The Nyle DiMarco Foundation - Empowering Lives Together

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Introducing the Nyle DiMarco Foundation

The Deaf community has always been there for me. I would not have come close to achieving the level of success I’ve had without the community’s support. Now it’s time for me to give back through the Nyle DiMarco Foundation. The Foundation’s goal is to make the world a better place for all Deaf people and their families. Through partnerships, we will provide resources that empower Deaf individuals to achieve their dreams. Please take a moment to browse this site and learn more about the Foundation. Lastly, I want to ask you to join me in "Throwing a Kiss," and make a donation. We cannot achieve our goals without your love and support.

Did you know…

There are approximately 70 million Deaf people worldwide, who have as many as 500 million immediate family members in total.

Did you know…

Two percent (2%) of the world’s Deaf population has access to education in sign language.

Did you know…

Twenty-five percent (25%) of parents use sign language to communicate with their Deaf child.

What People Are Saying

Through his tremendous success on the runway and participation in Dancing With the Stars, Nyle DiMarco follows in the footsteps of numerous Gallaudet University alumni who have shown that deaf people can achieve any dream. Admirably, he has seized this moment to advocate for full and equal early access to language for deaf and hard of hearing children through bilingual exposure to American Sign Language (ASL) and English. I wholly endorse his commitment to guaranteeing full access to language.

President Bobbi Cordano, Gallaudet University

Nyle DiMarco is the latest in a long line of confident role models who demonstrate the power of being bilingual using American Sign Language (ASL) and English, and he unabashedly shares the powerful role his bilingual upbringing has had in his success. His success is unsurprising, as every child needs and deserves love and language. Families express their love to their children by communicating with them from the day they are born, as Nyle’s family did.

National Association of the Deaf

Language Equality & Acquisition for Deaf Kids (LEAD-K) is proud to endorse the Nyle DiMarco Foundation. Nyle is the LEAD-K celebrity spokesperson, helping to further the initiative promoting language equality and acquisition to ensure that Deaf Kids are Kindergarten-Ready. The Nyle DiMarco Foundation's mission is to empower positive Deaf Identities in all aspect of life, and we wholeheartedly support its goal for accurate resources to share with families, professionals and communities. With the Nyle DiMarco foundation, we can continue onward to create new generations of Kindergarten-Ready Deaf Kids!

Language Equality & Acquisition for Deaf Kids (LEAD-K)

Whether on the runway or the dance floor, or paying it forward through his foundation for quality early access to language and communication, Nyle represents a vision of what the best future of our students in schools and programs for the deaf can look like.

The Conference of Educational Administrators of Schools and Programs for the Deaf

DWU stands with Nyle DiMarco and his foundation, with its mission on endorsing and promoting natural and visual/tactile language, specifically sign language, in deaf babies and children, so that they can become thriving Deaf adults.

Deaf Women United

[Nyle is] proof that anyone can do anything if they want to!

Len Goodman, ABC’s Dancing with the Stars

Latest News

Assessing a Deaf Child’s ASL Workshop: An Interview with Dr. Bobbie Jo Kite & Dr. Laurene Simms

In June, the National ASL & English Bilingual Consortium for Early Childhood Education (NASLECE) held the inaugural “Assessing a Deaf Child’s ASL” workshop in Washington, DC. The three-day workshop featured seven presenters from the fields of linguistics, bilingual education, visual language and learning, and family language policy; and was attended by twenty-two practitioners from 15 […]

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Nyle DiMarco Foundation announces a grant to the National ASL & English Bilingual Consortium for Early Childhood Education

WASHINGTON, D.C. — April 15, 2017 — Nyle DiMarco Foundation has provided funding to the National ASL & English Bilingual Consortium for Early Childhood Education in support of the organization’s inaugural “Assessing a Deaf Child’s ASL” workshop. Designed for mentors and professionals currently working with Deaf children ages 0 to 5, “Assessing a Deaf Child’s […]

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Nyle DiMarco Foundation announces partnership with LEAD-K and Fundraising Challenge

Dancing with the Stars winner Nyle DiMarco’s nonprofit foundation reveals its first organizational partner, Language Equality and Acquisition for Deaf Kids (LEAD-K), a national education campaign promoting Kindergarten-readiness through early language acquisition. Los Angeles, CA—August 18, 2016 – In a significant step towards its goal of supporting deaf and hard of hearing children acquire language and literacy, the […]

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