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Aid the Silent Turns Five
A YOUNG DEAF CEO WITH HER NONPROFIT TEAM OF ALL WOMEN SERVICE 229 DEAF CHILDREN IN TIME FOR THEIR 5TH BIRTHDAY
Aid the Silent has been breaking through barriers since its inception in 2015. Most nonprofits fail within the first three years and many odds were stacked against this organization that services deaf and hard-of-hearing children and teenagers. The founder was just 18 years old in 2015 and the main goal was to give hearing aids and resources to 10 children a year. The staff now consists of six women and in 2019 serviced 229 deaf and hard-of-hearing children and teenagers with resources such as classroom equipment, hearing aids, summer camps in Colorado and across Texas, ASL lessons and speech therapy. Aid the Silent was able to grant 16 Educator Enrichment applications for teachers of the deaf across San Antonio and surrounding areas to equip their classrooms with missing curriculum, provide full accessibility for entire field trips, as well as fund continued education conferences specializing in deaf education. The impact was astounding once the team sat down and calculated the 229 lives directly impacted from these tools and resources. These children are given equal access to education, camping experiences, social activities and deep meaningful relationship through communication and language that changes the trajectory of their lives. “I walked around our offices, which are bursting at the seams with interns and our team members and watched in amazement as filming was taking place to share stories about some of our
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B oerne B usiness M onthly | March 2020
greatest supporters of Aid the Silent at our upcoming Annual Gala. I sat on my office floor in tears to count a total number of deaf and hard-of-hearing children we directly impacted in 2019,” said Executive Director and Founder Emma Faye Rudkin. “This is a miracle we are living out, a part of a grander rescue operation for deaf children. It is truly beyond my wildest dreams for my 18-year-old self, terrified and young to start Aid the Silent. Here’s the message… do what is scary, do what no else is doing, say “yes”, show up, be faithful. Be 18 and terrified and say “yes” to the God-size dream.” The nonprofit celebrated five years at the Witte Museum on February 28th during their Annual Gala. A special night that not only highlighted the needs among the deaf and hardof-hearing population but also honored military members and veterans who are coming home with hearing loss as their #1 war injury. SSG (Ret.) Shilo Harris was the keynote speaker and shared his experience of surviving an explosion that not only severely burned over 35% of his body but also caused significant hearing loss. Many donors came forth and bought seven tables that were donated to our men and women in service and honored them on this night. The master of ceremony, Ursula Pari, anchor for KSAT12 and host/speaker of the event, Emma Faye Rudkin, also spoke on how hearing loss has affected their lives. The event was completely deaf accessible with ASL
