Accessibility and Business: How to better serve the Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing Customer Accessibility is a hot buzzword in the realm of business and technology -- and while many are talking about it, few businesses and organizations have yet to put it into practice. We want to show you HOW, and more importantly WHY, it's important. Join HEATHER VINCE & KIMBERLY WOOD as they give a glimpse into living with hearing loss in a world that's slowly making change but still has a long way to go in terms of accessibility. They'll share tips on how to make your business, services, and website more accessible and accommodating to people with hearing loss. They'll touch on the importance of captioning for video content and available communications tools and technology such as video-relay service and TTY. Statistics Canada can't give you accurate numbers on this large market, but in spite of this, you'll learn that by becoming an ally to the deaf community you will position your business as inclusive, community-minded, progressive and VALUABLE. Plus we'll send you off with some basic signs in ASL so you can show off to your friends. We encourage your questions and curiousity! We will have two American Sign Language Interpreting students on hand to interpret ASL to English and facilitate discussion. GUEST SPEAKERS: Heather works in publishing. She has a strong interest in accessibility and deaf rights as well as business and social entrepreneurship, which combined create opportunities to educate the public on the deaf experience and show businesses how they can be of value to the underserved market of people with disabilities. Kim is VP of External Relations at the Greater Vancouver Association for the Deaf (GVAD), and a member of the BC-VRS (Video Relay Service) Committee. Kim is also the founder of the Hands On Fun Club which provides workshops for the general public on American Sign Language and Deaf Culture. Tickets: $10pp / $15pp at the door. Price includes complimentary appetizers. Partial proceeds will go to support GVAD.