The holiday season is an exciting time for many people. This holiday season will be especially exciting for Allison Friedman! Allison teaches American Sign Language at Indiana Online, a Department of the Central Indiana Educational Service Center. She has been selected to perform the National Anthem at the Chicago Bears home football game on December 24, 2022.
The Chicago Hearing Society (CHS), in partnership with the Chicago Bears, provides members of the Deaf community with the opportunity to audition to perform the National Anthem. Allison was born and raised in Chicago and participated in many activities in the Chicago Deaf community before relocating to Indiana. “I am glad to represent the Chicago Deaf community”, she said.
Allison said that she has always wanted to do something like this,”All of sudden, my Dad saw the post that Chicago Hearing Society is giving people an opportunity to do the National Anthem. It was an audition call and my Dad suggested that I audition. He is my biggest supporter and he encouraged me to do it. I did the audition then, I unexpectedly got the offer, and I said, YES! Of course!”
CHS provides communication access; hearing and assistive technologies; and support services for persons who are Deaf, DeafBlind and Hard of Hearing. Services and programs include:
- Hearing Health Services (Audiology clinic providing comprehensive services, 2 Hearing Aid Banks providing hearing aids to low-income individuals at a fraction of the retail cost, or free if the patient qualifies);
- Interpreter Services/Captioning (Licensed sign language interpreters for individuals, businesses, and organizations, and real-time captioning); and
- Community Outreach and Advocacy (Domestic Violence and Victim Assistance Programs, DeafBlind Community Program, Youth and Mentoring Programs, Parent Support, Training & Education, and Sign Language Classes).
“CHS is thrilled to partner for another season with the Chicago Bears! CHS selects Deaf performers for the National Anthem at all home games based on submitted videos”, said Karen Aguilar, CHS Vice President of Communication Access.
The Indiana Online team and the entire Central Indiana Educational Service Center staff are so excited and proud of Allison!
If you are interested in learning more about the Chicago Hearing Society and Indiana Online, check out these websites.
