The Family Literacy program teaches parents who are hearing how to communicate and read to their child who is deaf or hard of hearing. “This program has opened up the world to my daughter. She could not communicate with us before we participated in AFDC’s program.” Said Jessica Carlo, mother of a deaf 4-year old daughter.
The grant dollars are tied directly to community support and could bring in as much as $47,000 for fiscal year 2010 to AFDC’s Family Literacy Academy. Volunteer USA will match up to $15,000 in dollar for dollar donations and up to $4,000 per semester for volunteer service hours.
“At the Deaf Family Literacy Academy, we are very excited about the new matching funds program that will be offered by the Volunteer USA Fund,” said Jennifer Jones, Executive Director of the Alliance for Families with Deaf Children. “This is an incredible opportunity to sustain and expand our program by getting the community involved. We feel confident that we will be able to rally the community in support of this program by showing them the significant impact their dollars and volunteer hours will make in the lives of deaf children and their families.”
To donate to AFDC and help support the matching grant program, contact the Volunteer USA Foundation directly via phone at (850) 562.5300 or visit their website at www.VolunteerUSAFoundation.org. Donations should be designated for the “Deaf Family Literacy Academy”. Contributions of $5,000 or more will receive complimentary tickets to the Foundation’s annual star-studded Celebration of Reading event.
The Alliance for Families with Deaf Children (AFDC) Family Literacy Academy was established by former Governor Jeb Bush and the Barbara Bush Foundation for Family Literacy. For more information about the Florida Family Literacy Initiative and local literacy academies log on to www.flafamilyliteracy.org.
AFDC is a nonprofit community based organization serving deaf and hard-of-hearing families in Broward and Miami-Dade Counties. Its mission is to see every deaf and hard of hearing child succeed through providing families with resources, services, and support. For more information on AFDC, call Jennifer Jones at 954-370-1145 or visit www.affwdc.org.
