Press Release-CSD Organizes "Back to School" Fundraisers

From: CSD - Sep 7, 2006

PRESS ANNOUNCEMENT Release Date: Sept. 7, 2006
Contact: Derric Miller
CSD Communications Office
dsmiller@c-s-d.org


CSD Organizes “Back to School” Fundraisers

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. — CSD recently worked with the local communities at their 11 respective relay centers and one CSD equipment distribution call center to raise school supplies. The donations are given to public schools, state schools for the deaf or humanitarian agencies who will distribute the supplies to needy area schools.

Here are the totals contributed from each respective call center:

* Cayce, S.C. — 2,185 items donated to the South Carolina School for the Deaf and Blind.
* Dayton, Ohio — 1,607 items donated to the St. Rita School for the Deaf.
* Holyoke, Mass. — 750 items donated to single mothers and the Rescue Mission, who were also conducting a school drive.
* Honolulu, Hawaii — 190 items donated to the Hawaii School for the Deaf and Blind
* Jacksonville, Fla. — 1,780 items donated to the Florida School for the Deaf and Blind.
* Lemore, Calif.— 300 items donated to the Kings Community Action Organization and the Lemore School District
* Lubbock, Texas — Over 2,900 items donated to the Lubbock Food Bank’s “Stuff the Bus” collection for children who need help with school supplies.
* Moorhead, Minn. — 959 items given to the local United Way, who then distribute them to qualified area schools.
* Sioux Falls, S.D. — 1,815 items donated to the The Banquet for their school supply drive for needy children.
* Stockton, Calif. — 782 items donated to the California School for the Deaf in Fremont.
* Syracuse, N.Y. — 2,800 items donated to the New York State School for the Deaf in Rome and the WHOLE ME! project for deaf children in Syracuse.
* Vineland, N.J. — 343 items donated to the Vineland Regional Deaf Program at the Durand Elementary School.

“CSD prides itself on being dedicated to the ideal of ‘corporate citizenship,’” said Ben Soukup, CSD chief executive officer. “This is the time of year when students are heading back to class, so what better way to show our support than by giving back to the communities in which our employees work, live, and raise their children in.”

The concerted effort was directed by Jim Skjeveland, CSD senior vice president contact center operations, who manages all 12 centers. The center managers at the respective call centers then worked with local staff and the community to make the drive a success.

“CSD by definition is a company dedicated to improving and helping the community around them,” said Janie Flores, New Jersey center manager. “It’s no surprise, but definitely wonderful to see that same principle being applied to the area school systems.”

CSD and Sprint are partners in providing traditional relay services (TRS) and have worked together for nearly 16 years. TRS involves a relay operator serving as an intermediary for phone calls between a deaf user and a hearing party. The TRS operator speaks words typed by a deaf user on a text telephone (TTY) or via the Internet, and relays the hearing person's spoken response by typing back to the deaf user. You can use relay – 24 hours a day, seven days a week – just by dialing 711.

CSD and Sprint’s experience in the field assures users of Sprint Relay receive quality service no matter what type of relay service they are using. Relay service is available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, with no restrictions on the number of calls placed or call length. For more information, visit www.sprintrelay.com.

About CSD – CSD, also known as Communication Service for the Deaf, Inc., is a private, nonprofit human services agency headquartered in Sioux Falls, S.D. and is also one of the world’s oldest and largest telecommunications relay service providers. Through a wide variety of contracts and partnerships, CSD serves an estimated 18 million users in 30 states across the nation. Since its inception in 1975, CSD has been dedicated to providing quality services; ensuring public accessibility; and increasing public awareness of issues affecting deaf, hard of hearing and individuals with speech disabilities. For more information, see the company Web site at www.c-s-d.org.


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* CSD ~ An Official Sponsor of the 2007 Winter Deaflympics