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Danny is volunteer turned employee at Deafness Research UK
A native of St Albans, Danny knows all about the devastation deafness can cause and the impact it has on children in particular and is determined to use his new role to champion deaf people everywhere, culminating in running the Brighton Marathon next year, to raise both funds and awareness for the charity.Born with hearing loss in both ears, Danny spent much of his early childhood in hospital undergoing numerous operations. Although hearing aids helped, he was left in need of speech therapy, which left him vulnerable to school bullying. "I lost my confidence as a child and at the age of six, I only had the speech of a two year old," explained Danny. "I was bullied and this had a huge impact on my self esteem. It has taken treatment, therapy and support to overcome it but now I am looking forward to working for Deafness Research UK and giving something back to everyone who believed in me."
"I am hoping to set an example by running the Brighton Marathon myself," explained Danny. "I think it's easier to encourage others to take part if you are doing so yourself."Danny is still in his early twenties, so hopes to see new funding go towards medical developments that may help children with hearing loss in the future. Thanks to advances in technology, Danny now gets along well with his own hearing aids but remains confident we will see further improvements in digital hearing aid technology to benefit everyone suffering from deafness."Danny is an example to us all of both the misery that hearing loss can cause and also how it can be overcome with support, so we are delighted to welcome him to our team," explained Vivienne Michael, Chief Executive of Deafness Research UK. "Danny is a natural choice to champion our fundraising activities, as every penny we raise helps to deliver further research while supporting other people like Danny who, with our help, can still go on to do great things with their lives."Every year hundreds of supporters of Deafness Research UK from across the country sign up to run the Virgin London and Brighton Marathons to raise money for the charity and both races have become signature events in the charity's fundraising calendar, with 2011 promising to be the best ever. The charity is encouraging more people to take part, so if you'd like to raise funds for vital hearing research and complete the challenge of a lifetime, get in touch. "The thought of other children in the same position that I was still drives me on and makes me determined to do my bit for Deafness Research UK," added Danny. "By running the Brighton Marathon I can help raise awareness of the plight of deaf children, while at the same time raise money for a charity committed to helping them. As an adult, I am now much more comfortable and upbeat about my situation but anything I can do to prevent others with hearing loss suffering as I have will be well worthwhile."
