We would like to announce a change of plans for the upcoming HLAA-KC Chapter November meeting. On November 20th, all of us have been invited by the Kansas School for the Deaf to participate in a *free* Deaf Awareness 5K Run/Walk in Olathe, KS. This was originally the day of our Chapter meeting at the KCMO-Plaza Library. To support hearing loss and Deaf awareness in Greater Kansas City, chapter leadership voted to participate in the 5K Run/Walk. Therefore, the Nov. 20th meeting at the library has been *cancelled.* The presentation orginally planned with Hamilton CapTel has been rescheduled for our March 2011 meeting.

With that said, please join us for the free Deaf Awareness 5K Run/Walk at 9:00am on November 20, Blackbob Park, 151st & Blackbob, Olathe. We will walk together on behalf of HLAA. After the walk, HLAA will participate in a booth expo at Blackbob Park until 12:00pm noon. There will be other booths with information from businesses and organizations supporting persons with hearing loss and deafness. Invite your family and friends, dress warm, and come for a great morning of exercise, networking, and hearing loss awareness.

To RSVP for the walk, e-mail hlaakc@gmail.com so that we can look for you on the 20th.

Below is an official announcement from the Kansas School for the Deaf about the November 20th 5K Run/Walk. We hope to see you there!

Letter from Kansas School for the Deaf

Friends of KSD, Olathe East High School, and Community Members,

My name is Leslie Caldwell and I work at the Kansas State School for the Deaf (KSD) in Olathe, KS. I was contacted by an Olathe East High School Leadership Student team with the request of establishing a 5K walk to raise awareness in the community about Deafness and Hearing Loss. It is the vision of this student group to bring the Deaf, Hard of Hearing, and Hearing community together at one event to share information.

This 5K event will be held on November 20th, from 9:00am-12:00pm at Black Bob Park. Please refer to the attached flier. Participation in the 5K event is free. 5K t-shirts and food items will be available for purchase with all proceeds donated towards the building of an outdoor multi-purpose sport’s court on the KSD campus.

I am writing to you today to gather your support. I would like to formally invite you to host a free information table for this event. Our goal is to have tables available that not only showcase your business or organization, but more importantly to provide educational or interesting activities for our participants. We would like our participants to walk away from this event understanding more about hearing, hearing loss, and Deaf culture while having fun doing so. I have lots of ideas to help you develop your booth/ table. Some of these include but are not limited to:

Children’s Booth Ideas:
Coloring Page stations (audiological technology, Chuck Baird artwork/Deaf Artwork, Sign Language, etc)
ASL storytelling with voice support
ASL crafts
Face painting

Hearing Awareness & Deaf Culture Booth Ideas:
I-Pod Safety
Hearing Loss Simulations (spelling test at mild/moderate/and profound level)
Cochlear Implant Simulations
Hearing Conservation Issues (job noise-level exposure and protection)
Deaf Culture
History of ASL
Importance of Hearing Testing
Technology Demonstrations (consider potential power issues; since we are in a park)

Since there is no cost for vendors or exhibitors, we are asking that each table involved offer some type of drawing for a prize or gift certificate for those people attending the event. This may be something connected to your business or organization, or it could be a gift certificate to a local retailer or restaurant. Also, we are asking that each organization make a minimal donation of supplies to put towards the walk. Ideas for this may include but are not limited to donating cases of bottled water or soda pop, food donations, or cash donations to supplement printing costs for t-shirts and interpreting costs. We understand that the economy is tough for so many people right now and anything you can contribute big or small would assist in making this event a success.

If you are unable to attend this event, we ask you to consider sharing and posting the attached event flier with your friends, family, customers and clients. Getting the word out to the community through your store fronts, email lists, newsletters, websites, or Facebook would greatly improve the attendance and participation of this event. This is the first time we have attempted this type of event and appreciate any support that you can offer in sharing this opportunity with our greater Kansas City and Olathe communities.

To confirm your reservation for a table, email East Student, Madison Walsh at madison_w@ymail.com. If you have any additional questions you may contact Madison Walsh via telephone at 913-981-3191 or Leslie Caldwell at 913-324-0600.

Thank you in advance for your support of this event. I am very excited about this opportunity to bring our community together.

Leslie Caldwell
Kansas School for the Deaf
Community Resource Facilitator
913-324-0600