Volunteer of the Month - January 2023 - Nikki Clube

“Invaluable”, “calm” and “wonderfully helpful” are just some of the ways that this month’s Volunteer of the Month, Nikki Clube, has been described.

Nikki began volunteering with Hearing Dogs for Deaf People in 2017 and not a day has passed that she hasn’t brought her cheerful, good-natured aptitude to every task.

Whilst she first joined as a Front of House volunteer in The Grange Restaurant & Gift Shop, it was a matter a few short weeks before a neighbour and fellow volunteer made it known that Nikki had been asking “all the right questions” about dog care, then a further fortnight or so before Nikki’s first trainee, Gabby, was welcomed into her home!

Gabby, at 9 months old, was certainly not the easiest first foray into puppy training, however Nikki was resolute, keen to learn and truly brought out the best in Gabby through her kindliness and dedication.

Ailsa Apletree, Assistant Training Manager, said, “Nikki worked absolute wonders with Gabby, going above and beyond what we would normally expect of a first-time volunteer. Pre-Covid she regularly started coming to site as a Training Assistant, so awareness of her ‘star pupil’ status and success with Gabby spread - every trainer who has met her comments on how amazing she is!”

Gabby qualified as a Sound Support Dog, her deaf partner commenting that she was “absolutely in love with her” and “very impressed with all the extra little things Nikki had helped her learn”. Another Show Cocker Spaniel, Ziggy, followed on, a good smattering of holiday covers, and now Nikki is yet again exemplifying the patience of a saint by training Klemmie, who is benefiting greatly from her special brand of calm persistence.

Jackie Avery, Dog Training Instructor, says: “Nikki almost definitely doesn’t know how brilliant she is! I trust her implicitly. She’s an absolutely fabulous volunteer who follows training and welfare advice to the letter, whilst equally letting me know what’s working or not in practice through her well-considered note taking. It’s a dream to collaborate and, together, work out the best strategy for Klemmie.”

Nikki’s instinctive charitability is evident in the way she’s picked up and happily engaged with any number of tasks and volunteer roles without fuss. Over and above dog training, Nikki is still on the volunteer roster for The Grange Restaurant as Angela Brazier, Front of House Manager, explains: “Nikki’s occasional help at the weekends is much appreciated and particularly invaluable when we’re a bit short on hands! I’m aware she manages to fit it in on top of all her other volunteering commitments, so her willingness to help when I’m struggling to fill the rota during the holiday season makes a huge difference.”

Never afraid of a challenge, Nikki bravely undertook the 100-metre descent of Portsmouth’s legendary Spinnaker Tower in 2019, raising over £400 for Hearing Dogs in the process.

Nicholas Orpin, Service Delivery Manager, says: “Nikki has always supported the Charity across the board so it was no surprise when her enthusiasm led her to sign up for the Spinnaker Tower abseil. On her JustGiving page she wrote:

I've seen first-hand how this lovely charity cares for its dogs in order to get them ready to become a deaf person's 'right-hand ear' and lifetime companion. We all know how wonderful dogs are at giving unconditional love, but isn't it great when they can also alert that person to everyday sounds that we, as hearing people, take for granted? And these dogs always do their work with a waggy tail! I hope you will feel moved to help me help a deaf person receive a wonderful companion. Thank you.

Her words rang true with friends and family who supported her, resulting in donations well in excess of her target. Nikki’s confidence and good nature helped everyone get the most out of the day.”

As if this wasn’t enough, Nikki is a friendly face in regular attendance at many of Hearing Dogs’ events from our recent 40th Anniversary celebrations, to the Christmas Market and our annual Great British Dog Walks “always finding little ways to help out” and make everything run smoothly.   

She donated soft furnishings during a freshen-up of our Assessment Rooms, gives generously to each season’s raffle, is involved with both scheduled and impromptu tours of site for visitors, and even extended a hand to prettily restoring strings of bunting to former glory!

Nikki’s valuable contribution to Hearing Dogs, in such a multitude of ways, cannot be overstated – she’s the type of volunteer who offers a helpful hand, at exactly the right moment. She tackles challenges, learns from setbacks, and communicates beautifully. Whatever the occasion, it’s truly a joy to see Nikki. We’re hopeful that her kind association with Hearing Dogs will last a lifetime and that many more dogs will be trained under her accomplished tutelage.