2011 June |

Hands & Voices in Maine

As I type this, I’m sitting in front of a window overlooking the bay in Portland, Maine. This is my first visit to this northeastern state. I know several people who are attending the Hands & Voices conference, and I’m about to meet many more who will become familiar faces in the next few years. That has been my experience with Hands & Voices over the years: the wonderful opportunity to meet diverse parents, professionals, D/deaf/hard of hearing folks from all walks of life, all corners of the world.

How did this journey unfold? Many years ago, when my three deaf and hard of hearing kids were much younger, I sat down to develop a website for Illinois that would put together resources for parents with deaf and hard of hearing children. My passion was to connect with other families and share the experience of raising our kids together. Along the way, I discovered Hands & Voices, an organization whose philosophy mirrored my own: “What works for your child is what makes the choice right.” I met Leeanne Seaver, (Executive Director) and Janet Des Georges (Executive Director, Colorado Hands & Voices) and I liked them immediately, despite the fact that they were beautiful and fashionably hip. I ~~was sucked in~~ became a board member and started up the Illinois chapter.

When I first joined Hands & Voices, we were still relatively unknown– and definitely grassroots, but we all had a vision of connecting and helping families. It’s amazing to see how much the organization has grown. Today, we have 26 approved chapters, 11 provisional chapters and 6 start-up chapters. Our international chapters include British Columbia and Kenya, with provisional and start-ups in the Philippines, Guam/Saipain, Australia, Italy and Nigeria.

At the end of the board meeting, I paused for a moment and reflected on the changes over the years. We started back then with just a handful of chapters, and now we’re connected to families all over the world. The family in Italy wants the same thing as the family in Arkansas: a well-adjusted, successful kid. And the journey is so much easier when we’re connected to one another, sharing resources and support.

Years ago, at the very first Hands & Voices conference, we all fit around a single table. At the opening night in Maine, we filled the entire dining room at Southern Maine Community College. One by one, as we went around the room, we introduced our new best friend sitting next to us. I had the honor of getting to know and introduce Ann Porter, a parent and CEO of Aussie Deaf Kids.

What I love most about Hands & Voices is that over the years, I’ve had the opportunity to meet such a diverse group of parents, professionals and deaf/hard of hearing adults from all over. I always marvel at the stories they share, the paths they’ve taken on the journey and the wisdom that they share which helps guide me as I raise my own kids. And every time I cross paths with someone, I’m reminded of a quote by Tim McGraw:

“We all take different paths in life, but no matter where we go, we take a little of each other everywhere.”

For more pictures featuring the Maine Leadership Conference, visit the Hands & Voices Facebook page. Follow us on Twitter: @HandsandVoices.

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Tags: Raising Deaf/HH Kids by DeafMom
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Sponsor Spotlight: General Motors and Driving the Midwest

In early August, I will be heading down to the Barefoot Ski Ranch in Waco, Texas in a brand new Chevrolet, thanks to Connie Burke from General Motors. I met Connie at a Chicago Social Media Club event earlier this year and she told me about her program, Driving the Midwest.

Connie Burke has been working for General Motors for 26 years, but her recent position as a Communications Manager has been the most exciting, thrilling, satisfying position she’s ever worked in. Not only is Connie part of the social media team at General Motors, but as part of her job, she gets to hand out cars to folks all over the Midwest.

“Driving the Midwest was an outgrowth of the social media program that we created in Chicago, called Chevy Missions,” said Connie. “Chevy recognized people that were making a difference in their community. We gave vehicles to help those were were making a difference in the community –whatever their passion was we wanted them to experience it with our cars.”

Driving the Midwest program began in March, 2011 as one of five regions, and includes all of the General Motors brands, Chevy, Buick, Cadillac and GMC. “We’ve received good feedback about this program, and people fall in love with our products as a result,” Connie explained. “We have a lot of fuel-efficiency vehicles, like the new Chevy Cruze– a small car that feels like a mid-size car–and it gets up to 42 miles per gallon. Our cars have improved so much over the years. We’ve added features like Bluetooth, separate entertainment systems, a 30 gig hard drive that holds iPod music and even the Onstar parking assistance which includes a back-up camera. We’ve added lots of safety features as well.”

Of all of the keys she’s handed out under the program, the most memorable one for Connie was handing the keys over to Mark Horvath prior to the SOBCon 2011 conference in Chicago. Mark is known for his work with people who are homeless. His mission is to teach people how to use the internet to search for jobs– and break the cycle of homelessness. They may not have a physical address, but as long as they have email and wifi access, Mark teaches them how to make things happen. “That was the best day of my career– it was very emotional,” said Connie. “Just to see his face light up… He realized that his hard work was recognized–that his work is really important. That’s the part of my job that is really validating, honoring people who make a difference.”

There’s no typical day at work for Connie, as she’s involved in all kinds of events. One day, she might be on a baseball field helping to clean up, the next day she will be at an event such as the Detroit Motor City Pride or speaking at a conference. Just recently, she kicked off Theresa Carter’s Route 66 Tour to raise money for Endure to Cure. Just before that, she handed over a Chevy Cruze to Melisa Wells, who just released a book, “Chicken in the Car and the Car Won’t Go.” The back of the truck was chock full of useful donations for the Ronald McDonald house.

I feel extremely blessed to soon be the recipient of a vehicle from General Motors for our trip to the Barefoot Nationals in August. Two years ago, on my 44th birthday, I spent that day feeling down and missing my youthful days of barefoot water skiing. Now two years later this August, I’ll be celebrating my birthday with my family, and a whole new community of barefooting friends– what an incredible blessing! Thank you, Connie Burke and General Motors for making this possible!

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Tags: Barefoot Sponsors, Going Places by DeafMom
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Living Life with Appreciation and Gratitude

When I arrived home after Dad died, there was a pile of mail sitting on the counter. It took me a few days before I sat down and finally opened the cards one by one. One card, in particular, stood out. It was sent by AnnMarie Mickelson, my friend from Georgia. On the cover, was a picture I had taken of my hand clasping my father’s hand. I had taken the picture shortly before he died and posted it to Facebook with the message, “Thanks for 45 years Dad–I’m going to miss you.”

AnnMarie also included a picture that I had taken from a flight. Here’s the card:

AnnMarie used a service called Send Out Cards to create this customized, personal card. I also received another Send Out Card, this one from Glenda Watson Hyatt, a friend of mine from Canada. Glenda has cerebral palsy, a disability that makes it difficult for her to write. Send Out Cards was an easy way for her to create a customized card. She sent me a card with a picture of a sunset from her recent trip to Hawaii (I love sunsets!).

Intrigued, I wanted to learn more about Send Out Cards, so I opened an account. I found that I really enjoyed creating cards and surprising folks here and there with a little appreciation and gratitude. Losing Dad brought that on, for sure– a whole new appreciation for the people who cross my path on this life journey. Kody Bateman, the founder of Send Out Cards, had a similar revelation when he ignored a gut feeling to share some love with his brother and shortly afterwards, he lost his brother. That’s how Send Out Cards was born. Here’s an excerpt from his story:

Send Out Cards came into existence because of a story, the story of my brother Kris and how I ignored a prompting to say goodbye to him before I moved away. Shortly after moving away, a phone call revealed the tragic news that he had been killed. I hung up the phone after hearing this news and realized that this particular story would change my life. I set out to search for meaning in the story of my brother’s death. In that search, I made some promises to my brother. I promised him that I would act on my promptings from then on and find a way to help others do the same. This became a collected story in my life and it guided my efforts for the next 18 years. Today, Send Out Cards is the result of that collected story.

Take a moment to read my previous post, how taking just a second to tell someone how special they are can last a lifetime in their mind:

A Second That Lasts a Lifetime

I joined AnnMarie at Send Out Cards, and together, we’re sharing Send Out Cards with others. This week, we’re toying around with the Send Out Cards video cards– where you can send videos via a card! Imagine sending a video of a newborn baby to grandparents living in another state. Or a video tour of your brand new house to a friend who lives in another country. Or a special message in American Sign Language to a special someone in your life.

I was never good at sending cards or remembering birthdays until I started using Send Out Cards. Now I finally have all of my contacts in one place and a birthday reminder alert. And a few weeks ago, I received an alert for a friend’s birthday. I was in another state, with no car– but sending a card and a gift took all of a few minutes. I snagged a picture off Facebook, designed a customized card, selected a book and sent the whole thing off with the touch of a few keys.

With Send Out Cards, the possibilities are endless– the connections that result, priceless. Don’t wait until it’s too late.

Don’t wait until it’s too late to connect with someone– send them a card today. The first one is on us. If you’d like to join our team (I work from a pontoon on a lake and AnnMarie works from an Anytime Fitness gym!) contact me at karen (at) karenputz (dot) com.

Karen Putz — Passion Pursuits

AnnMarie Mickelson — Amjon

Some of the cards we’ve sent:

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Tags: Inspirational Stuff by DeafMom
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He’s Legally an Adult, But He’s Still My Baby

David, my oldest kiddo, is celebrating his 18th birthday today. He’s also graduating from high school on Friday. Needless to say, I’m a muddled mess this week. We have a tradition in our house where we put up a birthday sign on the front door– it’s the first thing the kids see when they come down the stairs on their birthday.

The hubby put up this sign:

I guess it’s a male thing to achieve adulthood, but for a mom, it’s just a reminder of how-too-quickly motherhood comes to pass. David has been looking forward to this monumental birthday, rejoicing in the “adult” status. As for me, I’m trying to juggle the flip flop of emotions that are swirling inside of me. I wrote about it in the Chicago Tribune TribLocal, which was printed in last week’s newspaper:

From Birth to Graduation, Just Like That

Do you remember those Tom and Jerry cartoons when you were little– the scenes where Tom would chase Jerry and leaving him spinning in a circle–not knowing what hit him? Yeah, that’s exactly how I feel today. The years went by so fast– that I’m still dizzy from the whirlwind.

Happy Birthday, Dave! I love you! You may be legally an adult today, but you’re still my baby. May your day be an amazing one!

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Tags: Raising Deaf/HH Kids by DeafMom
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Hands & Voices in Maine

Sponsor Spotlight: General Motors and Driving the Midwest

Living Life with Appreciation and Gratitude

He’s Legally an Adult, But He’s Still My Baby

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