Programs and results
What we aim to solve
We struggle to find enough Deaf counselors. Since we are a Deaf camp, we want to have Deaf role models to lead the camp.
Our programs
What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?
Signs of Fun Camp
Signs of Fun Camp is a one week day camp from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. for deaf/hard of hearing children, ages 3-18.
All youth with a hearing loss have free access to communication without the need for interpreters! We swim, hike, fish, and have a variety of activities throughout the day related to our theme for the week. Most of our counselors are former campers that have graduated high school or ASL students from the local colleges. Our support is from the Lions Club and other fundraisers, with the help of parents and friends.
60% of deaf babies live in families where their parents do not use a natural visual language and may be language deprived of both American Sign Language and/or spoken English. Language deprivation causes significant cognitive delays, problematic emotional and social development in babies and young children and its effects can be long lasting.
Signs of Fun also aims to offer our parents options for communication with children who are deaf or hard of hearing. We now offer sign language classes for the parents of our campers.
Virginia's Children First
Impacting one family at a time, Virginia's Children First looks to connect families, offer support, and ensure our children's rights are heard! Infants and toddlers who are deaf/hard of hearing need equal language access. That is our mission!
Hawaii's Keiki First
Impacting one family at a time, Hawaii's Keiki First looks to connect families, offer support, and ensure our children's rights are heard! Infants and toddlers who are deaf/hard of hearing need equal language access. That is our mission!
Where we work
Affiliations & memberships
Combined Federal Campaign 2017
External reviews
Photos
Videos
Our results
How does this organization measure their results? It's a hard question but an important one.
Number of participants engaged in programs
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Children and youth, Ethnic and racial groups, Caregivers, Families, People with disabilities
Related Program
Signs of Fun Camp
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
How many campers we have each year who actively participate. Years 2020 and 2021 had to be virtual, due to COVID.
Number of phone calls/inquiries
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Children and youth, Ethnic and racial groups, Families, Parents, People with disabilities
Related Program
Signs of Fun Camp
Type of Metric
Input - describing resources we use
Direction of Success
Increasing
Our Sustainable Development Goals
Learn more about Sustainable Development Goals.
Goals & Strategy
Learn about the organization's key goals, strategies, capabilities, and progress.
Charting impact
Four powerful questions that require reflection about what really matters - results.
What is the organization aiming to accomplish?
Summer camp plays a significant role in the life of a child. It helps promote self-esteem, encourages them to make new friends, and provides opportunities in the ways of leadership and independence. However, for a child who is deaf or hard of hearing, the camp experience is limiting in the aspect that the child will still need to rely on an interpreter, which inhibits a child's opportunity to experience life as only a child can.
Our camp allows children to explore new interests and gives them the opportunity to work out conflicts between their friends without constant adult interference. Our counselors will always be there to brainstorm ideas for coping mechanisms and conflict resolutions, but will allow the children time to create a healthy scenario, thus enabling campers to decide how to resolve future conflicts while encouraging native language use. Such actions instill a greater self-confidence and a sense of freedom, therefore leading to greater independence.
Hearing parents who have deaf children struggle with finding friends who have the same mode of communication. “Signs of Fun" camp resolves this important issue. Our camp provides parents with a network of support in raising today's deaf child. Our campers finally have a place where they belong, where everyone is the same, where they can be themselves and realize their potential. Our vision for the campers is to see them participate with abandon, to see them engage in new activities without hesitation, and to see them create ideas in which they would like to see the group involved.
We would like to offer a two-week program with the older children for the first week so they can be junior counselors the second week when the younger children come to camp.
We would like to have monthly outings with the children to build camaraderie such as bowling, movies, pizza night, etc. Deaf clubs are an important part of the deaf culture and we need to provide the same for these children.
What are the organization's key strategies for making this happen?
1. Reducing inequalities is our main goal. Deaf and hearing hold no differences other than one hears with their ears and the other listens with their eyes.
Fundraising is the main strategy as we already offer the camp experience. We will continue dreaming up new plans and missions for our campers to enjoy and implement each and every one.
2. Demystifying the belief that deafness is not normal is our secondary goal. “For a blind or deaf child, blindness or deafness represent normality, not a condition of illness (Vygotsky, Rieber & Carton, 1993).”
Our strategy is to be the resource for all who are curious about deafness. Teachers, parents, siblings, businesses, anyone who wants to know more about deafness and/or how to communicate will have the local, state, or federal resources they need, no matter where they live in the USA.
What are the organization's capabilities for doing this?
We are able to communicate effectively with our campers as our director and assistant director have educational backgrounds and knowledge of the language set required. We offer internships to ASL and interpreting students along with bringing in volunteers from the local colleges to facilitate communication.
We also bring in Deaf adults for mentoring to both children as well as their parents. Who better to partner with in raising your deaf child than a deaf adult?
With donor monies, we will be able to build a stronger website to hold all of our resources in one place so others won't have to search through the vast World Wide Web to find the answers they crave.
What have they accomplished so far and what's next?
We have never turned away a camper who is deaf or hard of hearing.
We have been slowly building a new website, but funding is limited.
We are creating a log of each state's resources and once we find the dollars to make it work, we will be hiring a web designer to implement the designs we have been working on this year. We hope to have our newest website up and running by December 2021 to coincide with our camp website.
How we listen
Seeking feedback from people served makes programs more responsive and effective. Here’s how this organization is listening.
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How is your organization using feedback from the people you serve?
To identify and remedy poor client service experiences, To identify bright spots and enhance positive service experiences, To make fundamental changes to our programs and/or operations, To inform the development of new programs/projects, To identify where we are less inclusive or equitable across demographic groups, To strengthen relationships with the people we serve, To understand people's needs and how we can help them achieve their goals
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Which of the following feedback practices does your organization routinely carry out?
We collect feedback from the people we serve at least annually, We take steps to get feedback from marginalized or under-represented people, We aim to collect feedback from as many people we serve as possible, We take steps to ensure people feel comfortable being honest with us, We look for patterns in feedback based on demographics (e.g., race, age, gender, etc.), We look for patterns in feedback based on people’s interactions with us (e.g., site, frequency of service, etc.), We engage the people who provide feedback in looking for ways we can improve in response, We act on the feedback we receive, We tell the people who gave us feedback how we acted on their feedback, We ask the people who gave us feedback how well they think we responded
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What challenges does the organization face when collecting feedback?
It is difficult to get the people we serve to respond to requests for feedback
Financials
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Operations
The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.
Connect with nonprofit leaders
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- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
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Connect with nonprofit leaders
SubscribeBuild relationships with key people who manage and lead nonprofit organizations with GuideStar Pro. Try a low commitment monthly plan today.
- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights? Learn More about GuideStar Pro.
SIGNS OF FUN
Board of directorsas of 12/14/2023
ReBecca Bennett
Signs Of Fun
Term: 2016 -
Arlene VanHorn
Melissa Farrell-Gilliland
Lorain Alonso
Joni Terens
Rebecca Herrera
Board leadership practices
GuideStar worked with BoardSource, the national leader in nonprofit board leadership and governance, to create this section.
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Board orientation and education
Does the board conduct a formal orientation for new board members and require all board members to sign a written agreement regarding their roles, responsibilities, and expectations? Yes -
CEO oversight
Has the board conducted a formal, written assessment of the chief executive within the past year ? No -
Ethics and transparency
Have the board and senior staff reviewed the conflict-of-interest policy and completed and signed disclosure statements in the past year? Yes -
Board composition
Does the board ensure an inclusive board member recruitment process that results in diversity of thought and leadership? Yes -
Board performance
Has the board conducted a formal, written self-assessment of its performance within the past three years? Yes
Organizational demographics
Who works and leads organizations that serve our diverse communities? Candid partnered with CHANGE Philanthropy on this demographic section.
Leadership
The organization's leader identifies as:
Race & ethnicity
Gender identity
No data
Transgender Identity
No data
Sexual orientation
Disability
No data
Equity strategies
Last updated: 04/17/2021GuideStar partnered with Equity in the Center - an organization that works to shift mindsets, practices, and systems to increase racial equity - to create this section. Learn more
- We have long-term strategic plans and measurable goals for creating a culture such that one’s race identity has no influence on how they fare within the organization.
- We engage everyone, from the board to staff levels of the organization, in race equity work and ensure that individuals understand their roles in creating culture such that one’s race identity has no influence on how they fare within the organization.