John Cage, American Sign Language instructor, explains types of donations the department is accepting for a turkey drive for deaf and hard-of-hearing families Nov. 12 in the storage room in the ASL lab in Nail. Donations for the drive will be accepted through Nov. 20 in Rooms 108, 110 and 109E of Nail. Items needed include stuffing, pasta, rice, gravy, cranberry sauce and frozen turkeys. Photo by E. David Guel
ASL/IT department gives back to the community with help of students and faculty.
By Dorothy P Braziel
sac-ranger@alamo.edu
The SAC Connection Club is accepting donations for its sixth annual American Sign Language/Interpreter Training Turkey Drive through Nov. 20 in Rooms 108 and 110 of Nail Technical Center.
The club, whose members are enrolled in this college’s interpreter training program, hosts events to connect students with members of the deaf community.
The ASL department will accept turkeys, non-perishable food items and monetary donations for the families of the deaf and partial-hearing community.
Student volunteers will drive and help deliver the donations at 8:30 a.m. Nov. 21.
Students and faculty started the drive in fall 2009.
While working with the deaf community, John Cage, ASL and IT instructor, said he saw families struggling to make ends meet around the holidays.
“Deaf families in the past have been in tears when the food is dropped off, and all of them are so thrilled to receive the help,” Cage said.
Last year, the event assisted more than 25 deaf or partial-hearing families.
“Students will have the opportunity to meet the families themselves and get a firsthand experience about the language, culture and giving to someone in need,” Cage said.
Cage met with families in need through the Deaf and Hard of Hearing Center on this campus and the Alamo Community Association for the Deaf (ACAD), a nonprofit association that provides leadership workshops, events and outreach programs for the deaf and hard-of-hearing community.
The ASL/IT department also donated three boxes of non-perishable items and gift cards to ACAD to support its Christmas Basket event, which also serves families in need.
“It’s important to our faculty and students to give back to our deaf community and support them as much as we can,” Cage said. “The deaf community always supports us in so many ways. … This is our opportunity to give back to them.”
For more information, call Cage at 210-486-1106 or visit him in Room 109E of Nail Technical Center or the ASL lab.
