Arcadia Spain

On Thursday, November 21st, we celebrated our Day of Gratitude, in which we acknowledged and thanked the generosity of Lyanne Wasserman and her husband…

For the last 5 years, Arcadia University Barcelona Center students may engage in a volunteering opportunity by collaborating with T-Oigo, a non-for profit charity that helps children with severe hearing impairment learn English.  This organization was founded in  by an American woman living in Spain whose hearing impairment inspired to work towards benefitting others with the same condition. We currently have 4 of our students meeting weekly with the children and their families to play games in English, help them with the homework, and generally providing an low-anxiety opportunity for the kids to learn and practice their English in a more controlled, comfortable environment such as their own home.

Our Day of Gratitude consisted of a meeting between the students, the children receiving the help in English and their siblings and parents, to play board games such as word search and bingo and having refreshments so as to build a community between the kids, their siblings, and all the students who participate in the volunteering.

What stood out clearly was how happy the kids and families are with this initiative.  Very often, children with hearing impairment are ´invisible´ to other kids.  Furthermore, hearing impairment and the use of implants or hearing aids carry a completely different social significance than wearing reading glasses, when it should not. In addition, it is not difficult for these children to feel isolated and their aspiration to learn English is further burdened by their ailment.  The impact of what our volunteers do is extraordinary and both sides benefit: kids feel they know a cool American student and our students, on the other hand, get first hand, quality interaction with a local family.

We are thankful for Barry and Lyanne Wasserman´s generosity and tremendously proud of our students!