Atlantic District News

Noted Humanitarian Brother Andrew Visits Mill Neck Family

- by Mary McKenna, Marketing Comm. Coordinator


September 1, 2010 at 7:26 PM

Noted Humanitarian Brother Andrew Visits Mill Neck Family

Brother Andrew L. de Carpentier, Director of the Holy Land Institute for the Deaf in Salt, Jordan, recently visited the Mill Neck Family of Organizations on a quest to find a fitting venue for the 2010 World Wide Hearing (WWH) Convention. A member of the WWH Executive Committee, Brother Andrew discussed potential future opportunities with Mill Neck, such as hosting the convention on campus grounds, appointing new hearing impaired delegates, raising global awareness, advocacy and support services for hearing impaired populations, establishing partnerships and facilitating a series of bible stories through Lutheran Friends of the Deaf (part of the Mill Neck Family of Organizations and a mission of Mill Neck Foundation, Inc).

During the visit, Brother Andrew met with representatives from each of the Mill Neck Family of Organizations, both on campus and in satellite offices in Hicksville, NY, where both the Mill Neck Services Day Habilitation Center and Mill Neck Interpreter Service are located. He noted the similarities between the extensive programs and services offered through Mill Neck and the Holy Land Institute. “At our institute, we create a sense of community and care through educational curriculums, vocational and training programs, audiology services, sign interpreter training and sign language research [and much more],” he said.

Brother Andrew first became affiliated with the Mill Neck Family of Organizations in the 1990s, when Mill Neck Foundation, Inc., through Christian Blind Mission (an organization that improves the lives of the disabled in the poorest countries of the world), helped fund the Holy Land Institute for the Deaf, as well as a much-needed position within the collaborative efforts of WWH and the World Health Organization (WHO). Today, a main priority for Brother Andrew is to better the services offered to the hard of hearing through resources and advocacy. “For every Deaf person, there are four or five non-Deaf hard of hearing. Advocacy for this population would include a simple intervention - providing accessible hearing aids and increasing amplification for hard of hearing individuals.”

According to http://www.wwhearing.org/index.html, the mission of WWH is to promote better hearing through the provision of hearing aids and services, with priority in developing countries and underserved communities within the framework of the WHO Guidelines on Hearing Aids and Services for Developing Countries (2nd edition published 2004).

Lutheran Friends of the Deaf provides support for educational and evangelistic outreach to Deaf people of all ages throughout the United States and world. To date, over $7,000,000 has been granted to a variety of church-related ministries here and abroad. Mill Neck Foundation, Inc., a recognized service organization of the Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod, and Lutheran Friends of the Deaf, are part of the Mill Neck Family of Organizations, a not-for-profit group dedicated to enhancing the quality of life for people who are Deaf, or who have other special needs, through excellence in individually designed educational, vocational or spiritual programs and services. For more information, please call 1-800-264-0662 or visit http://www.millneck.org.

Brother Andrew stands in the chapel of the historic Mill Neck Manor House,
located on the campus of Mill Neck Manor School for the Deaf

During a visit with representatives from the Mill Neck Family of Organizations, Brother Andrew (second from left), met with Mill Neck Services Day Habilitation consumers, from left, Susan Cohen, James Shannon, Kathy Flanagan and Shaqwena Voner.