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Local group for the deaf holds Super Bowl party - Local News Story - St. Joseph
Scott Dollar emphatically proclaimed his allegiance to the Pittsburgh Steelers just ahead of Sunday’s Super Bowl.
Mr. Dollar spoke no words to declare his passion for professional football. He is a member of the Cross Roads Deaf Club, which held its first-ever Super Bowl party at the Midland Empire Resources for Independent Living (MERIL) office on the South Side.
The club is dedicated to creating awareness and promoting empowerment of the deaf, hard of hearing, late deafened, and deaf-blind individuals.
The group strives to provide opportunities for socialization, education, leadership and community partnership through various activities. Preserving the deaf languages and cultures holds primary importance.
For Mr. Dollar — the club’s vice president who sported a Steelers jersey — the party was likely to be a hit its first time out. A steady stream of football fans entered MERIL’s offices before kickoff, with plenty of food awaiting them.
“I think that it’s going to go over very well,” he said, using sign language to express his thoughts. “I think it’s going to be a success.”
He wished both his team and the Green Bay Packers the best of luck, although he admitted to being a longtime Pittsburgh fan.
“Pittsburgh is a strong team, but the Packers are a good team as well,” Mr. Dollar said.
De Linda Belanger, MERIL’s director of communication services, helped found the club.
“When I started working here, I wanted to have a social event for deaf individuals,” she said. “It’s very difficult for them to get involved.”
The Cross Roads Deaf Club formed about 1½ years ago, has five officers, and holds regular meetings to plan fund-raisers and activities such as movie nights and spaghetti dinners, Ms. Belanger said. There are approximately 200 deaf residents in a nine-county area surrounding St. Joseph, the club said.
The majority of funds help pay for trips by club members to Deaf Awareness Day each August in Silver Dollar City. The club was able to send a total of 32 people in 2010. The Missouri Commission for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing hosts the event.
Obviously the Super Bowl Party amply served its purpose for the club, according to Ms. Belanger. “It’s a time for fellowship, socialization,” she said.
At the same time, however, the party achieved another goal. Last year’s Super Bowl TV coverage was a disappointment, Ms. Belanger said, because three-fourths of the commercials did not have captioning.
“The deaf community was pretty irritated last year,” she said.
This time, though, the National Association of the Deaf and the National Football League — in partnership with the FOX Broadcasting Company — broadcast the first fully captioned national telecast of the Super Bowl.
Commercials and promotions were included.
Interpreters were available throughout the party.
Scott Dollar emphatically proclaimed his allegiance to the Pittsburgh Steelers just ahead of Sunday’s Super Bowl.
Mr. Dollar spoke no words to declare his passion for professional football. He is a member of the Cross Roads Deaf Club, which held its first-ever Super Bowl party at the Midland Empire Resources for Independent Living (MERIL) office on the South Side.
The club is dedicated to creating awareness and promoting empowerment of the deaf, hard of hearing, late deafened, and deaf-blind individuals.
The group strives to provide opportunities for socialization, education, leadership and community partnership through various activities. Preserving the deaf languages and cultures holds primary importance.
For Mr. Dollar — the club’s vice president who sported a Steelers jersey — the party was likely to be a hit its first time out. A steady stream of football fans entered MERIL’s offices before kickoff, with plenty of food awaiting them.
“I think that it’s going to go over very well,” he said, using sign language to express his thoughts. “I think it’s going to be a success.”
He wished both his team and the Green Bay Packers the best of luck, although he admitted to being a longtime Pittsburgh fan.
“Pittsburgh is a strong team, but the Packers are a good team as well,” Mr. Dollar said.
De Linda Belanger, MERIL’s director of communication services, helped found the club.
“When I started working here, I wanted to have a social event for deaf individuals,” she said. “It’s very difficult for them to get involved.”
The Cross Roads Deaf Club formed about 1½ years ago, has five officers, and holds regular meetings to plan fund-raisers and activities such as movie nights and spaghetti dinners, Ms. Belanger said. There are approximately 200 deaf residents in a nine-county area surrounding St. Joseph, the club said.
The majority of funds help pay for trips by club members to Deaf Awareness Day each August in Silver Dollar City. The club was able to send a total of 32 people in 2010. The Missouri Commission for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing hosts the event.
Obviously the Super Bowl Party amply served its purpose for the club, according to Ms. Belanger. “It’s a time for fellowship, socialization,” she said.
At the same time, however, the party achieved another goal. Last year’s Super Bowl TV coverage was a disappointment, Ms. Belanger said, because three-fourths of the commercials did not have captioning.
“The deaf community was pretty irritated last year,” she said.
This time, though, the National Association of the Deaf and the National Football League — in partnership with the FOX Broadcasting Company — broadcast the first fully captioned national telecast of the Super Bowl.
Commercials and promotions were included.
Interpreters were available throughout the party.