Deaf Young Life students gather at camp time. Each year, Aid the Silent gifts scholarships to deaf and hard of
hearing students.
At the age of 16, Emma Faye felt
God had impressed a dream on her
heart to establish a national platform
for the hard of hearing and deaf during
another camp experience through
Young Life.
This led her to pursue the dream
of competing in the Miss America
system. Emma Faye had started
taking piano lessons a couple of years
with this idea in mind but after
camp, she knew it was time to go to
the next level by adding in music
theory in preparation for honing a
talent to compete in local pageants,
eventually adding guitar, ukulele and
kick drum.
In February 2015, she won the title
of Miss San Antonio, setting a precedent
as the first-ever winner who was
deaf. She regained the crown in 2017,
becoming the first two-time titleholder
since 1923.
She notes it is amazing how a
crown and a sash opens open doors.
Emma Faye parlayed her newly found
voice of celebrity to launch the
nonprofit organization, Aid the Silent,
that same year. Every time she
competed in a pageant, she noticed
her ability to grow awareness
and resources for the
ministry increased
exponentially.
Aid the Silent was
designed to enhance the
quality of life for deaf and
hard of hearing children
and teens. Emma Faye
created programs that concentrate on
four areas: deaf resources, education,
awareness and ministry.
Deaf education directs funding to
those who are walking through life
with the kids, like teachers — who
often make extra time for deaf
students. Aid the Silent helps schools
to afford the resources to help a deaf
student. One such tool is a frequency
modulator (FM). FMs clarify a teacher’s
voice and sends the sound directly
into a child’s hearing aid, cutting
distraction and increasing comprehension.
“We help families with funding to
allow access early on,” Emma Faye says.
“Early intervention is the key. The
prime time for speech development is
until 7 years old. They can be so
behind their peers if parents don’t —
or don’t know how — to take initiative,”
she explains.
Another issue complicating things
is that deaf and hard of hearing
communities often divide into two
separate, and sometimes conflicting,
camps. There are those who sign only
versus those who use technology and
speech. Because Emma Faye can
communicate in American Sign
Language (ASL) and verbally, she
bridges the gap as one of the rare
advocates for both sides.
“No matter what you have decided
as a family, Aid the Silent wants to
come alongside you and provide
anything you need,” she explains,
adding that kids feel especially isolated
when they can’t communicate with
their parents. “Sometimes children will
learn ASL at school, but their family
doesn’t know how to sign with them.
We can help them learn together.”
“ We at the Ear Institute of Texas proudly support Aid
the Silent because not only do our values align, but
so do our hearts. The work Aid the Silent is doing in
the deaf community and for their families is heaven
sent. Mother Teresa said, 'This is the meaning of true
love, to give until it hurts.'
We encourage you to join us in
giving to this worthy cause.”
Ninette Jackson CFO, Ear Institute of Texas
with Emma Faye Rudkin, Executive Director, Aid the Silent.
Raising awareness is another arm of
Aid the Silent. Emma Faye speaks at
several hundred events a year,
sponsors an annual 5K run and created
the Good Vibrations Music & Arts
Festival. The event, which won the
Best Charity Festival of the year in
2017, is deaf and HOH accessible. It’s
an all-day music festival attended by
several thousand each year, bringing
together the deaf, hard of hearing and
hearing worlds in a new way with
efforts that
enhance music
through live
captioning, ASL
interpretation,
t-coiling, vibrating
backpacks, a
sound wave wall
and an LED dance
floor that syncs to
the music.
The bands,
interpreters and
real-time captioning
are displayed
on the jumbo
screen that can be
seen from everywhere
“ Deaf teens are
waiting for
someone to
step into their
world and
know them. It
changes them
to think that
somebody
thinks they
are worth
knowing.”
on the festival grounds, she says.
“So often the deaf are shoved off in the
corner with an interpreter. Participants
realize they are loved and included.”
Emma Faye offers these life-changing
resources and events as a springboard
to be able to introduce people to
the real life-changer, Jesus Christ.
“How can I tell them about the
gospel if I can’t help with their
practical needs? I come in as a
humanitarian resource provider
who has a relationship with people
they trust. This opens the door to
Kace gets fitted for hearing aids.
Speech and language skills develop
in the first three years, so early
intervention is key with children who
have hearing loss.
5 www.saBeacon.com August / September 2019
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