Family Network for Deaf Children (FNDC) is a parent run, non-profit, store charitable organization supporting families with deaf and hard of hearing children & youth that use sign language or are interested in learning sign language. Even though technology and methodology have changed over the years, we seek the wisdom of parents, professionals and Deaf/Hard of Hearing adults so that common themes of access, equity and a sense of belonging continue to be highlighted in areas such as: social/recreation, leadership, education, employment, general services and community involvement. Deaf Youth Today (DYT), is FNDC’s summer social/recreational program and is committed to providing language-rich social/recreational experiences and leadership opportunities for deaf and hard of hearing children/youth in British Columbia. The DYT program is for deaf and hard of hearing children that feel comfortable in a signing environment or are interested in learning!

For more details about FNDC Board of Directors and Staff, click here.

Yes – it is confusing. Our organization primarily focuses on deaf and hard of hearing children that use sign language or are interested in learning sign language. Recently, there have been many hard of hearing teens wanting to learn sign language. It’s great to share a community: deaf, hard of hearing and hearing. Our core belief is that it’s the communication that brings us together. We tend to not capitalize the word “deaf”. Some deaf children and youth make a decision to refer to themselves as Deaf. By using the capital “D” Deaf, they are stating their identity as a member of the Deaf Community. We respect that. Generally, we use the term ‘deaf’ when referring to children and youth. Our organization is open to anyone with a deaf or hard of hearing family member.

Absolutely not. Although, from time to time, if an organization or program requests us to send out information that is valuable to our readers, we will ask them to provide postage-paid envelopes. We will then place our mailing labels on the envelopes and put them in the mail box ourselves. This ensures that you receive the information, but that the mailing list remains confidential. At the same time, this saves us money as we don’t pay the postage costs.

We do not! Its sad, but yes, there are scammers out there using non profit organization names to fundraise. If you receive a phone call using our name, please report them.

FNDC manages a contract called “Deaf Youth Today” or commonly known as DYT. DYT is FNDC’s summer social/recreational (language rich) program and is committed to providing recreational experience and leadership opportunities for deaf and hard of hearing children and youth in British Columbia that use sign language for all or part of their communication or who are interested in learning sign language. Our primary focus is summer programs for deaf and teens. Our goal is to train deaf youth to be in leadership roles during our summer programs, which offer experience and skills that lead to life skills and future employment opportunities.

Scott Jeffery is the DYT Program Coordinator. Alayna is Deaf and is passionate about giving deaf children experiences that will build a stronger community in the future. We also have Terry & Andrea Maloney who are the Hornby Island Kids’ Camp Coordinators. Terry is Deaf and Andrea, his wife is hearing. Both Terry and Andrea have a background in working at camps in the past, and bring their expertise to our Summer DYT Hornby Kids’ camp.

Can you share your information with us? Yes! The DYT Coordinator and the DYT Hornby Kids Camp Coordinators guarantee that the information you share with our DYT Coordinators is kept confidential. Our Board of Directors are parents of deaf children and given that the community is small, we want to guarantee that your confidential information will not be shared with the FNDC Board. We respect every child and parent’s right to privacy.

DYT has process in the Spring where we advertise for Summer positions. Watch for this information through FNDC’s e-new and our website etc. After resumes are collected, the DYT Coordinator will screen resumes and based on qualifications, an interview may be set up. The FNDC Board and Executive Director have absolutely no input into this process. This is our way of ensuring that favoritism does not interfere with the selection process. Every year, we receive some federal grants (Canada Summer Jobs) and we select our summer students based on the criteria set by the Federal Government. We pride ourselves, on hiring as many deaf and hard of hearing staff as possible. What better way to provide mentorship to young deaf & hard of hearing children while training our young deaf & hard of hearing adults as leaders! We also hire some specialized contract staff (ie personal support workers, interpreters, Youth & Childcare workers etc) to work in our day camps and at our Hornby Island Kids’ camp (overnight).

Your input, and ideas are encouraged! We are always on the prowl figuring out how to improve things. Phone or email us. For example: if communication, finances etc. are problems – we need to hear about that. We are trying to be creative in meeting the needs of EVERY single family. If we are doing something wrong – tell us. If we are doing something right – tell us that too! Email us at fndc@fndc.ca

In order to keep costs to a minimum, our part time contract staff work out of their homes. Many years ago, we had a FNDC line that was attached to a home phone. Unfortunately, with that system, if the person was on holiday or an emergency took them away from the house, a different DYT staff person didn’t have access to the phone. It was decided we would have a FNDC and DYT cellphone that we share. We no longer have a tty number, as our cellphone takes voice calls and texts messages. The majority of d/Deaf and hard of hearing individuals prefer to communicate with us via text message or email. During the summer months, we are checking phone messages constantly – so don’t worry about a missed phone call or text message. During the winter months, the phone is checked less often therefore email is better for communication.