ROCKLIN, CA--(Marketwired - Apr 11, 2016) - Purple Communications, Inc., a leading provider of innovative communications and an advocate for the deaf and hard of hearing communities, has announced the first winners of Purple Tech Grant program, the company's latest commitment to serving deaf and hard-of-hearing students. The Purple Tech Grant will fund technology and tools for K-12 Deaf residential schools, day schools for the deaf and mainstream programs that serve deaf/hard-of-hearing students.
Grant applicants were instructed to provide full details of the benefits their students would gain from the financial assistance the grant would provide. Entries were reviewed and graded by a panel of impartial judges: educator and Deaf/hard-of-hearing curriculum developer Dru Roney, software engineer of accessibility technology Brent Shiver, Ph.D., and motivational speaker and performer Evon Black.
In this first awarding of grants, Purple congratulates teachers Lia Bengtson of Kendall Demonstration Elementary School, Washington, D.C., Marcie Landskroner of Bruce Street School for the Deaf, Newark, NJ, Jared Lopatin of Lexington School for the Deaf, New York, NY, and Steve Mather of Maryland School for the Deaf, Frederick, MD.
"Purple has dedicated itself to breaking communication barriers by increasing access to technology that ensures all deaf children have the tools to succeed," said Bob Rae, president and CEO of Purple Communications from the company's headquarters in Rocklin, California. "We're proud to award this first round of the Purple Tech Grants in support of the teachers, the students and their parents and the community where they work, play, and live. This is very exciting for us."
Funded directly by Purple Communications, the Purple Tech Grant provides financial assistance to support projects aimed at integrating technology into classroom or educational settings and improve student achievement. Grant applicants -- teachers at qualifying schools or other educators in eligible education-based settings -- provided details of their technology needs to assist deaf and hard-of-hearing students. The application deadline for the first round of grant awards was March 1, 2016.
"Technology is constantly changing and improving, and, unfortunately, teachers and schools sometimes cannot keep pace," added Rae. "This is one small step toward solving that problem, and we're excited to continue the program to make a difference for these children."
For more information about the Purple Tech Grant, visit www.purpletechgrant.com.
For more information on Purple Communications, visit www.purple.us.
About Purple Communications, Inc.
Purple Communications provides high-quality video relay service (VRS) available from multiple platforms -- TV, desktop, laptop, tablet, and smartphone. VRS is a free service for deaf and hard-of-hearing customers who use sign language to communicate via video conference and a video interpreter (VI). The VI voices/relays the signed conversation in real-time to both deaf and hearing individuals.
Purple's portfolio of solutions spans across telephone captioning services, on-site interpreting services, and video relay interpreting (VRI), delivering a wide array of options to meet the varied communication needs of businesses and customers, collectively making communicating with both the deaf world and the hearing world accessible to all. For more information, visit www.purple.us.
Contact Information:
CONTACT:
Minh Le
(615) 327-7999