Lancaster Insurance and customers help raise over £12,500 for Auditory Verbal UK

Since announcing their partnership four months ago, Lancaster Insurance is thrilled that, thanks to its customers support and a charity auction, over £12,500 has been raised for charity Auditory Verbal UK (AVUK) to support more deaf children to have the same opportunities in life as their hearing peers.

Since November, classic car owners have been able to support Auditory Verbal UK by adding a £1, £5 or £10 optional donation when purchasing a classic car insurance policy with Lancaster, and an incredible £5,000 has been raised so far thanks to generous enthusiasts.

In addition, last month at the WB & Sons auction a special Jaguar XK8, which formed the culmination of an initiative with Classics World, went under the hammer raising a further £7,500 for AVUK. WB & Sons kindly waived their fees so AVUK will benefit from the full amount which was donated through Sporting Bears.

AVUK is the only charity in the UK offering Auditory Verbal therapy – a highly specialised early intervention family centred programme which helps deaf babies and children learn to listen and speak and have the same opportunities in life as their hearing peers. The charity’s mission is that all deaf children under five have the opportunity to access an Auditory Verbal therapy programme close to home without income being a barrier.

Andrew Evanson, Senior Operations at Lancaster Insurance, comments: “We’re passionate about championing charities and helping increase awareness of the incredible work they do. Our customers have been fantastic in supporting AVUK and we couldn’t have raised this tremendous amount without them, so a huge thank you to everyone involved.”

AVUK Chief Executive Anita Grover said: “This is a wonderful amount of money and we are really grateful to have the support of Lancaster Insurance and would like to thank them and their generous customers. There are 7,200 deaf children under five in the UK who currently face the possibility of lower academic achievement and employment prospects and who are at higher risk of poor mental health, bullying and social exclusion. But it doesn’t have to be this way. When children and families have access to effective, early support, deaf children can get an equal start at school and opportunities are transformed.”

Auditory Verbal VUK has never received any direct Government funding and relies on the generosity of trusts, foundations, individuals as well as partnerships like this one with Lancaster. Every penny raised will go towards ensuring more deaf babies and children can access support from AVUK enabling them to learn to listen and speak on a par with their hearing friends.

Find more info:
avuk.org
Lancaster Insurance