HELENA SCHMITT
The Pillar of the Washington, D.C. Deaf Community
If there is such a thing as a pillar of the Washington, D.C. deaf community, which more or less is far flung, then Helena Schmitt is it.
Helena, a graduate of Gallaudet University and New Jersey School for the Deaf (named as such before it was changed to Marie Katzenbach School for the Deaf), has been serving the Washington, D.C. deaf community from Day One. There are few major activities that she hasn’t, one way or other, not been involved with.
Her real job is with the National Weather Service of the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration, a long sounding name of a branch which is part of the Department of Commerce.
She is a computer specialist with two basic responsibilities – one to stand watch over two computers that work the hydrological data collected from weather stations across the country and the other one is to handle the database of 75,000 weather stations all over the world. Additionally she developed a resource file of materials for the agency library, a project she is proud of. She has been with the federal government for 27 years.
She has another real job, a part time one with the National Association of the Deaf (NAD) as the administrative assistant. She got the job after volunteering at the home office for nearly five years in a variety of tasks, many of them thankless.
Some of her activities include serving the Dee Cee Eyes, the Washington, D.C. deaf monthly newsletter for fifteen years, the last seven as assistant editor. With the Washington Society of Jewish Deaf, she spent ten years in a variety of offices. Other organizations she has helped out over the years is National Congress of Jewish Deaf, the Gallaudet University archives, her old Gallaudet sorority, the Gallaudet alumni association, the Maryland Association of the Deaf, etc.
“I have cut down on most of my volunteer work due to my part time job at the NAD,” Helena said.
Every successful person owes a great deal of gratitude to mentors that helped guide the way. In Helena’s case she is indebted to Dave and Polly Peikoff. “They encouraged me to volunteer in different groups. These have enriched my experience, horizon and personal growth,” she said.
Alaska was the site of her most unusual experience. A friend, Al Berke, of Alaska, is a member of a reform synagogue in Anchorage. She has flown to Alaska twice to help him serve meals at a shelter for homeless people. Though apprehensive at the start, it was a humbling experience for her.
Helena has had several awards coming her way – honored by Gallaudet University for her volunteer work, by the American Association of the Deaf-Blind, the NAD and also the Dee Cee Eyes.
Speaking of the Holocaust, Debbie Sonnenstrahl asked Helena to help out with the Gallaudet remembrance project in 1988. Helena ended up giving out a presentation on Holocaust in which she gave at several deaf groups on the East coast.
For many Americans, especially the members of the deaf community, volunteerism is a dirty word. They would rather be doing things they enjoy, or even worse, sit in front of the television tube for hours at a time, doing nothing. This sort of idleness goes very much against Helena’s grain. Because of her devotion to the organizations she has volunteered her time with, the local and the national organizations stand all the much richer. A Helena Schmitt comes only once in a lifetime and the deaf people of this generation are extremely fortunate to have her around
