Saturday, May 28, 2011

Orange County Deaf Advocacy Center Newsletter - May 28, 2011

Greetings everyone,

I want to start this newsletter by thanking Communities Actively Living
Independent & Free's (CALIF) for 'airing' our last newsletter on their blog
site. Its a very positive gesture and this is the thing that opens up
opportunities for collaborating with different disability advocacy
organizations.

Great news comes from Virginia as Virginia's Governor Bob McDonnell signed a
bill stating that American Sign Language will be considered a foreign language
and will have the same weight as any other foreign language course taught in
schools. I had been following this piece of legislation from the start.

Another place that's got my eyes on is in Alabama whereas the state legislature
have the shamelessness to take funds earmarked for people with disabilities.
They introduced a bill to raid the Dual Party Relay System funds to fix their
budget problems.

The deaf community received yet another demoralizing assault coming from the
very country that delivered the first major worldwide assault on the deaf
community in 1880. The Italian legislature has been considering a bill that
would reduce the status of the Italian Sign Language (Lingua dei Segni Italiana,
or LIS) from an officially recognized language, LIS, to something meaning
"Lingustical Guestres and Mime" (LMG). The change would have huge economic
implications upon the programs that utilize LIS. This has sparked protests at
numerous Italian embassies all over the world. In comparison, whats happening
to the Italian Sign Language would be similar to seeing the political dimension
of American Sign Language be reduced to something like 'American Visual
Communication'.

Next weekend we have a foodstand fundraiser at the worlds largest chili cookoff;
http://www.tustinchilicookoff.com/

And finally, we are almost done putting together a very resourceful booth to be
at the Orange County Fair this summer and I will need your help in keeping our
ebay store up and running while the fair is on and the best way you can help me
out is a small $700 donation to hire someone to man the ebay store while we're
all at the fairgrounds.

Richard Roehm, Chairman
On behalf of Orange County Deaf Advocacy Center
===============================================

Our ebay store http://stores.ebay.com/OCDAC-Adaptive-Equipment-and-More

Funds raised would go to supporting a variety of advocacy, training, education,
outreach, and residency programs offered by the Orange County Deaf Advocacy
Center.

Were always adding many new items each month.

Your support is always needed. Please visit the store and see our new items.

===============================================

Join us in our monthly meetups.

The Orange County Deaf & Hearing Impaired Meetup Group
http://www.meetup.com/deaf-38/

The Orange County American Sign Language Meetup Group
http://www.meetup.com/asl-37/

Oral Deaf Orange County http://www.meetup.com/deaf-263/

===============================================

Deaf professor wins suit over firing

A Lubbock County jury has decided Texas Tech University should pay a former
professor more than $500,000 for discriminating against him because he is deaf.

Read more at :
http://amarillo.com/news/local-news/2011-05-28/deaf-professor-wins-suit-over-fir\
ing


===============================================

Company reaches deaf community with its own language

Sean Belanger reached into his pocket to show his audience a glimpse of the
future.

Read more at :
http://www.therepublic.com/view/story/phones-deaf052511/phones-deaf052511/

===============================================

Orange County Deaf Advocacy Center has a facebook page. "Like it" and you'll be
kept up to the minute on latest info regarding our organization and activities.
Our facebook page is at http://www.facebook.com/ocdac

===============================================

School for the Deaf right to represent both sides

My wife and I first learned about the opposing approaches to raising
hearing-impaired children (American Sign Language/deafness as a culture vs.
oral/mainstreaming) when our son was diagnosed with deafness at age 3. We chose
to raise him in the hearing world, and it has turned out well -- thanks to his
wonderful mother, speech therapist and teachers.

Read more at :
http://www.indystar.com/article/20110525/OPINION01/105250303/School-Deaf-right-r\
epresent-both-sides?odyssey=mod
|newswell|text|Opinion|s

===============================================

Marlee Matlin: 'Very, very eco-friendly'

"We recycle a lot. We have a beautiful blue bin right next to the door," says
Marlee Matlin, the "Celebrity Apprentice" runner-up who sends her four kids to
school with eco-friendly lunchboxes. "We're very, very eco-friendly," says
Matlin, whose next role is tailor made for her: she plays the guidance counselor
and sometime basketball coach at a school for the deaf in "Switched at Birth,"
premiering on ABC Family June 6.

Read more at :
http://www.mnn.com/lifestyle/arts-culture/stories/marlee-matlin-very-very-eco-fr\
iendly


===============================================

Donate to Orange County Deaf Advocacy Center

Orange County Deaf Advocacy Center is a transparent organization serving the
needs of people with disabilities and our transparency is visible at
http://rct.doj.ca.gov/MyLicenseVerification/Details.aspx?agency_id=1&license_id=\
1003712&
and we are current with our State of California reporting requirements.

Give us a hand. Go to
https://www.justgive.org/nonprofits/donate.jsp?ein=33-0806007

===============================================

Baby born deaf will get 'bionic ears' that could help him hear and talk

A BABY boy who was born profoundly deaf after his mother had one of the most
common viral illnesses during pregnancy is set to get bionic ears.

Read more at :
http://www.thisisderbyshire.co.uk/news/Baby-born-deaf-bionic-ears-help-hear-talk\
/article-3573275-detail/article.html


===============================================

Giving Voice To Deaf Children

Each day, more than 30 kids are born with hearing loss in the United States --
making it the most common birth defect.

Read more at : http://www.thedenverchannel.com/education/28024705/detail.html

===============================================

Paypal is one super online payment system we all come to know for now. However a
new company called VirtaPay is rising up using the same babysteps as paypal.
They need at least 3 million members before they can open up to the public and
your help is needed. We get $10.00 for each new VirtaPay signup. New signups
will be given $25.00 in startup funds. Now isn't that a win win situation for
you and our organization?

Recently they have developed a merchant system that enables members to buy and
sell digital products. Tis is one big step toward making this a viable payment
system.

Paybox http://www.virtapay.com/r/ocdac

===============================================

UFC 130: Matt Hamill blogs on what it's like to be a deaf fighter

In advance of his UFC 130 main event fight against Quinton Jackson on May 28 in
Las Vegas, Matt Hamill took to Sportsnet.ca to blog about his life and how he
got to this point.

Read more at :
http://www.mmamania.com/2011/5/15/2172230/ufc-130-matt-hamill-blogs-on-what-its-\
like-to-be-a-deaf-fighter


===============================================

Deaf motocross champion Ashley Fiolek stars in TV commercial

A lone rider on a red-and-blue dirtbike tears around a motocross track, floating
through the whoops, flying over monster jumps and taking corners as if a pack of
riders is giving chase.

Read more at : http://sports.espn.go.com/action/fmx/news/story?id=6479284

===============================================

For over 37 years, Labels for Education® has supported organizations across the
country by providing more than $110 million in free educational merchandise.
This year, the Labels for Education program is getting even better with a new
look and focus on the Arts, Athletics and Academic enrichment programs that can
spark children's successes. Labels for Education is also adding new partnerships
and resources. With your help, the Orange County Deaf Advocacy Center can make
this year the best ever! To meet our goals, we need to collect 1,000,000 points.

Campbells Labels For Education Program http://www.deafadvocacy.org/campbells

===============================================

Man charged with abuse of deaf adult

Gainesville Police arrested a 39-year-old Gainesville man after they say he
attacked a deaf neighbor.

Read more at :
http://www.gainesville.com/article/20110522/ARTICLES/110529910/-1/entertainment?\
Title=Man-arrested-charged-with-abuse-of-deaf-adult


===============================================

WaveRunner shooting: Self-defense or a crime?

A thief who was shot in the head by a 14-year-old trying to protect his family
was deaf, family members said.

Read more at :
http://www.miamiherald.com/2011/05/24/2232563/waverunner-thief-was-deaf.html

===============================================

**********************
**** DISCLAIMER ****
**********************

The OCDAC Newsletter is designed to share information of interest to people with
disabilities, their friends, associates, and relatives and promote advocacy in
the disability community. Information circulated herein does not necessarily
express the views of The Orange County Deaf Advocacy Center. The OCDAC
Newsletter is non-partisan. OCDAC Newsletter does not sell advertising space.

The Orange County Deaf Advocacy Center is a community based organization that
puts people with disabilities first in their advocacy for equal opportunities in
safety, health, and productive living.

The Orange County Deaf Advocacy Center provides services for disabled
individuals and their families in our community who need help in navigating the
social services maze. Every day people go without proper food, shelter, and
essential medical care every day due to a variety of factors including low
wages, job loss, injuries, illness, age, domestic violence, or divorce. While
all of us are susceptible to hard times, disabled individuals are at the most
risk. With the generous support of people like you, we are able to help many of
these families and individuals not only to meet essential daily needs, but to
work toward a brighter future with programs in job training, education,
counseling, elderly assistance, and temporary housing.

Feel free to forward this email message IN ITS ENTIRETY to anyone and any of
your personal mailing lists so we can get the important messages out far and
wide and encourage them to sign up for our weekly newsletter.

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