For more than 20 years, every hearing impaired child from Lithgow to Broken Hill has looked forward to receiving Good Vibrations, a magazine filled with stories of kids just like them from all over the region.
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But when its sponsor pulled out earlier in the year, it looked like the end of the road for the publication by Itinerant Support Teachers for Hearing (ISTH).
Fairfax Media's Nellie Connor heard about its plight, and together with general managers Sandra Chambers and Andrew Meenahan, as well as Australian Community Media Business and Operations manager Jacob Muscat, decided to do something about it.
Fairfax newspapers in the region sponsored the production and printing of this year's magazine, which is now on its way to children and school libraries throughout the state.
"Good Vibrations is important for all the deaf and hearing impaired kids to share with others, contribute and be a part of a community, connect with other hearing impaired kids and know they are not alone," Ms Connor said.
"Because each child puts together their own page, it is an opportunity to develop and use skills that they learn in school and intervention - thinking about and writing a story, telling others about their progress and favourite things, taking photos and using computer technology and design."
With 132 children from kindergarten to year 12 featured this year, ITSH's Jill Allen said it's something the kids wait for all year.
She thanked Fairfax Media for stepping in to keep the publication going.
"They might be the only deaf or hearing impaired child in their town, so this gives them a real connections to other kids just like them," Ms Allen said.
Parents of the younger ones benefit from the community interaction as well, Ms Connor said.
"You can see how they have learned and developed over the years from one edition to the next," she said.
