Designer Bag Bingo to Benefit Sensory-Impaired Children Going to Summer Camp

Children who are affected by sensory impairments often miss this experience of summer camp due to the overwhelming cost of providing for their communication and mobility needs. A local non-profit, Help Henry See and Hear wants to change that. To raise the money for the scholarship program Help Henry See and Hear is hosting its first Annual Designer Bag Bingo and Basket Raffle on May 8, 2015 at the Westampton Crescent Shrine in Westampton, NJ.

Mount Laurel, NJ, April 17, 2015 --(PR.com)-- Deaf, blind and deaf blind children to attend summer camp with proceeds from 1st Annual Bingo.

Going to summer camp is a rite of passage in the northeast. Children who are affected by sensory impairments often miss this experience due to the overwhelming cost of providing for their communication and mobility needs. The local non-profit, Help Henry See and Hear wants to change that.

“So far we have received 15 scholarship applications for children [with sensory impairments] to attend camp this summer,” says Philip Norton, a trustee of Help Henry See and Hear and helicopter pilot at NBC 10 Philadelphia. “That equates to about $10,000, says Karla Hernandez, treasurer and trustee of the non-profit, as well as a parent of two deaf children. Help Henry See and Hear is working with volunteer interpreters, aides, teachers and college students to make camp a reality for their scholarship applicants,” said Norton.

“Not only are we paying the tuition for the camp we are sending these kids with interpreters, aides or interveners,” Hernandez adds. This is a significant burden that families just cannot always meet. “Help Henry See and Hear provided an aide for our low-vision son last year at Cedar Run Wildlife Refuge. They allowed him to enjoy traditional summer camp activities with his peers. Without the aide, he would have been unable to attend camp and would have missed a fantastic summer experience,” said Faye Corman, parent of a legally blind child and a hard-of-hearing child.

Maureen Loftus, a special education teacher and parent of two hard-of-hearing children understands the burden all to well of keeping her children involved in typical activities. “My girls need an interpreter to have communication access and interpreters charge $48 per hour,” said Loftus. “For my girls to participate in this type of camp experience the interpreter cost alone would be close to $2,000 for the week per kid,” she said.

To raise the money for the scholarship program Help Henry See and Hear is hosting its first Annual Designer Bag Bingo and Basket Raffle on May 8, 2015 at the Westampton Crescent Shrine in Westampton, NJ. Tickets for the event are $30 for three boards of Bingo per game. An additional 16th game is available for $1. Basket raffle tickets are additional. Tickets are available for advance purchase by checking their Web site: www.HelpHenrySeeandHear.org. Seating is limited to 300 but if any tickets remain unsold they will be on sale at the door starting at 5:30 p.m on May 8th.

Help Henry See and Hear supports those in our community who have Usher Syndrome, are low-vision, blind, are deaf or hard-of-hearing. We enable kids with sensory-impairments to have the same opportunities to have fun and be a kid as their typical peers. We want to educate schools, educators, friends, families, and parents about living with a sensory impairment. And finally, we work with the Usher Syndrome Coalition to further research into vision-related disorders such as Usher Syndrome and Retinitis Pigmentosa.
Contact
Accessing Independence - HHSH
Kim Norton
856-425-8026
www.helphenryseeandhear.org
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