CSD sent PAV press releases to media outlets in Racine, Stevens Point and Superior, Wis.; Parsons, Topeka, Wichita, Oakley and Salina, Kan.; and Hibbing, Minneapolis and East Grand Forks, Minn. The press releases were sent to inform the local communities that they now have access to a PAV at these respective organizations, like Independent Living Centers.
Below is the press release sent to media in Parsons, Kan.
For an updated map of PAV locations, go to http://www.projectendeavor.com/PAV.aspx.
CSD’s Project Endeavor Brings Videophone Accessibility to SKIL
Thanks to Project Endeavor, Public Access Videophones for deaf and hard of hearing people are being installed nationwide in community anchors like Independent Living Centers.
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (Nov. 7, 2011) — CSD staff installed a Public Access Videophone (PAV) for public use at SKIL, located at 110 S. 18th St., in Parsons, Kan.
As part of Project Endeavor, CSD has been funded to install a limited number of PAVs at private, nonprofit organizations around the nation. These are high-quality, durable videophones, and this device allows deaf and hard of hearing people to make point to point, video relay service (VRS) and telecommunications relay service calls, or use the Internet to check e-mail, etc. CSD provides and installs PAVs at no cost to the organization or the consumer.
Back in July 2010, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration announced CSD was awarded a multi-million dollar grant to make discounted high speed Internet accessible to the nation’s deaf and hard of hearing population, and the PAV is an integral part of the project. CSD titled this new program “Project Endeavor” (www.projectendeavor.com).
“CSD, per Project Endeavor, is going to place approximately 200 of these PAV units in community anchors like deaf schools, vocational rehabilitation offices, and independent living centers, for instance,” said Ben Soukup, CSD chief executive officer. “It’s such a boon for deaf people — for deaf consumers — to be able to enter these public facilities and have the opportunity to use a PAV to make VRS, TRS or point to point video calls. The organizations that provide the PAV for their consumers are proving that they aren’t only interested in making their facilities ‘physically’ accessible, but ‘communication’ accessible as well.”
Besides the PAV, eligible deaf and hard of hearing people can pick up new technology like the iPad2, Toshiba Thrive, Sprint handhelds, and even more, for up to 50 percent off retail prices. Subsidized broadband plans are also available. It’s all part of this groundbreaking program that brings Internet access to deaf and hard of hearing people, maximizes that access, and works towards sustaining long-term access once Project Endeavor comes to completion.
For more information about the PAV and Project Endeavor, go to www.projectendeavor.com. For more information about CSD, go to www.c-s-d.org. You can also find more information about SKIL at www.skilonline.com.
