Our Aim: A society in which deafblind people have the permanent support and recognition necessary to be equal citizens.
Scottish Charity No. SC 031167
Company Reg. No. 216974
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On Thursday 19th June, Stephen Joyce, Deafblind Scotland’s Training Manager, received the prestigious TFN Scottish Charity Champion award at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Glasgow, in acknowledgement of his intrepid fundraising work for the organisation.
Stephen is committed to helping deafblind people to achieve their dreams and in enabling them to life full and active lives, irrespective of the severity of their impairment. He is a well-known figure not only in the world of sensory impairment but also within charity and social care circles, and has cultivated an inspirational public image via his participation in so many arduous and demanding challenges. Stephen has always believed in pushing his boundaries and confronting the stereotypes that exist around sensory impaired people. To that end, he has consistently gone above and beyond the call of duty to increase awareness of deafblindness amongst the general public and to raise funds for Deafblind Scotland.
In recent years, Stephen has completed four marathons and abseiled off the Hilton Hotel in Glasgow, remarkable achievements for someone with no hearing and very little vision. Even more impressively, Stephen has just completed the amazing achievement of becoming the first deafblind person to climb Mount Kilimanjaro, the highest point in Africa and the highest free-standing mountain on the planet. Stephen reached the summit in the early hours of March 20th this year with his two stalwart guides, Jim Lee and Jim Harley. Naturally, Stephen was delighted to reach the summit given only 60% of climbers actually make it to the top, primarily as a result of altitude sickness.
Stephen said, “All the hard work and training we did over the last few months really paid off as I felt strong throughout the climb although it was a real battle on the final ascent, my legs felt like lead. I’m so glad I made it to the top, it’s been a dream of mine for many, many years now, and the panorama from Uhuru Peak (5,895m) was breathtaking, a glorious view of spectacular glaciers, ice cliffs and the savannah receding below, I’ll never forget it. I hope this will inspire other deafblind people to believe they can achieve their own personal goals.”
Stephen raised over £12,000 via the trek for Deafblind Scotland and continues to be an inspiration for deafblind and sighted-hearing people alike, thus it is fitting that he was named the TFN Scottish Charity Champion.
