Deaf Awareness Week

So, this is going to be my final blog for this class. I have enjoyed doing deaf community blogs tremendously! If after all of this blogs makes you thirst for more information on the deaf community, I recommend that you check out Deaf Awareness Week.
Deaf Awareness Week (DAW) is the last full week (Sunday through Saturday) of September, in commemoration of the first World Congress of the Deaf held that week in 1951. However, Deaf Awareness events can be held at anytime of the year. For example, a school may hold a Deaf Festival in April to provide the students, faculty and staff several months of preparation; or a library may have a Deaf Awareness exhibit in December in honor of the birth of Laurent Clerc (Dec. 26, 1785) and Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet (Dec. 10, 1787).

Events
Deaf Awareness events range from an exhibit in the corridor of a school to a full week of events scheduled throughout a city. Performing artists, lectures, art exhibits, film festivals, historical exhibits, Deaf Festivals, booths in area shopping malls, deaf awareness programs held in conjunction with sporting events -- these are just a sampling of past events held across the nation. Keep your eyes open for events happening in your community.

Objectives

• To be able to differentiate between misconception and fact about deafness and deaf culture.


• To understand the differences in the attitudinal approaches to deafness by the hearing public and deaf people themselves.


• To learn about types, degrees, and causes of hearing loss and other audiological information.


• To become familiar with terminology related to deafness.


• To become familiar with various forms of sign language and other communication means.


• To understand the functions of assistive devices used by people who are deaf or hard of hearing.


• To better understand an interpreter's role.


• To learn about the types of educational programs and support services that are available to deaf persons.


• To gain an understanding of the psychosocial aspects of deafness.


• To become familiar with the services and resources that are available to the deaf community.


• To learn relevant tips for communicating with deaf and hard of hearing people.


• To have a better understanding of deaf culture.


• To recognize that "Deaf People Can Do Anything Except Hear!" (I. King Jordan)
  

So, for this year, in Boston area, there are events happening at Holy Cross College, in Worcester, MA.

Click on link for more information: http://www.holycross.edu/publicaffairs/features/2004-2005/asl_week

In Rochester, NY: http://rdaw.rochesterdeafclub.com/
In NJ, http://www.njdaw.org/
In Washington DC: http://www.njdaw.org/

However, if you are nowhere near those areas, and are interested in attending one in your local community, please leave a comment and I will get back to you on where you can go in your area!

Companies that are involved with Deaf Community Media

There has been and continues to be a crucial need to bridge these divides that cut off deaf community from hearing community. There is, in a sense, a need to make the Deaf world hearing and the hearing world Deaf. Companies who are involved with both hearing and deaf communities are founded to build those bridges, to make those connections between communities, and to advocate for those who need a voice.

Established in 1974, DEAF Media, Inc., is a nonprofit corporation dedicated to advocating for Deaf arts and to developing cultural, educational, and professional opportunities for the Deaf community. Through its arts-oriented mission, DEAF Media promotes the general public’s awareness, acceptance, and appreciation of Deaf people.

Their Mission: "We accomplish our mission with a commitment to excellence through community events, school projects, television and live theater productions, and special programs done in partnership with Bay Area cultural institutions. We also offer broad consultancy and technical assistance in the field of deafness, particularly with regard to the arts and communication."

For 33 years, DEAF Media has worked to secure recognition of the arts, culture and language of Deaf America--and, to provide meaningful access and participation for the Deaf community to Bay Area cultural institutions.Here are just some of their accomplishments:

• 3 Emmy Awards for pioneering television work serving the Deaf community


• 6 DEAF Media Salons with Yerba Buena Center for the Arts


• 8 Annual Deaf Showcases at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts


• 8 Productions of Celebration: Deaf Artists and Performers, the first continuing festival of Deaf artists and performers


• 8 Episodes of Rainbow's End (KQED-PBS) the first and only national TV series for Deaf children


• 8 Additional television productions


• 21 DEAF Media productions featuring Deaf Artists and storytellers as part of Oakland Museum festivals


• 12 Professional gallery exhibitions for Deaf artists


• 18 Feasts for the Eyes celebrating ASL storytelling


• 22 Professional development workshops for Deaf artists


• 25 Additional live productions of Deaf presentations


• 60 DEAF Media family programs with Deaf Artists at the Oakland Museum of California


• 77 Deaf Docents Tours of the Bay Area arts museums


• 78 Percent Deaf majority Board


• 133 Episodes of Silent Perspectives (KCSM-PBS), the first TV talk show of, by, and for the Deaf


• 328 Deaf-centered co productions with Bay Area arts and education partners


• 611 Weeks of Dial a News, the nations first TTY Community Bulletin Board


• 60,700 plus, Deaf and hearing students, teachers and parents enlightened by the Deaf storytellers of the DEAN project and Project Story


• 62,048 reasons to support DEAF Media's continuing work

Another company, DeafVision, is a Deaf minority owned and operated web hosting and development company. A legal corporation, DeafVision was founded in 1997 and is based in San Francisco, California, with clients across the globe. A socially responsible company that believes in giving back to the community, DeafVision often performs pro bono design and consulting work for Deaf nonprofits. In 1997 DeafVision established a free Nonprofit Web Hosting Program to assist more nonprofits in making their home on the web. Each year, DeafVision donates more than $5,000 of in-kind services to various nonprofits.

It is amazing how the those companies are dedicated to make the deaf's "voice" be heard a little bit louder through the companies. Without the companies assisting the deaf, the deaf's voice would not be heard as well.