Summer Camp Program at the Marie H. Katzenbach School for the Deaf Brings BIG Smiles!

Summer Camp Program at the MKSDWhile summer is officially over, the memories of attending summer camp with their peers are still fresh on the minds of two students who were afforded the opportunity to attend the summer camp program at the Marie H. Katzenbach School for the Deaf.

ASL Interpreter Referral Service, Inc. (ASLIRS) provided funding in order for Mariah Rodriguez and Miguel Dominguez to attend this past summer’s program.  With ASLIRS’ support, Mariah and Miguel, both of whom are deaf, were able to fully participate and enjoy all the fun summer camp activities with their friends.  They were thrilled to be able to attend as evidenced by their beautiful, big smiles while visiting with Kathy Kady-Hopkins during the camp session on July 29th!

ASLIRS, Inc. Supports the “Golf for Groceries” Franklin Twp. Food Bank Event

New PictureASL Interpreter Referral Service, Inc. was one of the proud sponsors of the Franklin Township Food Bank “Golf for Groceries” event.  The event was held on Monday, July 21st where golfers spent a beautiful day on the links at Royce Brook Golf Club and then enjoyed a wonderful meal at The Palace.

The Franklin Township Food Bank began in 1975 and was incorporated in 1982. The mission of the Franklin Township Food Bank is to “enhance the quality of life for Franklin Township residents in need by providing food assistance in an atmosphere of dignity and respect.”

 

Dine to Donate – Sunday, May 4th at Stage House Tavern

Kathy Kady-Hopkins, a member of the Franklin Twp. Food Bank Advisory Committee, invites you to join her on Sunday, May 4th at Stage House Tavern in Somerset, NJ.

You can either dine in or take out.  Either way, 20% of your check will be donated to the Franklin Township Food Bank – www.franklinfoodbank.org.

For more information and to print a copy of the flyer you’ll need to present to your server, please click on the following link – Dine to Donate.

Together we will feed those in need!  Thank you for your support!

Franklin Food Bank

“An Investment in Knowledge Always Pays the Best Interest” ~ Benjamin Franklin

Ben Franklin Quote

We couldn’t agree more Mr. Franklin!  Investing in the knowledge of our interpreters is important to ASL Interpreter Referral Service.  That is one of the reasons why we’ve held free workshops for our contracted interpreters over the last month.

On Saturday, March 22, over 30 interpreters gathered for a medical workshop presented by Rebecca Rainone.  The participants learned how to recognize and select appropriate vocabulary and classifiers to describe medical conditions/procedures and/or body parts/organs.  The recurring theme of the evaluation comments was “Great workshop!”

On Saturday, April 5, Noah Buchholz presented the religion workshop, “Unlocking the Next Level: A Guide to Interpreting Christian Theological Jargon”.  He discussed how to interpret obscure yet important theological terms as well as worship songs.  One participant stated, “… this workshop has motivated me to focus on religious interpreting more.  It helped make a very confusing/untouchable area seem more attainable.”

A big thank you to Rebecca and Noah for sharing their knowledge with all of us!

 

Join Us In the Fight Against Cancer!

Kathy Kady-Hopkins and Christine Sherwood, owners of ASL Interpreter Referral Services, Inc. (ASLIRS, Inc.), are once again supporting the American Cancer Society’s A Night of Wine & Roses gala.  They are both working on the committee to support and raise funds for this event in memory of Christine’s husband, Richard Sherwood.

The black tie gala, to be held on Friday, May 2nd, will take place at The Palace at Somerset Park in Somerset, NJ.

Kathy Nilsson - Night of Wine & Roses 05-03-13ASLIRS, Inc. is providing sign language interpretation services along with CART (open captioning).  Photo Caption:  Kathy Nilsson signs during the gala auction in 2013 while Annamarie Jones (not pictured) provides open captioning (CART).  Photo credit: Jerry Dalia Photography

If you would like to make a donation/purchase tickets, please go to http://main.acsevents.org/Gala_WineandrosesNJ.  All donations are greatly appreciated and help to save lives and create a world with more birthdays!

“Breaking the Certification Barrier” with Brandon J. Morgan

Brandon Morgan

ASL Interpreter Referral Service, Inc. understands the importance of continuing education for our interpreters. That is why on Saturday, March 15, 2014, our pre-certified, contracted interpreters were treated to a free, fast-paced and interactive workshop on preparing for the NIC certification exam.  The workshop, titled “Breaking the Certification Barrier” was given by the energetic and often humorous instructor, Brandon J. Morgan, NIC Master, SC:L, NAD IV, BEI Master.

The workshop session highlighted common follies committed by certification seekers in interpreting practice and on exam day.  The attendees were exposed to native language features that will enhance the effectiveness of their interpretations as well as being led in an interactive discussion to address the interview skills necessary for certification.

It was a great day!  A big thanks to Brandon for a wonderful workshop!  And kudos to all our interpreters who attended!  We wish you much success in the future!

“Dinner and a Movie” Takes On a Whole New Meaning for People With Hearing Loss

Paul and Kathy Hopkins at Regal Cinema using the Sony Entertainment Access Glasses.“Dinner and a movie” takes on a whole new meaning for people with hearing loss as Paul and Kathy Hopkins recently found out.  Paul and Kathy both have a hearing loss that makes attending a movie at a theatre virtually impossible since there are no subtitles or captions provided for most movies.  And even when there was technology introduced at the theatres years ago, moviegoers with hearing loss found it to be a difficult experience at best.

This past summer, Regal Cinemas introduced a new technology to their theatres nationwide.  They rolled out Sony Entertainment Access Glasses – a lightweight, discreet device that allows deaf and hard of hearing people to view closed captions directly in their line of sight.  The new Sony devices also come with optional audio tracks on headphones that describe what’s happening in the movie for blind and visually impaired people.

Another benefit to the technology is that it is available for all movies and times (provided the moviemaker added captions).  No more limited choices in what movie to see and what time to see it.

For more information, view the YouTube presentation at Regal Access — Glasses with Open Captions [HD].

So … what good movies have you seen lately?

98th Annual New Jersey State League of Municipalities Conference

League for Municipalities Conference

ASL Interpreter Referral Service, Inc. was one of the nearly 800 exhibitors that attended the 98th Annual New Jersey State League of Municipalities Conference on November 18-21, 2013.  The conference was held at the Atlantic City Convention Hall and was attended by over 560 mayors and 13,000 elected and appointed officials of local/state governments.

We provided information about our services.  We were well received and educated many on the services available for people with hearing loss.