Children’s charity The Shepherd Centre has announced Australian TV presenter and actor Mike Goldman as the organisation’s official ambassador.
Goldman, who is known for his time hosting Big Brother Australia and his role in Hoges: The Paul Hogan Story, will be helping to raise awareness of the importance of early intervention support for hearing-impaired children across the country.
He first became involved with The Shepherd Centre during its annual fundraising campaign Loud Shirt Day in 2016.
Goldman said: “The Shepherd Centre helps deaf kids and kids with hearing loss learn how to listen and speak, which is really important. What’s incredible is that 85 per cent of these kids usually learn to speak by the time they go to school just as well as their hearing peers.
“Participating in Loud Shirt Day was a lot of fun. A friend of mine has two kids with hearing loss who go to The Shepherd Centre and after seeing more of the work that they do, I had to get involved.”
“The sooner kids can visit the Shepherd Centre and get intervention, the better the outcome. If you can learn to hear what your friends, your family and your teachers are saying, you won’t get left behind.”
Jim Hungerford, CEO of The Shepherd Centre, said Goldman’s passion makes him the perfect advocate for The Shepherd Centre’s programs and the successes of these children.
“Mike has been a big supporter of The Shepherd Centre for some time now and we are excited to have him on board as an official ambassador,” Hungerford said.
“We welcome him to The Shepherd Centre family and look forward to working together to shine a light on the importance of early intervention for deaf and hearing-impaired children.
