Clear Masks for The Alabama Institute for Deaf and Blind

Eagle Eye Outfitters is happy to announce the donation of 380 clear face masks for The Alabama Institute for Deaf and Blind.

The Alabama Institute for Deaf and Blind (AIDB) has six campuses and eight regional centers across the state of Alabama. They are the world’s most comprehensive education, rehabilitation and service program serving individuals of all ages who are deaf, blind, deaf-blind and multi-disabled.

In 1858, they were founded by a young medical doctor who wanted to educate his deaf brother. AIDB now serves more than  24,000 infants, toddlers, children, adults and seniors with hearing and vision loss throughout Alabama each year. 

Eagle Eye Outfitters’ donation includes 380 clear face masks to help protect their staff and students at their satellite locations. Approximately 100 of these masks will be kept locally while the others are distributed throughout the state.

How do masks impact communication in the Deaf community? Lip reading has become a helpful tool for the deaf community. So, when it was time to put on masks, members of the deaf community like the Alabama School for Deaf Principal, Paul Saunders, felt they’ve lost connection with others.

“Normally if we did not have masks in the past, I can catch some of what they’re saying on their lips,” Saunders said in an interview with CBS42. “Now that we have masks, it’s such a barrier on me personally. Being deaf, their access to language is already a struggle. With signing, we’re depending on expressions, it’s very important to see the whole face. The masks, they make it more of a barrier. Add clear masks, if you see a deaf or hard of hearing patient coming through, put the clear mask on for communication for the time. Just have those ready.”

Clear masks or transparent masks are great ways to serve deaf and hard of hearing communities while remaining safe from covid-19. You can also help AIDB students and consumers be defined by their accomplishments and NOT their limitations. Make a donation today!

Eagle Eye Outfitters is a family run small business that offers radical customer service for shoppers for all of their outdoor and fashion apparel, accessories, and footwear needs. Our community is why we are here. As a locally owned, small business, we do our best to plug in and give back as much as we can. Our company’s motto is “See a need, meet a need.”