Start A New Gift
Your Account
ASL Interpreter Fund
#2870830
Have you ever tried to watch a movie with the sound off (and no captions)? Or tried to understand important announcements over a PA system in a foreign country in a language in which you were not fluent?
Every day, thousands of people in America experience this dilemma and yet they are not foreigners. They simply cannot hear.
The Deaf population in the United States varies by poll from 500,000 to 2 million. Needless to say, they make up a significant group of people in America. Deaf people can and do grow up to be productive members of society, however, due to the language and cultural gaps that they often experience growing up (parents that do not learn to communicate with them in American Sign Language (ASL), medical interventions that are not successful in obtaining "full hearing capacity", identifying more with a visual community and not an auditory one), many Deaf individuals feel isolated from the majority Hearing community. This results in a rich "Deaf community" and Culture that can be found in pockets throughout the US. Sadly, this people group is one of the most unreached people groups in North America, with less than 2% considering themselves Christians.
To complicate matters further, there exists no complete translation of the Bible in ASL. The Bible (in the English translation) and Churches (in general) are seen as "Hearing people" things, and not something that Deaf individuals are routinely given access. Like the movie with no captions or sound, the Deaf person is left to try to piece together what they think the Bible or the preacher is conveying. There are over 1,470 biblically based training programs in America; however, as a ratio, only 1 in every 164 are geared towards the Deaf population.
We are trying to improve that statistic. Cru recognizes the need to train students to become life-long laborers for Christ. By using qualified, skilled interpreters, my team is able to impart these tools in a language that Deaf college students can understand and take with them as they continue walking with Jesus for a lifetime.
If you would like more updated information about what we are doing now, please visit my blog - justmejennag.blogspot.com, or email me at jenna.buperry@cru.org
Soli Deo Gloria
:D
Need Help?
Call us at (888)278-7233 from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. ET, Monday-Friday, or email us at eGift@cru.org.
Get help 24/7 from our FAQs.