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Zoo builds Deaf Day memories | The Tennessean | tennessean.com
The Nashville Zoo at Grassmere, 3777 Nolensville Pike, is partnering with Franklin-based nonprofit Gate Communications to offer the sixth annual Deaf Day at the Zoo from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday.
“The Zoo would love to be able to do a day for the Deaf every day, but we just don't have the trained personnel or the resources to provide everyone on staff with training in sign language,” said Jim Bartoo, zoo spokesman.
That's where Gate Communications comes in, he added.
“The zoo can provide a day we normally provide, but with a little extra,” he said. “We have keeper talks every day and docents every day.
“Anytime people come to the zoo they can learn about animals. That's a given all the time, but to be able to have someone next to them that can communicate in sign language adds an extra dimension to that.”
Samantha Terzis, executive director and one of the three founders of Gate Communications, said the organization brings in about 30 volunteers to serve as interpreters for the zoo staff.
The zoo’s animal shows will have interpreters on hand throughout the day, and sign language also will be offered at Lorikeet Landing, Critter Encounters, the Zoofari Market gift shop, the Zoofari Café and some tours of the Grassmere Historic Home, he said.
Both organizations also have teamed to offer discounted tickets. Adult admission is $11, and children's admission is $7. There is a $5 parking fee charged in addition to admission.
Six years ago, Terzis, a southern Davidson County resident, approached the zoo with the idea to partner and do a Deaf day, Bartoo said.
“We're a fourfold organization,” Terzis said. “We provide acessibility in the form of interpreting.
“We provide education in sign language and interpreting both locally and nationally. We provide community events primarily locally in Tennessee, but they are multistate events, with people coming from out of state to Tennessee.
“And we provide outreach ministerially on a local, national and international level. We currently do Deaf missions work in Mexico and oversee the Barnabas project, which provides gifts of encouragement to Deaf individuals in the country dealing with an emotional crisis, like a death in the family.”
'It was a powerful thing'
The zoo event is designed to fulfill the accessiblity component of the organization's mission, Terzis said.
Each year, the organization reaches out to the Deaf community across the U.S. to promote the zoo event. Calls are made nationally, and posters and postcards are sent out across the state, she said.
“We usually see participants from at least four states: Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee and Kentucky,” Terzis said.
“It's not just another Deaf event, it’s about creating permanent memories for them.”
In years past, Terzis said two visits stand out.
“The first year we did the event, we had a 16-year-old girl come out from a rural city in West Tennessee,” she said. “There were no other Deaf people in her town, and she did not have any access to any other Deaf individuals in her life.
“She was in her house crying when she heard about this event. When her mom asked what was wrong, she said more than anything she wanted to meet other Deaf people, that she was tired of being alone.
“I have never seen someone beam more than that girl all day long, she finally felt equal. It was a powerful thing.”
Last year a group of older Deaf men drove from Alabama to the zoo event, Terzis said.
“I've never seen anything like it,” she said. “You would have thought they were 7 years old.
“They grabbed their canes and hauled it. They were first on site and last to leave. They took advantage of every single thing that was offered.”
According to Bartoo, the event has drawn a steady number of visitors year after year.
Last year, 208 participants came out to the zoo. The year before, 204 came out, and in 2008, 221 came.
This year, Amerigroup is sponsoring lunch for the first 45 ticketholders at Botswana restaurant near the elephant exhibit. There is also a planned Deaf community picnic at noon.
For more information about the event, call the zoo at 615-833-1534.
The Nashville Zoo at Grassmere, 3777 Nolensville Pike, is partnering with Franklin-based nonprofit Gate Communications to offer the sixth annual Deaf Day at the Zoo from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday.
“The Zoo would love to be able to do a day for the Deaf every day, but we just don't have the trained personnel or the resources to provide everyone on staff with training in sign language,” said Jim Bartoo, zoo spokesman.
That's where Gate Communications comes in, he added.
“The zoo can provide a day we normally provide, but with a little extra,” he said. “We have keeper talks every day and docents every day.
“Anytime people come to the zoo they can learn about animals. That's a given all the time, but to be able to have someone next to them that can communicate in sign language adds an extra dimension to that.”
Samantha Terzis, executive director and one of the three founders of Gate Communications, said the organization brings in about 30 volunteers to serve as interpreters for the zoo staff.
The zoo’s animal shows will have interpreters on hand throughout the day, and sign language also will be offered at Lorikeet Landing, Critter Encounters, the Zoofari Market gift shop, the Zoofari Café and some tours of the Grassmere Historic Home, he said.
Both organizations also have teamed to offer discounted tickets. Adult admission is $11, and children's admission is $7. There is a $5 parking fee charged in addition to admission.
Six years ago, Terzis, a southern Davidson County resident, approached the zoo with the idea to partner and do a Deaf day, Bartoo said.
“We're a fourfold organization,” Terzis said. “We provide acessibility in the form of interpreting.
“We provide education in sign language and interpreting both locally and nationally. We provide community events primarily locally in Tennessee, but they are multistate events, with people coming from out of state to Tennessee.
“And we provide outreach ministerially on a local, national and international level. We currently do Deaf missions work in Mexico and oversee the Barnabas project, which provides gifts of encouragement to Deaf individuals in the country dealing with an emotional crisis, like a death in the family.”
'It was a powerful thing'
The zoo event is designed to fulfill the accessiblity component of the organization's mission, Terzis said.
Each year, the organization reaches out to the Deaf community across the U.S. to promote the zoo event. Calls are made nationally, and posters and postcards are sent out across the state, she said.
“We usually see participants from at least four states: Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee and Kentucky,” Terzis said.
“It's not just another Deaf event, it’s about creating permanent memories for them.”
In years past, Terzis said two visits stand out.
“The first year we did the event, we had a 16-year-old girl come out from a rural city in West Tennessee,” she said. “There were no other Deaf people in her town, and she did not have any access to any other Deaf individuals in her life.
“She was in her house crying when she heard about this event. When her mom asked what was wrong, she said more than anything she wanted to meet other Deaf people, that she was tired of being alone.
“I have never seen someone beam more than that girl all day long, she finally felt equal. It was a powerful thing.”
Last year a group of older Deaf men drove from Alabama to the zoo event, Terzis said.
“I've never seen anything like it,” she said. “You would have thought they were 7 years old.
“They grabbed their canes and hauled it. They were first on site and last to leave. They took advantage of every single thing that was offered.”
According to Bartoo, the event has drawn a steady number of visitors year after year.
Last year, 208 participants came out to the zoo. The year before, 204 came out, and in 2008, 221 came.
This year, Amerigroup is sponsoring lunch for the first 45 ticketholders at Botswana restaurant near the elephant exhibit. There is also a planned Deaf community picnic at noon.
For more information about the event, call the zoo at 615-833-1534.