WHO: Manchester United legend Bryan Robson and actors Alan Halsall and Sue Jenkins (Coronation Street/ Brookside), The Co-operative Group Executive, RNID's Chief Executive and staff from The Co-operative and RNID

WHAT: Launch of The Co-operative charity of the year for 2009 with a giant alarm clock.

WHERE: New Century House, Corporation Street. Manchester M60 4ES

WHEN: 10.00, Monday 26th January 2009

The Co-operative, which has adopted RNID as its Charity of the Year, is today (Monday 26 January) waking up the city to get one million people in the UK to check their hearing. Bryan Robson OBE, Alan Halsall and Sue Jenkins will also be on hand to raise the alarm.

The Co-operative and RNID, the charity for people who are deaf or hard of hearing, want to get people thinking about how important their hearing is so they don't become isolated in social situations and frustrated by not being able to follow conversations with friends and family.

RNID is launching a free internet hearing check at www.rnid/hearingmatters and already provides a telephone hearing check on 0844 800 3838. After receiving the results of RNID's check, the service gives advice on next steps and hearing health tips.

Emma Harrison, Director of External Affairs, RNID says: "In getting people to wake up to hearing loss and take the check we are encouraging them to take action to get the best from their hearing.

"Hearing loss affects one in seven people in the UK yet it can take people up to 15 years to address it. With an ageing population we are facing a hearing loss time bomb and we want to ensure those who aren't hearing as well as they used to lead a fulfilling and active life."

Bryan Robson, OBE said: "The Co-operative has a strong history of supporting the community. I am delighted that they have chosen RNID as their charity of the year because their work touches so many people's lives'.

Sue Jenkins added: "Both professionally and privately, my hearing is key to being able to live a full and active life. I'm here to wake Manchester up to hearing Matters because we should all enjoy the best hearing we can."

The Co-operative Group's chief executive Peter Marks said: "People who are deaf and hard of hearing can miss out on a full life and become incredibly isolated from their family, friends and the community. With the help of our ever- supportive staff, customers and members, RNID can make a massive difference to millions of people in the UK who are deaf and hard of hearing so they don't have to suffer in silence.

"Our past UK-wide fundraising campaigns have raised substantial sums for our partner charities and with the tremendous enthusiasm and commitment of our staff for this new initiative, I am sure we can reach our ambitious target of raising £2m for this very worthwhile cause."

The partnership is being launched on the day that research shows 91% of people in the UK believe those over the age of 55 should be offered the chance to have their hearing tested on the NHS.

The Co-operative is supporting the charity's aim to check the hearing of up to one million people and will be providing opportunities for its employees to have free hearing checks at its offices and branches across the UK.

Notes

1. The GfK NOP omnibus survey was carried out in November 2008 with a random location sample of 1023 people, designed to be representative of all adults in the UK.

- Ninety-one per cent either strongly agreed (74%) or agreed (17%) with the statement 'Everyone aged over 55 should be offered the chance to have their hearing tested free on the NHS'. 88% of those aged 65 or over either agreed or strongly agreed.

- Twenty-seven per cent of respondents said that have trouble hearing in some social situations.

- Fifty-five per cent of respondents know someone who has a hearing loss.

2. RNID is the largest charity working to change the world for the UK's nine million deaf and hard of hearing people. We do this with the help of our members by campaigning and lobbying, raising awareness of deafness and hearing loss, providing services and through social, medical and technical research.

RNID