​New England Center for the Deaf, Inc.
"Communicating a better future"
New England Center for the Deaf, Inc. originated in 2011 as a result of the tragic loss of a young man in the Deaf community. This loss illuminated the need for comprehensive Deaf –competent social services and thus NECD, Inc. was formed. The founding members, Tracy Knight and Joseph Sisk recruited the Board and thus New England Center for the Deaf, Inc. was created.
Since the formation of the board and the Incorporation in March of 2011, we have moved forward in our development. In 2012 we were granted our 501 C 3, Federal recognition as a non-profit agency. Our Board currently consists of 4 members, most of who have been involved since the inception of NECD, Inc. Our Board members are very committed to our mission and come to us from a variety of backgrounds. All board members bring specific strengths and benefits to the Board and to the agency.
We are very proud to introduce the current NECD, Inc. Board of Directors.
Tracy Knight: Tracy has her BSW from the University of Saint Joseph (formerly St. Joseph College) and her MSW from Fordham University. She recently earned her Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) credential. She is a co-founder of NECD, Inc. and is the mother of a hearing impaired son. Tracy has been connected with the Deaf communities in Missouri, Kansas and Connecticut for almost 25 years. During this time, Tracy served on the Region 5 Council of Developmental Disabilities, the Southwest Missouri Task force on Autism and is a former member of the Parent Advisory Committee at the American School for the Deaf. Tracy is the board President and the Chief Executive Officer of NECD, Inc.
Joseph Sisk: Joe has his BA in Psychology from Bard College and his MA in Psychology from The New School for Social Research. He has subsequently earned his License as a Professional Counselor and he is a Nationally Certified Counselor and holds his Specialty Certificate in Substance Abuse. He is also a Certified Clinical Trauma Professional. Joe is a co-founder of NECD, Inc. and he is the Chairman of the Board and is the Chief Operating Officer for NECD, Inc. Joe has almost 30 years of experience in the field of human services. In addition to his responsibilities at NECD, Inc., Joe currently work full time at another social service agency in Connecticut.
Christopher Knight, Jr.: Chris (Cj) is a Director on the NECD, Inc. board. He is Deaf and is fluent in American Sign Language. After growing up in Missouri and being educated in the mainstream through elementary school, his family moved to Kansas where he attended the Kansas State School for the Deaf. He graduated from middle school at KSD. Chris came to CT where he attended the American School for the Deaf and graduated with his high school diploma. Since graduation he has obtained his veterinary assistant certificate from Tunxis Community College. He currently works at a local farm caring for the animals and maintaining the facility.
ACTIVITIES
Due to CoViD-19, our summer event and subsequent events had to be cancelled. We look forward to hosting future events.
STRATEGIC PLAN
The board of the New England Center for the Deaf, Inc., has entered into the formal process of developing a Strategic Plan. This process was informative and useful for the Board in developing specific goals for the forthcoming years. During this process, we affirmed the accuracy of our mission, we identified and defined a set of agency values and through the creation for a SWOT analysis, we identified specific and focused goals for the agency. Our goals for the next few years will help us to expand our Board and to assist the hearing individuals to better understand and interact with those individuals in the Deaf culture.
FUNDRAISING
NECD, Inc. has completed our annual appeal letter writing campaign. As always, we thank our loyal, generous and supportive private contributors. We were also highlighted as the non-profit agency of the month at both our Local Big Y and Stop & Shop grocery stores. As a result, we were the recipient of donations raised through their Community Bag programs for which we received $1 for each reusable shopping bag sold during a designated month.
NECD, Inc. renewed our membership to GrantStation. This is a service that monitors new grants that are available and send a weekly email to the subscribers with potential grant opportunities.
New England Center for the Deaf, Inc. was chosen as the recipient of a grant from the Town Fair Tire Foundation for $1000. We are now an annual recipient of this grant.
NECD, Inc. also is now an annual recipient of a donation from the Zach’s Family Foundation.
e-NCOUNTERS
We are committed to maintaining our web site, twitter account and Facebook page. Our web site is maintained and is current with news and agency activities.
COMMUNITY ASSISTANCE:
Joseph H. Weingart Memorial Scholarship
This year, the New England Center for the Deaf, Inc. established the Joseph H. Weingart Memorial Scholarship. This educational scholarship was created to assist an individual who is Deaf and who is attending a college, trade program or other educational pursuit. It is open to any individual who is Deaf or hard of hearing in New England in order to provide some financial assistance.
We were able this year, as our inaugural year for this scholarship, to present the award to two High School graduates in the class of 2021 who are Deaf. Our winners were based on a review of the applications submitted. The first-place awardee was a senior who graduated this year from the American School for the Deaf in West Hartford, CT. The runner up was a graduate of Newton North High School in Newtonville, MA. We hope to be able to continue the awarding of this scholarship each year.
Both awardees are currently attending the National Technical Institute for the Deaf (NTID) located at Rochester institute of Technology (RIT).
New England Center for the Deaf, Inc.
2020-2021 Contributors
The Board of Directors and Management of NECD, Inc. wishes to thank all of those people and businesses, large and small, who have helped us with financial contributions allowing us to assist individuals and families. Without your generosity, we would not have been able to facilitate the building of, and the continued life of NECD, Inc. Thank you all!
Friends 0-$99
Annette Akers
Laura and John Catania, Boson Business Gifts
Leanne Dillian
Dr. and Mrs. Sidney and Joy Glassman
Father Joseph Looney
Wallace ‘Pete’ and Kathleen MacDonald
Sylvia and Ralph Memolo
Dominick “Fred” Reisen
Sponsors $100-$499
William and Elizabeth Cheney
Nevin and Julie Christensen -Flamig Farm
Drs. Jacob Ossar and Mary Ossar-Landrigan
Henry and Sarah Rianhard
Richard and Helen Weingart
Donors $500-$999
Patrons $1000-$4999
Benefactors $5000-$9999
Endowers $10,000+
Corporate Sponsorship
We would like to thank Stop and Shop of Simsbury, CT for selecting us as the recipient for the Community Bag Program for May.
We would also like to thank Big Y of Avon, CT for selecting us as the recipient for the Community Bag Program for June.
Foundations that supported NECD this year:
Town Fair Tire Foundation
Zachs Family Foundation
Financials
FY 2020-2021
Beginning balance $1445.29
TOTAL: $1445.29
REVENUE EXPENSES
FY21 Personal Donations $1225.00
Corporate donations
Big Y (Community Bag Project)
Stop and Shop (Bag card Project) $81.00
Amazon Smile $10.13
Town Fair Tire Foundation Grant $2000.00
Zachs Family Foundation $180
Events
Donations/raffles
Supplies
Food/Ice
Administrative expenses
Secretary of State (annual filing) $50
Supplies (envelopes, printer ink) $227.51
Travel
Postal costs (PO Box and stamps) $259
Other administrative
Grant station (2 years) $189
Web Site expenses (Domain and 2 YRS of web site) $285.30
Promotional items $50
Technology
Client services:
Holiday baskets
Other food for families
TOTALS: $4941.42 $1060.81
Ending balance: $3880.61