Why I became involved… What we can do

You may have noticed that we’ve been calling Deaf Empowerment a non-profit agency… what exactly does that mean?

In order to be a non-profit agency, a business must be setup so that the reason for the business operating is not to earn a profit. For example, when someone starts a store, say for example, Wal-Mart, they do so to make money. The company grows and earns a profit. A non-profit agency starts with the intention of doing something to better society, and does not hope to earn a profit. Sure people who work for a non-profit can get paid for working, but the agency itself does not exist to make more money.

There is a very long process that an agency must go through to become an official non-profit in the eyes of the IRS. Deaf Empowerment finished that earlier this year.

It means that all the money we receive will go towards our programs, such as literacy program, flyers, sign language classes, and so on! The Board, Melanie Blechl, and myself are volunteering to make events, and programs happen.

We’re doing this for YOU! Deaf Empowerment is different from local Deaf Clubs. How? Deaf clubs are social groups. They are setup to give D/HH people the opportunity to get together and have fun! Deaf Empowerment is a service agency. We work to teach hearing people about Deaf rights, like the American with Disabilities Act.

Why is Deaf Empowerment here!? Because people need a place to go to get help! For instance, if you, a Deaf person, go to a doctor's appointment, and the doctor refuses to pay for a sign language interpreter, what do you do? You've explained to the doctor that it's the law that they need to pay for an interpreter, but still they do not provide one. Come to us!

We want to work with places like doctors offices and employers and explain what they need to do. We want to help hearing people understand what we need to be successful.

Maybe you are looking for a job, and you can't find one. Maybe you feel you are not being given a chance because you’re D/HH. Come to us!

Deaf Empowerment cannot do it alone, we need YOU to help spread the word to the community about the needs of the D/HH community.

Why do we want to do this? The Board, and Melanie all have different experiences about why they want to help. In upcoming newsletters you’ll have the opportunity to hear from different people about why they are involved with Deaf Empowerment.

Today, I woud like to start by sharing my story… why I'm here.

I was born to hearing parents. My parents do not know sign language. They tried, but doctors back then encouraged them against signing. The “professionals” were concerned about me not using my voice. But I was lonely! I didn’t care how much speech therapy would help me speak! I couldn't understand! I was with hearing people all the time, I could not follow what was happening around me.

Sign language changed my life! I finally learned when I was five years old. I also had a hard time making friends because I could not understand many of my peers. I wish I knew about Deaf Club when I was a kid! I want parents to know about those types of opportunities so that D/HH children can have friends, and be with others who are faced with similar experiences. Children don’t need to feel lonely and isolated.

We need to support one another, show that we can do whatever we want! The only thing we can’t do is hear!

I had trouble finding a job before, and had been discriminated by people, however, I believe it is only because they didn’t know better. Most people don’t understand the needs of the D/HH community.

So that's why I wanted to be part of Deaf Empowerment. It's because of Deaf Empowerment that my parents are now taking a sign language class! It's because of Deaf Empowerment that we have the opportunity to explain to people the Americans with Disabilities Act, and help hearing people understand the need for interpreters. It's because of Deaf Empowerment that if you as a D/HH individual want to learn to read English, we can offer that! We respect American Sign Language and Deaf culture, we don't want to take that away, we are simple trying to empower you to have the life you want!

Now, what do you feel Deaf Empowerment could do? Share with us by emailing us at info@deafe.org, or call at (920) 729-4420 [TTY]. Remember we can't do it without YOU, so contact us and find out how you can become involved!