Hello, my name is Matthew, a deaf owner of a culinary & event production in San Diego. After the COVID-19 pandemic, everything changed overnight and caused my company to close with zero revenue coming in. It didn’t stop us from continuing to brainstorm our creative ideas but feels like we are in survival mode everyday.

Everything immediately shifted to zoom and other virtual meetings. Webinars took the place of in-person trainings, and my business education groups went completely virtual. I quickly realized I was out of luck and can’t participate in any of these online platforms because having an interpreter is essential for me.

I am not the type of person to ask for money; a few interpreters have graciously offered their interpreting for free, which I initially refused to take, but later realized the importance of continuing these virtual meetings to help build my business back. I can’t, in good faith, keep asking for my interpreters to volunteer their time, so I’m hoping to reach out to the community to see if anyone would be willing to chip in few bucks to help me pay the interpreters for their valuable time.

Any amount is helpful; Interpreters typically cost me $40-150 per call/session.

My business has thrived in planning events for large groups and now, due to the new restrictions from the virus, we are not able to do large gatherings until phase 3, which is around 12-18 months from now, or when a vaccine is in place. My Interpreter budget is a huge part of our company’s success and any help funding that will make a huge difference.

Help from today through the end of 2020 would be greatly appreciated to get me through without the possibility of missing all of the amazing professional webinars or conversations with business networks to keep me on top of the game.

Lots of hearts from myself to you all!

Cheers,

Matthew