Making a Difference in Your Community : Mother Goes to Bat for Deaf Youth

Sylvia Rodriguez got tired of the other boys teasing her deaf son when he went to the park to play baseball. So she decided to form a league where teasing couldn’t be heard.

Rodriguez, 37, is spearheading an effort at Panorama Recreation Center in Panorama City to develop a baseball league for deaf youngsters. Working with recreation leaders, she has already drawn about half of the 40 students she needs to form four teams for a league.

“It’s going pretty good. We’re going to work it out, someway,” said Rodriguez of San Fernando, whose son David, 5, is deaf.

Rodriguez believes that the league will not only help build the youths’ self-esteem but will bring parents closer to their children.

In addition to seeking more deaf or hearing-impaired youngsters between 5 and 10 years old to make up the teams, Rodriguez is looking for coaches and volunteers who know sign language. Baseball equipment and uniforms are also needed, she said.

One meeting of parents and their children has already been held, with another one scheduled at 11:30 p.m. May 22 at the park, located at 8600 Hazeltine Ave.

If all goes as planned, the league should begin after July 4, Rodriguez said.

To volunteer, call Sylvia Rodriguez at (818) 361-0035.

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Studio City resident Arleen Weisman found a novel way of coping with her son Glenn’s muscular dystrophy: She took a puppetry class at Cal State Northridge and developed a puppet show for preschoolers to promote disability awareness.

About 20 years later, Weisman is presenting a show called “Glenn’s Friends” at Jewish nursery schools and is looking for four volunteer puppeteers to train.

“Volunteers will learn how to move the puppets, learn the script, and relate to the children,” said Alise Sochaczewski of the Bureau of Jewish Education, which sponsors the show.

The show tells the story of Glenn, who goes to a party with a friend. When he gets there, he has a problem. A long flight of steps leads to the party house--and Glenn is in a wheelchair. It is then up to the puppeteers and the young audience to figure out ways Glenn can get to the party.

Each show lasts about 45 minutes and is usually performed before two or three classes every Tuesday morning. To volunteer, call Arleen Weisman at (818) 990-8640, ext. 2417. Previous experience is not required.

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Alisa Ann Ruch died more than 20 years ago in a back-yard barbecue fire at her Van Nuys home but her memory will be alive at a special summer camp next month.

About 200 burn-injured children ages 5 to 18 will descend on the Wonder Valley Ranch in Sanger, near Fresno, on June 19 for the weeklong “Champ Camp” and volunteer counselors are needed to supervise them. “A few slots are still open,” said Stephanie Knizek, associate executive director of the Alisa Ann Ruch California Burn Foundation.

The Canoga Park-based foundation is recruiting a total of 70 volunteer counselors for the camp, the largest of its kind in Southern California. Each counselor is assigned to supervise three campers and is fully trained to instruct them in activities ranging from horseback riding and fishing to swimming and arts and crafts.

The camp’s objectives are to provide the children with ways to build self-esteem and form friendships with other young burn victims. Knizek said that if all the counselor positions are filled, volunteers are still needed to help transport campers from homes all over Los Angeles to the bus pick-up site in Burbank.

Ruch’s mother started the foundation in 1971--a year after the child’s death--to educate children about fire safety and first-aid procedures and to provide financial aid to families of burn victims.

To volunteer, call the foundation at (818) 883-7700 or (800) 242-BURN, or write to their offices at 20944 Sherman Way, Suite 115, Canoga Park, 91303-3609.