SHEP CONNECTION CORNER - March 2023 Newsletter

Do you feel lucky? It’s March!

Strong and Growing!

We want to welcome our new member of the SHEP team, Clinton Patton! He will be spearheading our grant efforts for the orgranzation.

Wooohooo!

Also...IamDB!

We are launching our new program IamDB. This program focuses on the ability of the DeafBlind culture and promotes independent living while keeping the can do attitude through life skills and the ability to strengthen the DB skills through workshops and training. These opportunities will be available upon registration.

IamDB is starting strong and can’t wait to offer the very first workshop of labeling, accessibility training, available cane training, and assistance equipment and how to utilize these electronic devices and how they can apply to your life on a daily basis making independence a perfected ability. We encourage independence for the entire DeafBlind community and we are here readily available to provide any type of skills, mental health stability with dual sensory loss, and a powerful ability to conquer life’s challenges.

Workshops are available through registration by sending us an email, phone call, or send us a message on social media to get registered for any of the  workshops starting March 1st.

Don’ t forget to check the March Calendar so you don’t miss out on any events.

See below for workshops!

It’s the luck of the...YOU! It’s all you! Take a look

Look at the IamDB workshops and trainings.

Labeling and identification workshops – using braille labelers/braille dots/readers and identifying money

Equipment accessibility training – how to independently cook/clean/and navigate the world

Cane workshops – Are you in need of a cane or need assistance on using the cane correctly? Let us help

Assistance equipment workshop – Opening your world to different kinds of assistant equipment can make life clear and easy to navigate independently. Equipment for independent living to promote mental health is available upon attendance and training. Please attend and register for this workshop.

SSP and ME- How to effectively utilize my SSP and learning the different ways of communica-

tion.

Every first and 4th Friday of the month there is a coffee chat with the president. Join us!

Details on our calendar and social media!

Need a SSP? Want to be a SSP? We have what you need! Request or register on our website:

www.shep-ok.org/sspporgram

Questions?

Contact our Operations manager Vicky Helms. Email vicky@shep-ok.org

RIDDLE ME THIS: What falls during March but never gets hurt?

Answer: the rain

Hahahahha

 Give us some funnies on Facebook or email us:     humanresources@shep-ok.org We would love to hear from you.

This March we challenge you to take a photo or video of you dancing in the rain.

Find us on Facebook or visit our website www.shep-ok.org

Did you know these awesome facts about Oklahoma?

  • · The shopping cart was invented in Ardmore in 1936.

  • · The nation's first parking meter was installed in Oklahoma City in 1935.

  • The first Girl Scout Cookie was sold in Muskogee in 1917

Read More
Sign language performer Justina Miles goes viral during Rihanna's Super Bowl halftime performance

Rihanna took the field for the Super Bowl LVII halftime show, but another performer standing nearby gained widespread attention as well — Deaf performer Justina Miles. Fans were wowed by Miles' energetic performance of Rihanna's lyrics into American Sign Language, and she quickly went viral online.

Miles, who is hard of hearing, has gone viral on TikTok for performing other popular songs into ASL. Originally from Philadelphia, she was valedictorian at Model Secondary School for the Deaf in Washington D.C. and now studies nursing at Bowie State University, a HBCU in Maryland, according to the National Association of the Deaf.

Read original CBS article here: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/sign-language-interpreter-justina-miles-asl-rihanna-super-bowl-halftime-performance-goes-viral/

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How ZanDraya became the first Deaf Amazonian with a Commercial Driver’s License

ZanDraya Pollock never expected to be the first at anything. She didn’t think she would break barriers. But she had a vision of what she wanted to do.

As a transportation associate at SLC2 in West Jordan, Utah, ZanDraya is living her childhood dream of working as a truck driver. In May, she earned her Commercial Driver’s License (CDL)—a requirement to drive a 53-foot tractor and trailer—and became the first Deaf associate at Amazon to do so.

But ZanDraya’s journey toward a CDL wasn’t simple.

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New Year, Better You! Diet & Lifestyle Recommendations

According to the American Heart Association, “A healthy diet and lifestyle are the keys to preventing and managing cardiovascular disease. It’s not as hard as you may think! Remember, it's the overall pattern of your choices that counts. Make the simple steps below part of your life for long-term benefits to your health and your heart.”

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Winter Driving: Take It Slow

Driving in the winter can be harrowing, especially if there is snow, sleet, hail or ice. Although there tend to be fewer traffic fatalities during the winter months, there are more crashes, and the crashes that occur tend to be more serious. If SSPs heed a few simple tips, it can help ensure safe trips during the winter.

Read the full safety letter here.

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