Leading homebuilders Barratt and David Wilson Homes have donated £1,000 to an Oxfordshire based deaf children's charity.  

Auditory Verbal UK's (AVUK) Bicester office is located close to the housebuilder's developments Hemins Place and The Chimes in the newly established community at Kingsmere.  

The funding, which comes as the developers' ongoing commitment to supporting the areas in which it builds, will go towards the charity's Family Bursary Fund.

AVUK's mission is that all deaf children will have the same opportunities in life as their hearing peers. It is the only charity in the UK offering auditory verbal therapy – a highly specialised family centred programme which helps deaf babies and children learn to listen and speak. 

Regarding the homebuilder's donation, AVUK Head of Fundraising, Emma Johnson said: “This donation from Barratt and David Wilson Homes is a great help as we have to continue supporting the families of deaf children especially at the end of a very difficult year.

“To continue our support through the pandemic we quickly moved our services online to ensure families can access specialist support at a critical time for their child's language development.”

This year the charity is celebrating its 18th birthday. It was established in 2002 as The Auditory Verbal Centre by Jacqueline Stokes, the first Auditory Verbal therapist in the UK. 80% of children who attend their programme for at least two years achieve age appropriate language and most go on to attend mainstream schools.

To ensure that income is not a barrier to deaf babies and children receiving support. the AVUK bursary scheme which enables families on low incomes to access the Auditory Verbal UK programme. A year of Auditory Verbal therapy costs £6,825, and as AVUK receives no Government funding, it relies entirely on the generosity of trusts, foundation, and individuals.  

Adrian Evans, Managing Director of Barratt Homes West Midlands, said: “Auditory Verbal UK is an excellent example of an organisation going the extra mile to support young children, promoting social and educational equality whilst spreading awareness of the schemes available to deaf children.” 

Dominic Harman, Managing Director of David Wilson Homes Mercia, said: “As a leading housebuilder it is important for us to support organisations close to our developments and help them continue to provide for the community.

“We are happy to provide a donation that will aid Auditory Verbal UK's Family Bursary Fund in continuing their excellent work that will no doubt be vital to deaf children during these difficult times and beyond.”

For more information about Auditory Verbal UK, visit www.avuk.org.

Hemins Place and The Chimes are open by appointment only. For more information about Hemins Place, please call the sales team on 0333 3558 479 or visit www.dwh.co.uk/heminsplace. For more information about The Chimes, please call the sales team on 0333 3558 475 www.barratthomes.co.uk/thechimes.

For more information on the measures Barratt Homes have taken with social distancing along with an informational video, visit https://www.barratthomes.co.uk/the-buying-process/safety-and-social-distancing/

ENDS

NOTES TO EDITORS 

1. For further information about Barratt and David Wilson Homes please contact Lily Whiting on 0116 247 1777 / 0737 794 0805 or email lily@unsworthsugden.co.uk

2. Barratt and David Wilson Homes are part of Barratt Developments PLC, a FTSE100 company

3. Barratt was awarded a maximum five star rating for the 11th consecutive year in the 2020 Home Builders Federation Customer Satisfaction Survey

4. Site managers working for Barratt Group won 92 awards for quality workmanship in the 2020 NHBC Pride in the Job Awards. Barratt has won more Pride in the Job awards than any other housebuilder for the last 16 years.