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The SayWhatClub
Do You Say "What?"
Are you a person dealing with hearing loss? If you are hard of hearing, deaf or late-deafened, or have a friend or family member struggling with hearing loss, the SayWhatClub (SWC) might be just what you are looking for.
What is the SWC?
The SayWhatClub is an on-line group of circa 400 late-deafened, hard of hearing and deaf/Deaf adults and other interested folks who provide support and encouragement to each other through e-mail. Our goal is to provide a friendly, good-humored place to exchange conversation, information, advice, deep thoughts, humor, tall tales, and chit chat. It is our hope that members will get to know each other and develop an on-line "community feeling."
Currently SayWhatClub is running 12 mailing lists, six "general" mailing lists (Connect, Forum, Friends, Network, Vistas and World), four permanent "focused topic" lists ("OurChildren" for parents who have hearing loss kids, "DeafHearingCouples" for couples in which one has a hearing loss and the other doesn't, "CI" for people having or considering a Cochlear Implant" and "Global" for people interested in international topics and issues) and two topic discussion lists that focus on a topic for a couple of months and then switch to another topic (Commons and Explore)
We are scattered worldwide and depend on electronic mail and the Internet to communicate with one another. The SayWhatClub is international, with members living in Switzerland, Sweden, South Africa, Israel, Denmark, England, New Zealand, Finland, the Czech Republic, Canada, Italy, Japan, United States and other countries.
We ask members to keep in mind that our backgrounds, skills, religious convictions, outlooks on life, hearing, signing, lip-reading (nowadays often called "speechreading"), and typing abilities vary greatly, and, therefore, to please be tolerant, and patient.
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| One member describes her feelings about the SayWhatClub.....:
“I sat in silent isolation all alone, wishing for an understanding friend; then I found the SayWhatClub and now I have friends without end!” |
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| Another member posted:
“I just want you to know that I have had one real benefit from losing most of my hearing: meeting a bunch of people like you who don't mind telling it like it is.” |
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| Another member said this:
“A year ago I lost my job. I had been with the SWC for nearly a year at that time, and knew I could turn to them in the coming months to vent my anger, frustrations and everything else I went through while learning to cope with this new situation. It is the only place I had where I could express my feelings freely. This Club is unique." |
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| Yet another member said:
“I have decided this is a permanent community in my life. SWC offers a place for me to be human. I don't have to be perfect here, nor does anyone else. We come here with deep pain and many struggles. I think SWC is a good place to learn to trust again when we've been kicked by others because of hearing loss or deafness. That takes time and I figure it's up to me and every other person to make that choice.” |
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| Alan Sprague points out:
“Over the three years or so that the SWC has been chugging along, I've seen its function as multiple. It is a source of information and advice, drawing upon a group of very resourceful people. It is a means of getting to know other folks who are experiencing similar challenges. It is a place for people who feel very isolated to find companionship and even real friendship. It is a place where people who have confidence and knowledge, and wish to share that with others in need can do so. It is a place where a person can find a very intellectually stimulating conversation, have a chuckle over an inconsequential joke, or learn something about another culture or geographic region. Not every person needs every one of the functions I just mentioned, but they are there for the taking if one chooses.” |
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SayWhatClub is based on several listservs (e-mailing lists). Each has approximately 80 to 100 subscribers and serves as a site for information and general conversation. Two of the lists are for special interest, short-term topics and provide a place where people from various lists who are interested in the current topic may gather to exchange ideas.
In addition to the listservs, SayWhatClub members also enjoy a web-based newsletter and can participate in three SWC-hosted chats on IRC and the web. One chatroom is an open topic area where the conversations flow 24 hours a day. The second is a chatroom scheduled for the convenience of our European members and which focuses on more international topics. The third chatroom is a site where specific topics and hosts are scheduled to provide focused conversations.
As a bonus to online communication, many SWCers periodically meet in small conventions and other social gatherings. Through the year 2000, our members will have had the opportunities to meet in Monterey, California, Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado, Cape May in the state of New Jersey, and San Diego, California. See our convention webpages for current information.
Organization:
SayWhatClub is a nonprofit, tax exempt organization supported primarily by donations from its subscribers. The group began forming in the early 1990's and in December of 1998 incorporated as a Washington State nonprofit corporation.
To join:
If you'd like more information about joining the SayWhatClub, contact: info@saywhatclub.com