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YC Foundation Receives Grant
YC to Better Serve Deaf and Hard of Hearing Students
Yavapai College will launch a deaf and hard of hearing education, awareness and resources program thanks to a $16,300 grant from the Arizona Community Foundation.
In collaboration with the Northern Arizona Vision and Hearing Loss Center (NAV&HLC), the college will work to expand educational and enrichment opportunities for Yavapai College deaf and hard of hearing students and increase public awareness of the services and resources the college and NAV&HLC offer to this population.
The grant will support a variety of activities including the development of an informational brochure and specialized tutoring services for students whose first language is American Sign Language.
The college will also offer an educational field trip for deaf and hard of hearing individuals of all ages called "Sensing Nature." This one-day activity will allow 30-40 deaf and hard of hearing individuals to get together, walk and experience nature, mingle and picnic together, and help to improve future experiences for this population.
Finally, the college will host a Deaf and Hard of Hearing Awareness Day next fall to engage students, teachers and the public in learning about the deaf and hard of hearing community and increase awareness about community-wide resources that are available.
"We hope that by the end of this project the college and NAV&HLC will not only have successfully partnered to increase awareness, education and resources available to this population, but have the information necessary to measure the effectiveness of the activities and use this as a basis to expand offerings in the future," explained project director Robb Ferguson, the disability coordinator at Yavapai College.
The Arizona Community Foundation is a statewide nonprofit organization with four regional offices serving 13 affiliate community foundations. Established in 1978 and certified under the National Standards for U.S. Community Foundations, ACF is among the top 30 community foundations in the nation with more than half a billion dollars in trust and endowment assets. Last year, ACF and its affiliates awarded $70 million in grants and scholarships to more than 3,500 nonprofit organizations, schools and government agencies. More information is available at www.azfoundation.org.
