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Event Date: 11/17/2010
Location: Ponce, Puerto Rico
Sponsored by: ASL Services Lationo, Gracias VRS, OPPI
Event Purpose:
Offer our services- VRS, VRI, Field Interpreting, Education, etc. and provide guidance to local Deaf Community. We will provide advice on where to go, who to contact when services are needed.
Click the red “CC” button above (at the bottom right of the video) for subtitles.
PROFESSIONAL SERVICES EXPO AT PONCE'S OLD CASINO
Aside from that, services providers who are focused on the Deaf were invited to the Expo as well to show what the have to offer in terms of tech equipment and services. We were there of course and the audience was very impressed with our excellent Interpreters, especially the professionals somehow involved with the Deaf.
“It was an interesting experience” some said as they said their goodbyes. Certainly the door keep on opening in the south of Puerto Rico.
Dozens of people were gathered at Hiram Bithorn Stadium under the hot unforgiving sun to participate in the 9th Annual Deaf Awareness Walk. This year the date was September 25 of 2010 and the Motto was: “Listen to the Hands: Let’s Communicate”. Deaf and relatives along with Interpreters, Teachers and Service Providers gave their full support to the cause.
Later that morning the attendees paid us a visit to the Gracias VRS Booth. They were interested in both our services and commitment with the community. Meanwhile they enjoyed our delicious Frappuccinos made right there to share with our guests.
It truly was a prosperous day for the Deaf Community and those committed to their progress. Their hands were “Heard”.
GETTING READY TO START THE WALK WITH GRACIAS VRS AT THE FRONT.
THE DEAF COMMUNITY GAVE THEIR FULL SUPPORT DURING THE OPENING ACTS AT SAN GABRIEL COLLEGE.
THE GRACIAS VRS TEAM
VISITING OUR BOOTH, JOSE RAUL OCASIO, ATTORNEY FOR PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES.
ENJOYING OUR DELICIOUS FRAPPUCCINOS
During this week Gracias VRS will be celebrating its anniversary. Backed by over 25 years of experience and expertise. Gracias VRS is a company that cares and supports the needs of the Deaf community by providing information about how to protect their lives during an emergency situation and planning events that promote awareness of their rights and how to uphold them. We specifically developed a program called “Gracias Cares” during our Expo’s at the national level. During those we had the conference titled “it’s a Matter of Life and Deaf” where the participants were taught what should be done in case of an emergency. For Gracias VRS our clients come first and we show that everyday through our sponsorship of Deaf events such as “Deafnation”, MATA Expo, ASL Media events, Deaf Week events and Silent Dinners among others.
Our Clients are number one for Gracias VRS and we show it by providing trilingual interpreters who are always ready to make a call whether in Spanish and/or English, always warm, friendly and with a big smile on their faces to make the calling process pleasant and relaxed.
During the last two years we have worked hard so that Gracias VRS develops as a company and is able to fulfill it’s purpose: To be a powerful bridge of communication between the hearing and the Deaf communities. We want to keep working for you and to have more Deaf people enjoy the experience of calling through our services and meet our wonderful team of interpreters. Please add graciasvrs.tv to your Video Phone and start using the best vrs service in the industry. And remember it does not matter where you are or who you want to call, because Gracias VRS is Always with You!
Last Saturday, September 11,2010, Torres along with representatives from the Office of the Solicitor for Handicap (representing our Governor Luis Fortuño), the CEO of the Senate’s Social Well-being and representatives from the Office of Elderly Affairs were all gathered at “Sol” Theater in San German, PR. They were part of a discussion panel meant to explain how each of them can aid as well as have a positive influence for the Deaf, which responded by asking question after question and exposing both general and personal problems that affect them as a collective and as individuals.
Gracias VRS Marketing Team
Gracias VRS Interpreting for the Audience
Gracias VRS: Always With You.
September 18th, 2010 9am to 6pm in Kissimmee, FL
ASL Services Inc and our sister company Gracias VRS will bring great new technology and services to this venue. Please visit our booth and see for yourself what we have to offer and participate in our raffle.
News Article from Puerto Rico written by Karol Joselyn Selpuveda for Primera Hora on September 2nd 2010, about an upcoming event related to the Deaf.
They learn the non verbal language that not many know, and they fight for their right to be accepted in a society that, on many occasions, treats them as “invisibles”. They are the Deaf community.
To help this community learn about their rights, there will be a conference-forum entitled ‘The ADA Law and its accessibility for the Deaf’ which will be held this Saturday September 11th at 2:00pm at the San German Sol Theater.
The discussion will be conducted by Irlanda Ruiz, Esq. with the support of the Cornell University.
Jose Bertran, consultant of ASL Services Latino and Gracias VRS – companies that provide services for the Deaf community, described to Primera Hora: “The event will have two parts: the first part will be to explain the ADA Law in public and private places, so people can learn their rights and be ready to protect them. During the second part, the forum, Deaf people will have the opportunity to express their arguments in front of representatives of the Governor, of the Judicial Department and the Commission of Civil Rights”.
The ADA Law (Americans with Disabilities Act of 1900) or the Law for People with Disabilities provides the opportunity for the Deaf community to have a better quality of life.
During the Puerto Rican Deaf Community Week, on September 25 there will be a march that will begin at 10:00am at the Hiram Bithorn Stadium and will end at San Gabriel School for Deaf Children in Puerto Nuevo.
“It is said that deafness is an invisible disability, but it’s not until you see the person signing that you notice it. That day we will make the Deaf community visible” stated Bertran.
The best qualified
ASL Services Latino offers interpreting services for Deaf people and also teaches sign language courses.
On the other hand, Gracias VRS is dedicated to video relay services for the Deaf. The Deaf person has a video phone at their house and through it they contact the video interpreter, which then connects to the hearing person.
Both companies were founded by Angela Roth, born in New York to Puerto Rican parents.
“She began interacting with Deaf people and became a professional interpreter. She came and founded the companies in Puerto Rico because there is a large Deaf community here” said Bertran. Gracias Video Relay Call Centers are located in San Juan, Hatillo and Aguadilla. This service is free of charge to the Deaf community by ADA Law and the FCC regulations.
“Many people ask why they have an FCC fee in their cell phone bills. Well, here is where that money goes to” explained the psychologist.
He emphasized that Puerto Rican interpreters are the best qualified “because the majority of them are trilingual and in the United States that is hard to find”.
He also mentioned that a group of interpreters of the state of Florida are assisting to create an exam that will help validate the skills of the sign language interpreters here in Puerto Rico.
Fascinated with signs
Jose Bertran’s interest in helping the Deaf Community was born in the 70s, when he was fascinated to see Aida Luz Matos in the extinct news broadcast Panorama Mundial.
“She motivated me to learn sign language… she would resume the daily news in five minutes for the Deaf community. I always waited until the end of the program to see her”, the Washington DC Gallaudet University graduate told us. Gallaudet University is the only University in the world which courses are designed for Deaf people.
This institute admits a small group of hearing people each semester, and they must have ASL (American Sign Language) skills.
Bertran, who 15 years ago founded the non-profit organization Servicios Orientados al Sordo, will begin sign language courses this Saturday at San Antonio School in Rio Piedras.
Classes will last for 14 weeks and the cost of the course includes text book and materials. Each session is two and a half hour long. For more details, call (787) 530-7464.
Special thanks to everyone that visited our booth and signed up for our Visa Gift Card drawing. Three winners were selected at random and their prizes are on the way!
$10.00 winner is:
Dave Showers
$100.00 winner is:
Morton Bayarsky
$1000.00 Grand Prize Winner is:
Ron Kois
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