Did you know that after English and Spanish, American Sign Language is the third most used language in the United States?
In May of 2018, Editha House was honored to have Arizona’s very own Hands of Joy Sign Language Choir perform for our guests. The choir “sings” through signing.
The group was formed in 1984 when a deaf couple attended St. Matthew’s United Methodist Church in Mesa.
Church member, and founder of Hands of Joy, Diana Williams, began interpreting the church services for them. She also started a beginner’s sign language class, so church members could learn to communicate with the couple. Over time, with Diana’s hard work, the Hands of Joy Language Choir was born.
Since then, the choir has performed all over the state, from Flagstaff to Green Valley, as well as numerous MLK Celebrations, Diamondback games, KAET’s TV show, Sign Out and more. Their mission, in heart and mind, is to spread awareness of deafness and the love of sign language.
When a guest shows interest in staying at Editha House, they are required to be referred by their treating doctor. There are dozens of referring agents, who work in these doctor’s offices, who guide their patients through our policies and procedures.
One of these hard-working professionals is Gail Hahn, who has worked at St. Joseph’s Hospital and Medical Center for 10 years. For the first seven years, Gail worked in the radiation oncology department and in 2012 she met Christina Lopez, our Director of Community Relations and Guest Services. Gail came for a tour of the House and was impressed with what she saw. Over time, she referred dozens of patients to Editha House.
In 2015, Gail moved to the pathology department at St. Joseph’s as a Customer Service Representative. Christina kept in touch and sent Gail an email highlighting the varied volunteer projects we offer. Ironically, we learned that Gail is also the Director of Hands of Joy. She asked the Choir to perform at Editha House, and their performance was very well received.
During their performance, a couple of members noticed our Name a Room Campaign flyer. This program allows supporters to donate funds to assist Editha House in achieving our mission, and at the same time temporarily name a room in honor of a loved one.
They decided to donate and name two rooms. One was in honor of their founder, Diana Williams, who died from ALS over five years ago. The second was in honor of Bill Day, a beloved member of the choir who died of a brain tumor in (ADD YEAR).
“Being able to have a room named in Diana and Bill’s honor was an honor for us as well. The whole experience was such a blessing,”
Gail Hahn, Hands of Joy
Editha House looks forward to the next concert from the remarkable Hands of Joy choir.