Dale Bonnycastle Scholarship and Bursary Fund
The Dale Bonnycastle Scholarship and Bursary Fund was created by Hear Québec in June 2019 in recognition of Dale Bonnycastle’s contribution to the organization. The purpose of this scholarship is to assist people with hearing loss obtain the technology that would significantly improve their quality of life.
Dale is a retired audiologist and a founding member of Hear Québec and is currently working as one of our facilitators. From volunteering in the office to teaching speechreading and doing outreach, Dale wears many hats at Hear Québec. From the very beginning of her work as an audiologist, Dale recognized the impact hearing loss had on people and was determined to do something about it. The concept of creating a self-help group based on peer mentoring, support and finding solutions to overcoming hearing loss was key.
It was clear to Dale that an essential component to overcoming hearing loss is having access to the best technology and making good use of it. Where there is accessibility, full integration and participation is possible. The technology available to persons with hearing loss today can make an enormous positive impact on their quality of life by optimizing communication, participation and integration.
This technology can, and often is, cost prohibitive to so many. We know there is government assistance available but there are many instances where more funding is needed to obtain equipment that is not covered by these programs – this is precisely the gap this scholarship seeks to address.