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Children of deaf parents honored at party - North County Times
Six children were honored Thursday at a party with meals and gifts for all the things they've done to help their deaf parents.
Thursday's party ---- at the Sizzlers restaurant in Escondido ---- was sponsored by Signs of Silence.
The San Marcos-based nonprofit advocacy group for the deaf and hearing impaired paid for the event with a $1,000 donation from The Giving Challenge, a national nonprofit that doles out money to groups helping other people in exchange for a videotape of the experience for its Web site.
The kids honored Thursday are all heroes, said Roy Hensley, founder and program director of Signs of Silence. Hensley said hearing children of deaf parents often have to act as translators for their parents.
"We just really wanted to do something special for these kids," said Hensley.
Each of the six children honored at Thursday's party --- all of them 10 and under ---- received gifts. And there was plenty of food to go around for the kids and more than 40 adults who also attended.
Giving Challenge representative Brian Kranson echoed Hensley's comments about the kids honored at the party, saying children of deaf adults find themselves constantly translating for their parents everywhere ---- banks, medical offices and stores, to name a few.
Hensley said there are about 450,000 people in San Diego who are deaf or hard of hearing, adding that money oftentimes is an issue for the deaf. He said, for example, that about half of the working-age deaf are unemployed because it's hard for them to find jobs.
He said it took him nearly a year and a half to get a young deaf man an interview for his dream job at a Callaway Golf warehouse.
"They must have liked him in the interview, because they said they'd let him work for two weeks to try him out," Hensley said. "Two weeks later they called me back wanting to hire more."
More information on Signs of Silence and the Giving Challenge is available at Signs of Silence and The Giving Challenge by Keith Kleiner and Mariela Kleiner.
Six children were honored Thursday at a party with meals and gifts for all the things they've done to help their deaf parents.
Thursday's party ---- at the Sizzlers restaurant in Escondido ---- was sponsored by Signs of Silence.
The San Marcos-based nonprofit advocacy group for the deaf and hearing impaired paid for the event with a $1,000 donation from The Giving Challenge, a national nonprofit that doles out money to groups helping other people in exchange for a videotape of the experience for its Web site.
The kids honored Thursday are all heroes, said Roy Hensley, founder and program director of Signs of Silence. Hensley said hearing children of deaf parents often have to act as translators for their parents.
"We just really wanted to do something special for these kids," said Hensley.
Each of the six children honored at Thursday's party --- all of them 10 and under ---- received gifts. And there was plenty of food to go around for the kids and more than 40 adults who also attended.
Giving Challenge representative Brian Kranson echoed Hensley's comments about the kids honored at the party, saying children of deaf adults find themselves constantly translating for their parents everywhere ---- banks, medical offices and stores, to name a few.
Hensley said there are about 450,000 people in San Diego who are deaf or hard of hearing, adding that money oftentimes is an issue for the deaf. He said, for example, that about half of the working-age deaf are unemployed because it's hard for them to find jobs.
He said it took him nearly a year and a half to get a young deaf man an interview for his dream job at a Callaway Golf warehouse.
"They must have liked him in the interview, because they said they'd let him work for two weeks to try him out," Hensley said. "Two weeks later they called me back wanting to hire more."
More information on Signs of Silence and the Giving Challenge is available at Signs of Silence and The Giving Challenge by Keith Kleiner and Mariela Kleiner.