David Goes To School

Children's book written by David Shannon translated into ASL by Windell "Wink" Smith.
Produced by Project N.A.D.I.N.E. and callVRS ASL story
Project N.A.D.I.N.E. And callVRS Partner For Childhood Literacy
Project N.A.D.I.N.E. is thrilled to announce that we have the honor to host callVRS ASL Story Videos. This project hopes to promote literacy for children who are Deaf or Hard-of-Hearing.
Earlier this year, callVRS (a Video Relay Service for the Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing based in Clearwater, Florida) followed through on their promise to not be the average Video Relay Service. In doing so, they shocked the Deaf community with innovative use of Video Phone technology to promote childhood literacy with the use of ASL. callVRS started a program called "ASL Story" that enables Video Phone users to call ASLstory.info on their Video Phones or Video Phone software to view an ASL Story translated from popular children's books.
This new venue is what callVRS co-owner Keith Wann calls supporting Deaf literacy. "As someone who grew up bilingually with ASL and English, and as someone who has children, I understand firsthand the crucial influence of bilingualism upon children, especially those who are deaf," Wann says. "Yet not all of them have easy access to ASL-narrated stories. By combining modern video technology with ASL, we can provide on-demand ASL storytelling at no cost to them."
New ASL Stories will be uploaded monthly. Previous and future performers include: Keith Wann, Crom Saunders, and Windell "Wink" Smith Jr. callVRS has also lined up some other well-known ASL performers, as well as some newcomers.
The National Advocates on Deafness to Inform, Network and Enrich (Project N.A.D.I.N.E.) based out of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma will host all previously aired ASL Stories in hopes to continue their mission for the children who are Deaf or Hard-of-Hearing. This new project will also further their passion for American Sign Language awareness throughout the United States to exhibit the beauty and value of ASL.
Windell Smith Jr, Chief Executive Officer for Project N.A.D.I.N.E. said, "We're so thrilled to host these videos! We have worked with callVRS before with some other upcoming projects and are so excited to continue a business relationship with them. We wanted to host these videos for hearing parents who may not qualify or have resources to attain a Video Phone to watch these beautiful videos that not only help read to their child, that in turns build their literacy skills, but also help develop language between the parents and most importantly the child."
Keith Wann adds, "With this new program, we're already making waves. A mother told me that she was thrilled to see this offering for her deaf children, because she lives in a rural area where there are very few deaf people and even fewer opportunities for her children to see native-level ASL."She says her children ask to watch the story over and over, because they're so excited to see someone other than their mother signing."
Although this program is sponsored by callVRS, all calls into ASLstory.info are not interpreted calls and do not involve interpreters or call placements. Additionally, none of the calls to ASLstory.info result in billable minutes or profits. Wann says, "I've been asked why we have this program, and my answer is simple: this is a way for callVRS to give back to the community. What better way to do it than to reach out to new generations of deaf children through their natural language?"
Dial ASLstory.info on your VP TODAY!
OR
Go to ProjectNADINE.org/ASLstory.htm to watch previous editions.
ProjectNADINE.org
callVRS.org
WinkASL.com