done for her and “her boy” as she calls Hylton. I am astounded how they've grown together and how Sheila is now confident to volunteer at all sorts of community fundraising events.

It was so lovely to see them both recently at one of the Hearing Dogs 40th Anniversary get-togethers. Whilst I'm sure it's not easy for Sheila when there are so many people around, I'm so happy that Hylton has given her the confidence to fulfil her promise of giving back to the charity with her boy by her side.”