'50+ Volunteer Group' 100 People Voluntarily Participate
Receive Production Kits and Make at Home in a 'Non-Face-to-Face' Method
[Asia Economy Reporter Jo In-kyung] The Seoul 50 Plus Foundation announced on the 20th that it will produce 1,500 'transparent masks' that allow the mouth to be seen to support daily communication for hearing-impaired students and ensure they have no difficulties attending classes, and donate them to frontline educational sites.
As mask-wearing has become routine due to the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic, hearing-impaired individuals who need to read lips to understand conversations face communication barriers. In particular, this initiative aims to prevent hearing-impaired students from being excluded from school lessons because they cannot see their teachers' mouth movements.
The transparent masks were produced through the voluntary participation of 100 members of the '50+ Volunteer Group,' which was publicly recruited by the foundation. The volunteers participated remotely by assembling transparent mask kits sent to their homes and sending the completed masks back to the foundation, resulting in a total of 1,500 masks collected so far.
The foundation plans to sequentially donate these transparent masks to Seoul National School for the Deaf (150 masks) and 44 universities nationwide that support hearing-impaired college students (1,350 masks). Currently, transparent masks produced by non-profit organizations are mainly provided to hearing-impaired students in elementary, middle, and high schools. The foundation explained that it selected 44 universities nationwide that support hearing-impaired students as donation recipients to address the blind spots faced by hearing-impaired college students.
Depending on the demand of each institution, the transparent masks will be worn not only by students but also by university professors, staff, and educational support personnel for hearing-impaired students.
Kim Young-dae, CEO of the Seoul 50 Plus Foundation, said, "We will continue to support various blind spots and vulnerable groups in our society through the experience, will, and expertise of the 50+ generation and engage in social contribution activities to solve social problems. In particular, we will continuously develop various non-face-to-face and online volunteer activity models in response to the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic."
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