A Frederick County resident, Linda Stoltz, is starting Maryland’s first ever deaf and hard-of-hearing Community Center. Stoltz recognized that while Maryland, and more specifically Frederick, has such a large deaf community, there is no one real place for them to come together. She, herself, is hard-of-hearing. Her grandchildren have been attending Maryland School for The Deaf. This led her to set out on starting the “Maryland Deaf Community Center” which will be located in the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association building. Stoltz does not have any prior education in teaching, which is known as of right now.
This will be a non-profit organization where she hopes to host workshops, emergency leadership training, classes, and a place for hosting events. She also hopes to make it a space for those in and outside of the deaf community. She hopes that people will come to find resources and information for those who are deaf and hard of hearing.
Although this organization is non-profit, they are looking for sponsors, as everyone working there now are volunteers and they are working completely off of donations. The community center has been reaching out to by Maryland School for the Deaf and the Corps Access Foundation. They hope for more sponsors in the future to help fund events, staffing, computers, and other additions. The new community center is already receiving support. Stoltz commented, “We want them to know that the Deaf Community Center supports them, and this is here for them, this is their home.”
The Viking Journal 