IDK Celebrates National Volunteer Day At Libraries

To celebrate National Volunteer Day in association with Volunteer Centres Ireland, the first readings of the IDK childrens’ book, “A Birthday for Ben“, took place at two libraries in Dublin on Friday, September 25th. In the morning the story’s creators gathered with volunteers and friends at Pearse Street Library to celebrate the release of the book, which tells the story of a little deaf boy called Ben who is celebrating his birthday. This was the perfect opportunity for writer Kate Gaynor, illustrator Karen Quirke and IDK’s Caroline Carswell to discuss the book after its launch.

An afternoon gathering also took place at County Library, Tallaght, a child-friendly environment with natural light, coloured chairs and tables. Arriving here, sign interpreter Deirdre Byrne-Dunne and reader Elizabeth Mathews were practising their reading of the book before the kids arrived. It wasn’t long before one little boy came along and showed interest in the book. Holding the book and posing for photos, Ciaran learned the message behind the story and can now tell his friends about the book. As Caroline Carswell, founder of Irish Deaf Kids, points out: ‘A Birthday for Ben’ is a very welcome resource for parents and teachers as it introduces the whole concept of hearing and deafness to young children. By making the book available to primary schools throughout Ireland, IDK and Special Stories hope to highlight the everyday issues that deaf children may encounter on a daily basis in mainstream schools”. “A Birthday for Ben” is priced at €8.99 and can be bought from the IDK website ahead of its availability at bookstores nationwide.

(compiled by Miriam Walsh)