Donate old hearing aids to to HARP. From Deafnetwork.
What is HARP?
HARP stands for the Hearing Aid Recycling Program. It is a program based in Dallas that collects old or used hearing aids and distributes them to deaf and hard-of-hearing people that cannot afford to buy hearing aids.
How are the hearing aids distributed?
The hearing aids go to the Callier Center at the University of Texas at Dallas. The Callier Center then distributes the hearing aids to people who demonstrate a significant financial need.
Are the donations tax deductible?
Yes. All hearing aid donations to HARP are tax deductible under the Callier Center’s 501(c)(3) status.
How can I donate my used hearing aids?
The best way to donate is through the mail. After contacting HARP, you will receive an envelope in the mail with a case to put the hearing aids in along with a postage-paid, pre-addressed envelope. Simply put the hearing aids in the case, put the case in the envelope, and mail the envelope.
Who should I contact to donate my hearing aids?
E-mail Laurie at harp@utdallas.edu or call her at (214) 905-3055 to donate.
Dallas Hearing Aid Recycling Program (HARP)
Sprint Customer Service
Wow. I’m impressed with Sprint so far — and I am not even a customer yet. The company’s customer service e-mails are much better than my current wireless provider’s.
My current wireless provider sends long e-mails where only one paragraph means anything to me. The rest sounds phony as it uses a poorly written customer response template. The company needs to hire new writers.
We plan to switch all of our phones to the Sprint network when our plan is up in the summer. I need to decide if I want to be on the family plan and have voice capabilities for use with a voice mail texting service or if I want to use the special Sprint plan for the deaf that only has unlimited data.
Decisions!
More on Convert Voice Mail to Text
I opened the floodgates when I posted about a voice mail to text service. I learned about another and another and another. Here are the companies that provide voice mail to text services:
GotVoice
Phonetic
Simulscribe
SpinVox
Pricing is generally the same at $9.99 for 40 messages per month. Curious as to how the services differ. I’m sure with a little Internet research, plenty of answers will come.
However, I’m about to sign up for a plan targeted to deaf people. Great price, but using voice features would cost $0.20 per minute. Not sure I want to get a voice mail to text service for $9.99 a month and pay $0.20 per minute on top of that when I don’t know how many messages — if at all — I’ll get based on past experience.
One company gave me a pager that came with an answering service. The service sent voice messages to me in text. I rarely got messages that way. So what are the chances people will use this service to contact me?
Another option is to wait until my family’s plan expires and join them on another plan that includes voice and unlimited data. In this case, I wouldn’t have to pay per minute for voice mail. Decisions!
Hollywood and Deaf Actors
Chris of DeafDC Blog opens an interesting discussion about Hollywood’s actions indicating a preference to deaf actors and actresses who speak.
My vote — do a mix. Some roles can be deaf actors who don’t speak and some do. This will be more representative of the deaf population’s diversity. Having a hearing actor play a deaf person who speaks crosses the line.
Baby Sign Game
Baby Sign Game is adorable! This game provides a word and players pick one of four pictures that correctly represents the word in sign language.
I only missed one word and that was dog (easy), which didn’t use the fingersnapping. Not sure what that was about.
Surprised myself — I know more sign language than I thought. I picked up words over the years. Plus my little guy loves learning signs, so we open my ASL book and look up words together. My family has signed ILY for years using only one hand. My little guy goes the extra mile and does “I” [cross arms for love], and [puts extended hand with thumb on chin for mom]. Aww.
Convert Voice Mail to Text
OMG! I saw this in Guy Kawasaki’s e-mail signature (he surprisingly responded to an e-mail I sent to Alltop). SpinVox (UK residents go to the main SpinVox) can convert voice mails to text. This just might be worth the money. It also has a Memo feature, but I am not sure if it sends memos to the inbox with sound or with text.
I tried the test, but it didn’t work.
Matlin Joins Dancing with the Stars
Exciting news! Marlee Matlin joins the next round of Dancing with the Stars. I never thought deaf people couldn’t learn to dance the fancy stuff (tango, ballroom, etc.), ballet, or tap.
I took ballet and tap when I was five and that was it. My dancing career ended as sports was my thang. Sometimes I think about taking dancing classes, but then again… dancing isn’t something I’m comfortable with. It has nothing to do with my hearing loss.
Actually, I don’t mind trying a few moves when I am alone and no one is watching. I love musical theater and the dancing they do. I’m sure Matlin will be a formidable opponent.
More on the AGBell Letter to Pepsi
Just learned National Association of the Deaf (NAD) wrote a letter [pdf file] [Letter and video in NAD blog] to Alexander Graham Bell Association for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing regarding AGBell’s letter to Pepsi. Here’s the backstory, if you missed it.
I appreciate NAD’s letter. I think it would have more power had the President mentioned deaf people who don’t know ASL. I know the focus is about AGBell’s comments on ASL. But acknowledging that there are oral deaf people shows respect and acceptance of the diversity of those who are deaf or hard of hearing.
Now I am tempted to write a letter to Pepsi.
The Deaf Super Bowl Commercial
The commercial we all wanted to see during the Super Bowl didn’t air during the game. Instead, it aired 30 minutes BEFORE the game. Yeah, how many people view the pre-game program AND watch the commercials? Most people assume the supposedly hot (some weren’t) commercials will air during the game — not before or after. So they’re more likely to take breaks during pre-game show commercials.
Nonetheless, you can catch it on YouTube and Pepsi’s special page devoted to the making of the spot and more.
And as usual, many Super Bowl commercials didn’t have captions. Ironically, this included Pepsi’s other commercials. These companies spend millions for their ads, but can’t spare a small amount for captions? Pepsi sent mixed messages with its ads.
Deaf Advantages of Travel
Here’s a great story from the Guardian about how being deaf can help when traveling especially to other countries.
When I flew alone on Southwest Airlines, I went to the check in desk and let the staff know that I was deaf and would need notification when to board. Without a beat, she said I should board first and would let me know.
Nice getting a seat up front so I could exit the plane faster.
I haven’t had the pleasure of traveling to other countries besides Mexico and the Caribbean. The thought makes me a little nervous as English in foreign accents doesn’t come easy for me as a lipreader. Maybe it’ll go better like the article says.