Rutland Library ASL Story Time

Okanagan Regional Library has been awarded a Central Okanagan Foundation grant to continue it's American Sign Language Story Time program at the Rutland Library.
 
The Central Okanagan Foundation is a community foundation providing an ongoing contribution to the quality of life in our community through building endowments, grant making and community leadership.  We bring donors and charities together to provide for the needs of the community today, tomorrow and forever.
 
It is estimated that 10% of our community is linguistically Deaf (Canadian Association of the Deaf).  We know that friends and families wish to connect with deaf or hard of hearing children and their community. 
 
The ASL Story Time is a 45-minute library program for preschool to early elementary children and their families.  It is a bilingual program that enables both the deaf and the hearing community to participate in a Story Time to learn early literacy skills in both English and American Sign Language using songs, stories, finger plays, and rhymes.
 
With partnerships, ORL created the ASL Story Time program to help deaf or hard of hearing individuals break through the obstacles and barriers they will or may already be experiencing.  Earlier in the year, we were able to determine some of the benefits and impacts of this program due to a partnership with The Provincial Deaf and Hard of Hearing Services.  They helped us pilot this service by providing the ASL story teller and ASL interpreter for three programs.  
 
We surveyed the attendees at one of these programs, and 100% of respondents reported that as a result of the ASL story time: 
 
- They learned something they could share with their children
- They felt more confident in helping their children learn
- They would spend more time reading with their children
- They became more aware of the resources and services of the library.
 
All survey respondents requested that we continue with this program which we can do because of the generosity of the Central Okanagan Foundation.
 
The ASL Stroy Time starts on August 19th and runs months the Rutland Library.