The Department of Sport and Event Management's spring "Event Management" class will host a dinner on April 27 from 5:30-8:30 p.m. benefitting Communications Services for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing. Tickets are $5 for students, $8 for guests and can be purchased at the event or online at signanddineelon.eventbrite.com
Students of the spring semester “Event Management” course are putting their skills to the test by hosting a fundraising dinner benefiting Communication Services for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing Inc. located in Greensboro, North Carolina.
The “Sign & Dine” event will be held April 27 from 5:30-8:30 p.m. in the McBride Gathering Space in the Numen Lumen Pavilion. Dinner will be tacos with various toppings served by local, certified American Sign Language interpreters.
Tickets are $5.00 for students, $8.00 for community members and can be purchased at the event or online at www.signanddineelon.eventbrite.com
The “Event Management” class is a unique take on engaged learning at Elon. Students enrolled in the course “study the principles of organization, planning and group dynamics as they apply to special event management in sport and recreation.”
Students also plan and administer an actual event to benefit a local philanthropy as chosen by the class.
The students formulated the idea for their event after learning about Signs, a sign language restaurant in Toronto. Guests are given menus with illustrations of hand signs that correlate with various food options, and guests then “sign” the item to the all-deaf wait staff who bring their dish. Elon students hope to mirror this concept at their event, “Sign & Dine.”
After researching the difficulties that the deaf community face in terms of obtaining adequate funding for interpreters or translation technology, the students decided that the funds raised through the Sign & Dine dinner should benefit a local charity that strives to provide the deaf community with these necessary materials – Communications Services for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing Inc.
CSDHH’s mission is “to ensure equal access for the deaf and hard of hearing by providing services to enhance communication through community outreach and advocacy.”
The students were drawn to the organization because of CSDHH’s commitment to not only providing services for deaf individuals, but also to advocate for and to raise awareness of the cause in the central North Carolina area. By bringing Sign & Dine to Elon, students hope to raise both funds for and awareness of the deaf community.
For more information contact Elizabeth Zimmerman at ezimmerman7@elon.edu or follow @SignAndDineElon on Twitter.