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TelecomPioneers have announced the distribution of $22,750 in Dodds Funds
awarded to Pioneer units throughout the Association.
The E. B. Dodds Fund was established in 1983. The money was left to
TelecomPioneers by Earl B. Dodds, who served as Association Secretary in the
1950s. Dodds specified in his will that the bequest be used in the
promotion of community service activities by telephone employees, active and
retired.
Dodds funds are awarded with the stipulation they be used to promote
community service activities for either hearing impaired or deaf persons
and/or for projects to help fulfill the educational focus of our Pioneer
mission.
The Dodds Fund is a matching gift grant and Pioneer units are required to
provide matching funds. Written reports on the use of the monies are
required and determine if Groups are eligible the following year to receive
grants. Each Group's VP and/or a Review Team determines which Pioneer unit
should receive the funds.
The 2005 Dodds Fund Award winners are:
AT&T
New Jersey Chapter, Life Member Club
Audiometer Screening Program
Award: $1,913.50
Each year, five members and/or partners volunteer to contact day-care
centers or respond to requests from centers to conduct hearing screening of
their 2-, 3- or 4-year-olds. Written results are provided to the center’s
director. Money will be used to purchase a new audiometer to replace the
oldest of five units, as well as cover testing/calibrating and part
replacement of existing units.
BELLSOUTH
South Carolina, Ft. Sumter Council
Erasing the Sound of Silence
Award: $1,000
The South Carolina Chapter of the Alexander Graham Bell Association for the
Deaf would like to develop a consultation/mentoring program to specifically
train public school teachers/therapists to meet the needs of a
hearing-impaired child on a case-by-case basis.
A certified auditory-verbal therapist and faculty member from the University
of South Carolina Speech and Hearing Clinic would travel to the district to
guide local personnel through the following steps:
- Assess the child’s current level of development and
identify needs for the upcoming school year
- Develop goals/objectives to meet these needs
- Instruct the local teacher and therapist in basic
auditory-verbal technique so they can implement the program
- Return to the school in three-month intervals to
monitor progress, adjust goals, and further instruct local personnel in
implementation
- Serve as an ongoing resource if local personnel have
questions or problems
- Perform an end-of-the-year assessment to document
progress and develop goals for the upcoming year
We would like to be able to offer four $500
scholarships for a school district to receive individualized assistance in
planning and implementing an auditory-verbal based program for a hearing
impaired child enrolled in the district.
The scholarship will cover the time involved for the University of South
Carolina faculty member to serve in this capacity. Their current hourly
rate is $60. The scholarship will cover approximately eight hours of direct
contact at the school with the remainder covering time spent serving in an
advisory capacity by phone or email.
Visits to the school during the course of the mentoring program would
generally be scheduled as follows:
- Four hours at the beginning of the school year to
assess the student, set goals, and provide basic auditory-verbal training
- Two hours in December to assess progress, adjust
goals, and provide additional training
- Two hours in March/April to assess progress and
develop goals for the upcoming year
Application for a scholarship could be submitted by
parents who want to ensure that their child has trained personnel available
or could be submitted by school districts that have a hearing-impaired child
enrolled in the district, but no staff member that has auditory-verbal
skills.
Mississippi Chapter, Magnolia Council
Quality Quest – Q2
Award: $2,252.66
The Quality Quest project is aligned with the MS School for the Deaf’s (MSD)
theme “Quality Education for Every Child”.
The goals are in two distinct areas of need for the
deaf student and their teachers:
- To provide access for communication with parents,
family members and others with telecommunication equipment designed for
the deaf.
- To provide the tools needed to learn to present
PowerPoint presentations and to communicate this information via the web.
The funds requested will provide the following needed
telecommunication equipment for students and teachers:
- 3 TDDs (telecommunication device for the deaf) with
printers for the students in residence to use to communicate with others.
There are 65 students in residence at the school and there is a need for
more communication devices. These students want to communicate with
friends and family about activities and school happenings.
- 6 digital cameras to be used in the classroom to
assist the students in preparing PowerPoint presentations and other
publications. The teachers are being taught to integrate technology into
the classroom as part of the Intel and BellSouth Quality in the Classroom
initiative and they want the students to utilize technology to communicate
with pen-pals and other classrooms around the world. The camera gives the
student the resource to be creative and innovative in their presentations
and increases their participation in the activities.
ALIANT
Acadia Chapter
Acadia Chapter Bursary Fund
Award: $654.30
Acadia Chapter offers bursaries to hearing impaired students pursuing
post-secondary education. There are currently four $500 bursaries available
each year for students. This bursary is very much needed for hearing
impaired students to pursue education because it is not based solely on
academics.
NEW OUTLOOK
Greater Allentown Chapter
Purchase of listening centers, junction boxes and headphones for student
use in classrooms.
Award: $3,435.18
Listening centers permit several children to listen to a CD or cassette at
the same time. This is especially helpful for the students to follow along
while reading or to work independently while improving skills. These units
and the headphones would be distributed to classrooms to further encourage
and develop the independent reading skills of our students.
SBC
Illinois Chapter -- Central Life Member Club
Leadership Camp-Mark VII Deaf Camp
Award: $1,500
Needy hearing-impaired youth attend this Leadership Camp. Workshops increase
leadership potential, stressing responsibility and personal development.
Trade skills such as plumbing are also taught. Funds donated will be used to
supplement transportation and tuition of the attendees.
Ohio Chapter
Adopt-A-School
Award: $1,000
Project supports Park Elementary, an inner-city school. Funds will be used
for school supplies, school uniforms, and lunch food, but also to send
underprivileged children to a 3-day overnight Camp for Learning.
Michigan Chapter
Sign Language Class
Award: $1,000
The Boys and Girls Clubs of Bay County will provide educational tools for
young people to deal with and accept sign language as a daily routine. Twice
weekly classes will teach young people to communicate freely with sign
language. Money will be used to implement the sign language course.
Texas Pride Chapter, Dallas Council
Texas College Electronic Library Connected
Award: $1,000
Council will purchase electronic books and provide access by users to the
latest electronic materials available. Library users, including those with
disabilities will be able to access services in person or electronically
thru this hi-tech upgrade.
Silver State Chapter, Silver Sage LMC
Tutoring for the Hearing-Impaired
Award: $1,416.24
This program will transition hearing-impaired students into mainstream
education classrooms. Money will be used to purchase textbooks and other
materials used for tutoring.
Golden Bear Chapter
Signs for Life
Award: $1,000
An ongoing project using Flip chart books with illustrations of American
Sign Language words, phrases & questions to assist police, fire and
emergency personnel with a communication tool for working with the deaf and
hearing impaired.
VERIZON
WJ Denver Chapter
Clarke School for the Deaf
Award: $2,500.00
To assist in the funding of a Verifit System. This is a hearing aid analyzer
required for all patients when fitting them for a hearing aid and therefore
is a crucial piece of equipment in support of the schools. In his mission
to streamline all students into the hearing community, Alexander Graham Bell
taught at Clarke School for the Deaf. Early indications show that through
proper hearing tests and hearing-aid adjustments students are enjoying
reading more, developing their reading capabilities and using their hearing
to assist in their comprehension.
WJ Denver Chapter, Berkshire Council
North Adams School
Award: $2,191.30
The TelecomPioneers are preparing to go into the North Adams Elementary
schools with a full array of products (Denver Chapter Education 6-Pack)
including Project Connect, Scholastic Books, A Student’s Dictionary, and
Maps of the United States and the Solar System and a USA Map rug. We would
like to have this completed by the end of the school year so that the
students can benefit before summer break.
The money will be used to purchase Scholastic Books, A Student’s Dictionary,
any needed Project Connect materials, 8 X 11 foot USA Map Rug and supplies
for the maps of the United States and the Solar System. The money will
benefit hundreds of students for many years to come and will be branded with
TelecomPioneers and Verizon. Verizon’s Community Relations manager Carol
Baribeau brought to our attention that the North Adams School System is in
need of outside resources/financial aid.
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