Bye 2020, Hi 2021!

[Transcript available at the end of the e-mail.]

Thank you for your support this year. We couldn’t have continued our hard work without our members, corporate sponsors, donors and followers like you. This year was full of successes but also hard challenges and frustrating dead-ends. Such challenges created opportunities for change. 

  • The NAD Board met in person in Las Vegas in January before continuing to meet virtually for the rest of the year in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. 
  • Christine Sun Kim performed the National Anthem and America, The Beautiful at the Super Bowl in February 
  • The NAD’s Policy Institute worked hard to develop new guidances and best practices to ensure deaf and hard of hearing people have access to communication during the COVID-19 pandemic at hospitals, schools, work, court, polling sites, prisons, and more. 
  • We witnessed an uprising in response to Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC)’s inequality here — the NAD remains committed to dismantling our racist systemic process and individually work on unpacking our privileges in order to work with BIPOC communities better. 
  • Due to the COVID Pandemic, YLC had to postpone its session this year and instead, pivoted to hosting a summer series of webinars for all Deaf Youth, our recordings are available to watch on NAD Youth Programs’ Facebook page
  • With many hours spent preparing, training, and organizing for the Council of Representatives and Forums — we were able to virtually complete the COR with over 200 delegates! 
  • We provided resources that were used by all state associations and deaf residents to ensure their state government officials had ASL interpreters during COVID-19 press conferences. 
  • We sued the White House to ask for ASL interpreters in addition to accurate captioning for all COVID briefings — and we won

Those are just a few of our incredible accomplishments this year, thanks to your support. As we approach the end of 2020 — from our “zoom end” to yours, we send you holiday wishes.

May 2021 bring us a year of equity, changes for the better, and long-lasting community relationships.

Happy New Year!


—- VIDEO DESC & TRANSCRIPT —-

The NAD logo appears as a watermark on the bottom right corner. Howard is on the left and Melissa is on the right of a zoom recording. In the beginning and end of the video, both are shown together while the rest of the video, each are in frame by themselves.

BOTH: Greetings! 

MELISSA: Bye bye 2020… 

HOWARD: Welcome 2021!

MELISSA: Thank you for your support this year. We couldn’t have continued our hard work without our members, corporate sponsors, donors, and followers like you. This year was full of successes but also hard challenges and frustrating dead-ends. Such challenges created opportunities for change. 

HOWARD: The NAD Board met in person in Las Vegas in January before continuing to meet virtually for the rest of the year in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

MELISSA: Christine Sun Kim performed the National Anthem and America, the Beautiful at the Super Bowl in February. 

HOWARD: The NAD’s Policy Institute worked hard to develop new guidance and best practices to ensure deaf and hard of hearing people have access to communication during the COVID-19 pandemic at hospitals, telehealth appointments, work, wearing masks, prisons, court, schools, and more. 

MELISSA: We witnessed an uprising in response to Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC)’s inequality here — the NAD remains committed to dismantling our racist systemic process and individually work on unpacking our privileges in order to work with BIPOC communities better. 

HOWARD: Due to the COVID Pandemic, YLC had to postpone its session this year and instead, pivoted to hosting a summer series of webinars for all Deaf Youth, our recordings are available to watch on NAD Youth Programs’ Facebook page. 

MELISSA: With many hours spent preparing, training, and organizing for the Council of Representatives and Forums — we were able to virtually complete the COR with over 200 delegates! 

HOWARD: We provided resources that were used by all state associations and deaf residents to ensure their state government officials had ASL interpreters during COVID-19 press conferences. Now, almost all states have ASL interpreters included in their COVID-19 press briefings. Thank you for your advocacy! 

MELISSA: We sued the White House to ask for ASL interpreters in addition to accurate captioning for all COVID briefings — and we won! 

HOWARD: Those are just a few of our incredible accomplishments this year, thanks to your support. 

Both shown on screen, HOWARD: As we approach the end of 2020 — from our “zoom end” to yours, we send you holiday wishes. May 2021 bring us a year of equity, changes for the better, and long-lasting community relationships.

BOTH: Happy New Year! 

Video cuts to a dark blue background. Red alphabet letters of “N-A-D” in American Sign Language appear one by one in the center of the video. The copyright text appears in white underneath, “National Association of the Deaf, Copyright 2020, All Rights Reserved”.