A Wisconsin teen is getting recognition for her help spreading American Sign Language. High School Senior Kyra Sommerfeld has been given Prudential Spirit of Community Award. She created a workshop for the Chippewa Falls police department about ASL and taught the officers some basic signs. Sommerfeld also created cards they could carry in their wallets for quick reference when they meet a deaf person. She’ll next share sign language with the city’s fire department and the EMS department.
Sommerfeld got the idea from working with deaf students. She’ll get a engraved bronze medal at a ceremony next month. Sommerfeld created a 27-page booklet of basic sign language that an officer might need to use.
The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards is a nationwide program that honors young people for "outstanding acts of volunteerism." It’s sponsored by Prudential Financial and the National Association of Secondary School Principals.
