Hello, and thank you for visiting the Vermont Center for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing.
Thirty-some years ago, when I first got involved in education for children who are deaf or hard of hearing I never dreamed the years would lead me to this historic and idyllic campus bordering Vermont, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts. Back then, as I was just starting out in education and human services, the Austine School for the Deaf stood as a beacon of opportunity for deaf children in a society just beginning to understand the wide range of possibilities for deaf communication.
Time brings many changes, and what started in 1904 as the well-regarded Austine School for the Deaf had by its centennial grown into a comprehensive network of programs supporting and empowering people of all ages and with all types of hearing loss throughout Vermont. In 1998, the expanded network gained a new name: The Vermont Center for the Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing. In 2007, when I came to the Vermont Center, I joined a close-knit community of deaf and hearing people working together to provide award-winning programs for thousands of individuals in Vermont and surrounding states.
Now as President of the Vermont Center, I have the privilege of helping to guide the organization, its flagship program theAustine School, and other important initiatives that enable Vermont's deaf and hard-of-hearing achieve their full capabilities to succeed in the world. Recent years have brought innovative programs such as the William Center for children with hearing loss and emotional disturbances, the Deaf Autism Program, Enhanced services for deaf/blind consumers through our SSP Program and DBEDP Programs and the Little Arrows Early Childhood Center where deaf, hard of hearing children learn and grow together.
Our Audiology service has expanded to the point of helping more than 4000 Vermonters diagnose and treat hearing loss every year. (Find more information about our programs here.) We have also created three giving societies: the Annual Fund, the Colonel Austine Leadership Giving Circle, and the Dr. Ray Stevens Endowment Society (named after Austine's beloved and visionary former headmaster and founder of William Center.) Participation in these will help ensure that Vermont Center continues to help Vermonters for decades to come.
I invite you to join me in shaping this Center into a resource that will continue to unite, support and empower Vermont's deaf and hard of hearing, their families, and our communities through the years to come. Get involved through our giving center, but also check out our many services, our Volunteer Central, our ASL classes open to all Vermonters, and other fun and positive ways to get involved. We welcome your participation and look forward to getting to know you.
Sincerely,
Bert Carter
President, Vermont Center for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, Inc.
14th Headmaster of Austine School for the Deaf