Tue, Mar 13th, 2012
Deni Naffziger, communications instructor, received the Jeff Bierlein Community Service Award at the Disabilities Awareness Festival held by the Athens County Board of Developmental Disabilities at the Beacon School on Tuesday, March 13, 2012 from 6:30-8:30 p.m. as part of Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month.
In January of 2000, Naffziger began taking Hocking College students to Atco Adult Services in Athens to pair them with adults with disabilities for the purpose of collaborative writing, including short stories, essays, poetry and songs. Through the course, students learn civic responsibility and, according to Naffziger, realize they are a part of something far bigger than themselves.
“What I learned very quickly, and the students did too, is that we all have so much more in common than anyone realized. My students learn that their visions of love, romance, and travel are similar to those of their partners at Atco, and often the writing reflects that,” Naffziger said.
In 2005, Naffziger, her students and their Atco partners collaborated with area musicians to put their words to music. A compact disk, “Get Up and Fly,” was produced, and more than 1,000 copies were sold/distributed. The project culminated in a three-day celebration of community, collaboration, and the arts at Stuart's Opera House during three sold-out shows. Dancers from Factory Street Studio, ages 8-18, choreographed and performed dances to accompany the songs that had been written by Hocking College students and their Atco partners. The local musicians who had put the words to song performed live at the celebration. More recently, the group created another CD titled, “My Little Pancake Button.”
Naffziger’s class also partners with Passion Works, a collaboration between artists with and without developmental disabilities where studio artists create one-of-a-kind art pieces that provide employment and generate a renewable funding source to continue art programming. The writing produced by the class is often used in Passion Works projects.
Naffziger has been honored previously for her work with the class. In April 2008, she was awarded the David Hock Memorial Award for Excellence in Service by the Ohio Campus Compact, an annual award recognizing outstanding community service projects.
In January of 2000, Naffziger began taking Hocking College students to Atco Adult Services in Athens to pair them with adults with disabilities for the purpose of collaborative writing, including short stories, essays, poetry and songs. Through the course, students learn civic responsibility and, according to Naffziger, realize they are a part of something far bigger than themselves.
“What I learned very quickly, and the students did too, is that we all have so much more in common than anyone realized. My students learn that their visions of love, romance, and travel are similar to those of their partners at Atco, and often the writing reflects that,” Naffziger said.
In 2005, Naffziger, her students and their Atco partners collaborated with area musicians to put their words to music. A compact disk, “Get Up and Fly,” was produced, and more than 1,000 copies were sold/distributed. The project culminated in a three-day celebration of community, collaboration, and the arts at Stuart's Opera House during three sold-out shows. Dancers from Factory Street Studio, ages 8-18, choreographed and performed dances to accompany the songs that had been written by Hocking College students and their Atco partners. The local musicians who had put the words to song performed live at the celebration. More recently, the group created another CD titled, “My Little Pancake Button.”
Naffziger’s class also partners with Passion Works, a collaboration between artists with and without developmental disabilities where studio artists create one-of-a-kind art pieces that provide employment and generate a renewable funding source to continue art programming. The writing produced by the class is often used in Passion Works projects.
Naffziger has been honored previously for her work with the class. In April 2008, she was awarded the David Hock Memorial Award for Excellence in Service by the Ohio Campus Compact, an annual award recognizing outstanding community service projects.
