Get Involved
Listening. Speaking. Learning Together.
YOU can give a deaf child their voice! There are many ways to get involved and support our efforts to teach children who are deaf or hard of hearing to listen and speak. Here at DePaul School, your gift truly does speak volumes! Whether it be a charitable gift, an in kind donation, a monthly contribution, or a few hours of your time, the students of DePaul School for Hearing and Speech can continue to learn to listen and speak because of your generosity.
Our past students have found their voices in so many different fields - journalism, medicine, engineering, just to name a few. None of it would have been possible without the support DePaul School has received over the years. Find out how you can help our students find their voices today and into the future by clicking the links below.
We’d love to have you stop by for a visit to hear your gift in action! Let us know if you’d like to come in for a tour of the school and meet the students by emailing us!
Alumni Stories
Featured Alumni Story - Declan and Bennett Haas
Declan received cochlear implants at three and five years old. Bennett received simultaneous, bilateral cochlear implants at six months of age. The boys were both born in Chicago and our family moved to Pittsburgh when they were four and two. We moved to be close to family and have access to amazing schools, like DePaul School for Hearing and Speech.
Declan started in the pre-school at DePaul and Bennett in the toddler program. Declan mainstreamed into Quaker Valley when he was in 1st grade, Bennett went directly from DePaul’s preschool to Kindergarten at Quaker Valley.
Today, Declan is in his second year at Ohio University in Athens, Ohio. He is majoring in Environmental Science and Sustainability. He is a member of the Ultimate Frisbee team. Bennett is a Senior at Quaker Valley High School. He was on the homecoming court and a captain on the state runner-up soccer team. He plans to continue his soccer career at Chatham University next year where he will study business/sports management.
Both boys participate fully in the hearing and speaking world. They are comfortable talking to peers about their cochlear implants and have developed strategies for managing in challenging listening environments. We are grateful for the technology, clinicians and DePaul team who made their success possible!
Featured Alumni Story - Jeannie
DePaul alumna Jeannie Choi has been up to some exciting things since transitioning from DePaul in 2005! Last year, she graduated from Allegheny College with a Bachelor of Science degree in Biology with aspirations of becoming a doctor!
After graduation, she took a gap year to travel throughout South Korea with her family. Soon after, Jeannie began working as a Research Technician at Children’s Hospital, a job she refers to as a godsend because of the ideal location and relevance to her major. Her research focus is on Cystic Fibrosis, a disease on which she only knows the basics but one she is excited to learn more about!
Jeannie was diagnosed with bilateral severe hearing loss at age 3. Shortly after, she received a Cochlear Implant for her right ear. At the time, bilateral Cochlear Implants were not around so she just got her left Cochlear Implant 2 years ago.
Looking back on her time at DePaul, Jeannie says, “My best memories of DePaul are the people in it, especially the friends I made and the teachers who helped me flourish. The friends I gained at DePaul, even though we are well on different paths, we still talk once in a while because of the special connection we have in terms of being able to understand what it’s like being hearing impaired. DePaul has truly helped me in terms of being able to assimilate into a public school where speaking is the norm and DePaul prepared me well for mainstreaming.”
