Volunteer Opportunites
New England Homes for the Deaf
New England Homes for the Deaf is a rest home/ nursing home for Deaf senior citizens, located in Danvers, Mass. It’s a wonderful place to practice your ASL skills, as well as meet some interesting members of the Deaf Community! Volunteers would ideally:
• Assist activities staff in all major activities Board games, exercise, walking group, card games, BINGO, special events, etc.
• Make one-on-one visits with residents who cannot participate in everyday activities.
• Foster a supportive and friendly environment for the residents.
If interested in volunteering, please contact Rose Cote, Human Resources, at (978) 774-0445, or at info@nehd.org . For more information, visit www.nehd.org
THE RAPE CRISIS CENTER OF CENTRAL MASSACHUSETTS (RCCCM) would like you to support or volunteer!
The Rape Crisis Center of Central Massachusetts (RCCCM) had an open house social on September 27, 2006. This event was geared towards Deaf women in hopes that the Center would attract more Deaf women and train them as counselors/advocates to Deaf women who have been sexually abused or raped. Denise Roy, Program Coordinator for the RCCCM, and Susan Philip, Chairperson of the Project Implementation Board (PIB) worked closely together to plan this event. Individuals attending the open house social were very excited and impressed that the RCCCM recently completed training for Deaf women as counselors/advocates. Collaborative efforts with Our Deaf Sister's Center (ODSC), the Center for Living and Working, Inc. (CLW), and the RCCCM, through a grant, made it possible to implement this much needed service. The newly Deaf counselors and PIB were given a tour of the Worcester facility, enjoyed refreshments, and were given an opportunity to support the agency through raffles (awesome raffle gifts were given away!).
The purpose of this event was to inform the Deaf Community of this new program and to recruit more Deaf women to become counselors/advocates. The training is 45 hours and is provided twice a year. That is exciting!
In the past, the RCCCM used TTYs or a Relay Service or an interpreter to communicate with a Deaf woman in crisis. Quite frankly, these avenues created a language barrier. A Deaf counselor/advocate can provide better communication access to the individual in crisis. This service offers confidential individual counseling, medical and legal advocacy, and is provided on a 24-hour basis. All services are free of charge.
If you would like to donate Deaf friendly posters or anything you think would benefit our agency, please contact the Rape Crisis Center via TTY (M-F, 9 -5): 1.888.887.7130 or send your donations to: RCCCM, 799 West Boylston St, Worcester, Mass 01609.
Last note, we are available to answer your questions if appropriate. If you would like for us to come and talk about utilizing Deaf Counselors or making agencies more accessible or Deaf Culture, please do contact us.
AMERICORP VOLUNTEER AT BIG BROTHERS BIG SISTERS OF GREATER LAWRENCE always looking for more Bigs and especially more Littles who might benefit from such a program.
My name is Courtney Carroll and I'm an AmeriCorp Volunteer at Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater Lawrence. My project is to further develop a program called Mentoring Out Loud which matches local Deaf and Hard of Hearing children with caring and responsible D/HH adults or ASL skilled adults. The goal of this friendly match is to build an environment that elevates both individuals to a more positive social, emotional, and academic viewpoint.
We've recently teamed up with Harvard's Committee on Deaf Awareness and have planed events for every other Saturday for the remainder of the school year for the Bigs and Littles involved in this amazing program.
We are always looking for more Bigs and especially more Littles who might benefit from such a program. If anyone would like more information or knows anyone that would like to become involved please contact me: courtneyestellecarroll@yahoo.com.
PROJECT HOPE wonders if you want to volunteer.
DEAF INC
D.E.A.F. Inc. encourages and empowers Deaf, Hard of Hearing, DeafBlind and Late-Deafened individuals to lead independent and productive lives. There are a number of different programs available to the Deaf and Hard of Hearing Community. D.E.A.F. Inc., is located in Allston (Boston), Mass., and is easily accessible by the T. This is another wonderful place to get out into the Deaf Community and make a difference volunteering!
Volunteer positions are, and are not limited to:
o Front Desk Receptionist
o Answer phones, take messages, TTY calls, greeting consumers, etc.
o Project HOPE Assistant
o Making posters, contacting companies for educational materials, helping to organize and plan different community events, etc.
o Adult Education Classes
o Assist teacher, provide extra help to students, etc.
If interested in volunteering, please contact Jennifer Glinos at (617) 254-4041 or at info@deafinconline.org. For more information, visit www.deafinconline.org.
Deaf Blind Contact Center- DBCC
Deaf Blind Contact Center- DBCC is a non-profit organization serves the needs of DB customers by providing social events once a month.
• DBCC has about 60 volunteers with about 20 active (those attending more than 1 event within the year).
• At the event, they guide DB customers.
• An SSP (Support Service Provider) training will be coming up in the fall, and Susan Sjoholm will be announcing this soon.
• Fall events:
o DeafNation Expo on September 27th and
o Museum of Science on October 25th (not definite).
Our address is 215 Brighton Ave, Allston, ma 02134.
The telephone number is 617-254-4925 VP/TTY/Voice Carry Over
Email address is dbcc80@yahoo.com (Susan Sjoholm, the program director) and Dhankey@yahoo.com (Diane Childers, the support service coordinator).
The Learning Center for the Deaf (TLC)
The Learning Center for the Deaf (TLC) is a school with campuses in Framingham and Randolph MA. It is a great place to do a co-op, volunteer, or intern at!
• The school's mission is to "provide a challenging program of academic excellence for Deaf students from infancy through high school. The school believes that Deaf students have the right to maximize their personal, educational, social, communicative and vocational potential through participating in demanding educational experiences, which develop their ability to think creatively and critically.
• The Learning Center for the Deaf provides a challenging program of academic excellence for Deaf students from infancy through high school. The school believes that Deaf students have the right to maximize their personal, educational, social, communicative and vocational potential through participating in demanding educational experiences, which develop their ability to think creatively and critically." (www.tlcdeaf.org)
• Opportunities are available to volunteer and work there throughout the year. Check out www.tlcdeaf.org for detailed information. Volunteering opportunities include working in classrooms with students, working with staff in the office and elsewhere to help the school fulfill its mission, working in afterschool activities, and helping at various TLC sponsored events. A volunteer/internship application will be available online soon at www.tlcdeaf.org.
• Contact inquiries@tlcdeaf.org to talk to someone about volunteering or for more information.
Note: If you are interested, you will most likely want to use a car or carpool to either campus although public transportation is available near both schools.
HORACE MANN SCHOOL FOR THE DEAF is looking for volunteers.
If interested, contact:
Jeremiah Ford, Principal
Mailing Address: 40 Armington Street
Allston, MA 02134
Phone: (617) 635-8534
FAX: (617) 635-6379
E-mail: hmann@boston.k12.ma.us
Perkins School for the Blind
Perkins' Mission Statement
• "Perkins School for the Blind is committed to providing education and services that build productive, meaningful lives for children and adults around the world who are blind, deafblind or visually impaired with or without other disabilities."
• Print and fill out an application: http://perkins.org/volunteer/
Send to:
Mike Cataruzolo
Volunteer Services
175 North Beacon Street
Watertown, Massachusetts 02472
• Opportunities: There are many various volunteer opportunities at Perkins. It is important that to specify on your application that you would like to volunteer with the DeafBlind students. Where you volunteer within the DeafBlind program will depend on when you are available.