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Mozzeria - Deaf Pizzeria

Ryan Maliszewski is the CEO of Mozzeria, a deaf-owned deaf-led Neapolitan pizzeria in Washington D.C.

Offering an all-deaf, all-signing environment for guests, with staff communicating in ASL, the pizzeria also creates career opportunities for deaf people in the community.

Image showing young man wearing Arsenal t-shirt and signing Arsenal

Arsenal Football Club

We are super excited to celebrate this one, as it was led by a group of Deaf Arsenal fans, including Victoria’s cousin Max Parsons.

After working alongside Arsenal Football Club, the Gunners became the first Premier League club to provider access to BSL Interpreters for all games.

“Because he is deaf, he has never felt quite fully welcomed – until now, thanks to the incorporation of British Sign Language into everything that happens on the Emirates’ big screens.”

We cannot wait to see other Football Clubs following suit.

Read more here:

https://www.theguardian.com/football/2023/mar/18/arsenal-bsl-sign-language-emirates-inclusion

Starbucks

Starbucks employee Krystal went above and beyond for one of her regular customers, and spent around 3 hours of her own time learning American Sign Language so she could give him the same experience as everyone else.  Check out their touching story here.  

A viral video on TikTok is bringing new attention to the barriers the hard-of-hearing and deaf communities face at the drive-thru.  

The video has reached 19 million views, and shows Starbucks employee Brianna assisting Dallin in the drive-thru. 

Find out more here about how Starbucks are really leading the way in making their customer experience accessible to deaf customers!   

Starbucks does it again!  

With over 6million views, see how a great drive-thru experience can happen even without the technology from the previous story.  

It’s really just about reading the situation, taking the time to see what the customer needs and making small adjustments to make their experience as close to everyone else’s as you can.  

Waterstones

Waterstones made a small but very valuable contribution to deaf shoppers during the pandemic when they introduced simple signage to their shops recognising the difficulty masks made to lip-reading customers, and telling them it was okay to ask staff to remove them if they needed them to.  

This really shows how simple something can be in order to make a real difference to deaf shopper’s experiences. 

Taco Bell

This young Taco Bell employee didn’t realise the difference he would make when he took American Sign Language (ASL) as an elective in his studies.  He made a real difference making a deaf customer coming to Taco Bell where he was working feel welcomed and understood when he came into the store feeling confused.  Check out the video which went viral here. 

Specsavers

It’s amazing to show that just because you are hard of hearing or deaf, and wearing a hearing aid, you can still enjoy and appreciate music.  

Burger King

In American Sign Language (ASL), proper nouns typically don’t have specific signs and must be fingerspelled letter by letter. Unlike other languages, new signs in ASL are created organically by the deaf community. To celebrate this unique culture and ensure everyone feels welcome, Burger King collaborated with the deaf community to create an official ASL sign for their iconic Whopper. Leading up to National ASL Day in April 2016, Burger King launched #WhopperSign, inviting the community to suggest and vote for a unified sign for America’s favorite burger. This initiative, supported by online and offline efforts, received overwhelming participation. The final sign, chosen by the community, was a symbol of collaboration and inclusivity, showing that the Whopper Sign couldn’t exist without the deaf community’s input and creativity.

Dialogue Cafe

Royal Docks Centre for Sustainability (RDCS) is excited to announce the opening of Dialogue Cafe, an inclusive community space in Newham, East London. 

Hakan Elbir, Founder and CEO of Dialogue Hub, stated: “The Dialogue Café creates a welcoming space for deaf and hearing individuals to connect, fostering a strong sense of community and belonging. More than just a social space, it represents positive change for the area, symbolizing our commitment to creating inclusive spaces for diverse needs. It embodies the spirit of regeneration, offering opportunities for residents, particularly Deaf and hard-of-hearing people, to thrive socially and economically.”

https://dialoguehub.co.uk/dialogue-cafe

Signing Banks UK

Signing Banks UK is a dedicated resource offered by ESquared (E2) to provide an interface between banking and financial service organisations in the UK and their d/Deaf customers. The advisory board is committed to working together to improve access to financial services for d/Deaf customers. 

“Through innovation, advocacy and collaboration, they strive to bridge the gap between the financial industry and the Deaf community, ensuring equal access to financial services and opportunities.” 

https://www.signingbanks.uk/about

Click the images below to see more #terptreecelebrates stories.