Accent Mofication

In diesem Kurs beschäftigen wir uns mit verschiedenen Texten aus unterschiedlichen Bereichen. Das können u.a. kurze Geschichten, Gedichte, Zeitungsartikel, Kolumnen oder Videos sein. Immer sind es Themen, die uns gefallen, die wir besonders interessant, wichtig oder manchmal auch richtig schlecht finden. Gemeinsam versuchen wir die Position der Autor*in, den Stil und die Argumentationsstruktur zu verstehen. Dazu diskutieren wir über das, was wir verstehen, welche Meinung wir zu dem Thema haben oder welche Fragen offen bleiben.
Gerne könnt ihr uns auch Themenvorschläge mitbringen oder zuschicken.
Der Kurs richtet sich an interessierte Menschen mit einem B2-Niveau (oder so ähnlich), die Lust haben sich weiter mit der deutschen Sprache zu beschäftigen und ihren Wortschatz zu erweitern.
Die Termine sind sporadisch.

Welcome to **I WRITE**, a gentle space for anyone who wants to write—quietly, freely, and without judgement. We are a Berlin community of writers who gather together weekly to write, talk and recharge after a long week. Some of us journal, some write novels, some do academic writing, many people come without a project in mind and see where the inspiration flow takes them. This is a space to simply show up and write, a safe place to be yourself and to release all your layers onto the paper. There’s no set topic, no feedback circle, and no pressure. Just warm people, a calm atmosphere, and time dedicated to yourself. 🗓️ **Agenda:** * 18:30 - 19:00 **→** 30 min arriving, optional socialising (arrive early, meet other writers) * 19:00 - 20:00 **→** 1 hour of silent writing (headphones welcome, focus encouraged) * 20:00–20:30 **→** 30 mins optional chat or solo time (stay and chat or go celebrate the rest of your evening) 🎒 **Bring:** * Something to write with (laptop, notebook, phone, typewriter… anything goes) * Your current project or a blank page * Yourself, exactly as you are **👉 Responsibility:** * Our location is limited; thus, I am kindly asking you to RSVP only if you are willing to attend. **📍Location:** * We meet at the Iska Cafe at Kalckreuthstraße 7, 10777 Berlin. * Google map pin: [here](https://maps.app.goo.gl/765XQTN8KBGv95gx9) * 🚇 **U1\, U2 Wittenbergplatz \|\| U1\, U2\, U3\, U4 Nollendorfplatz** * 🚌 **106\, 187\, M19\, M29 An Der Urania \|\| M46 Motzstraße** **About me:** Hi, my name is Anastasia. I started this writing club back in May 2025. Since then, it has been hosted weekly at the Heinrich Schulz Library and is now extended to the Café as well. Over this time, I’ve been privileged to meet some of the most creative and kind minds in Berlin. And I would be happy if you joined us. Whether you're an experienced writer or just at the beginning of your journey, you're welcome. If you know how to hold a pen or how to type, there will always be a space for you. Let's write together!

**The AWS Women’s User Group Berlin** is thrilled to invite you to our upcoming meetup sponsored by Storm Reply focused on **Building production-ready AI agents for real-world impact.** Join us for a deep dive into how to build, observe, and evaluate AI agents at scale. You’ll also see how these ideas come to life in a real-world climate-smart agriculture solution that turns weather forecasts into actionable field guidance. Whether you’re building agentic systems today or planning what comes next, this meetup will give you practical insights into making AI agents work in production. **Speaker Info** **Keynote Talk** **Speaker:** Tetiana Senna **Position:** Team Lead / Senior Project Manager, Storm Reply **Talk Title:** Trust, but Verify: Observability and Evaluations for AWS Agents **Abstract:** Getting an AI agent to work in a demo is easy. Knowing whether it still works in production - after the next prompt change, the next model upgrade, the next edge case - is the hard part. Unit tests don't cover non-deterministic behavior, and manually reviewing a handful of runs doesn't scale. This talk walks through the two practices that close that gap: observability (understanding what actually happened inside your agent) and evaluation (deciding whether the outcome was any good). We'll dig into Amazon Bedrock AgentCore's Observability and Evaluations capabilities, compare the proven evaluation approaches - built-in LLM-as-a-Judge evaluators for automatic quality monitoring, and custom evaluators for business-specific correctness checks - with a candid look at what each one is good for, where it falls short, and what it costs to run at scale. We'll also take a close look at AgentCore Optimization, AWS's newly previewed feature in this space. **Applied Agentic AI Talk** **Speakers:** **Vidhu Mitra Malladi:** Senior Software Engineer, Yara Digital Farming **Chamika Hasanthi:** Senior Software Engineer, Yara Digital Farming **Talk Title:** Weather Risk Intelligence Agent for farmers & Agronomist Abstract: Unpredictable weather events — heavy rainfall, drought, frost, and heatwaves pose significant risk to crop yield and fertilizer efficiency. While forecast data is widely available, it is rarely translated into timely; field-level guidance farmers can act upon. Using AWS AgentCore framework and AI capabilities, we can turn weather predictions into clear agronomic actions, supporting climate-smart agriculture at scale. **You'l learn:** * Implementation of the solution using AWS Agent Core framework * Architecture of the project. 🗓️ **Event Details:** \- Date: Tuesday\, June 30th \- Venue: Storm Reply GmbH\, [address](https://www.google.com/maps/place/Storm+Reply+GmbH/@52.5012692,13.368852,17z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m6!3m5!1s0x47a851119af460c5:0x35e34ba578e8b1ec!8m2!3d52.5012692!4d13.368852!16s%2Fg%2F11gg9298pv?entry=ttu&g_ep=EgoyMDI2MDUxNy4wIKXMDSoASAFQAw%3D%3D) \- Time: 06:00 PM \- 9:00 PM Doors open at 6:00 PM Food & drinks will be provided. 📋 **Program Schedule:** **18:00** \- Registration and Welcome Networking **18:20** \- AWS Women's User Group Welcome **18:30** \- "Trust\, but Verify: Observability and Evaluations for AWS Agents" **Speaker:** Tetiana Senna, Team Lead / Senior Project Manager, Storm Reply A practical session for anyone working with AI agents on AWS who wants the confidence to put them in front of real users. You'll leave with a clear framework for monitoring agents in production and a concrete approach to evaluating their behavior over time. **19:15 - 19:30** Break **19:30** \- "Weather Risk Intelligence Agent for farmers & Agronomist" **Speakers:** Vidhu Mitra Malladi, Senior Software Engineer, Yara Digital Farming & Chamika Hasanthi, Senior Software Engineer, Yara Digital Farming Discover how AI agents can transform weather forecasts into actionable, field-level farming guidance. **20:10** \- Q&A and closing remarks **20:15 - 21:00** Networking, food & drinks 🎟️ **RSVP** Don't miss this excellent opportunity to connect with Tetiana, Vidhu, the AWS WUG Team and a thriving community of cloud enthusiasts and professionals. Secure your spot by RSVPing now! Seats are limited! Please note that this user group is specifically for WOMEN and FLINTA\* (female, lesbian, inter, trans\*, non-binary, and agender) only. Please also check out the AWS User Group Berlin. \*\*\*\*\*\* 🚨Attention🚨 This meetup is hosted at Storm Reply GmbH and attendees must be registered to go through building security. Make sure you bring an ID card with you, and you register the event with a valid name that matches to your ID. Media and Consent: We inform all attendees that photographs and videos will be taken during the meetup and will only be used by the event organizers for documentation and promotional purposes. By RSVPing to this event you are consenting to our media policy. Please let the organizers know if you do not want to be in the pictures/videos. Thank you very much for your cooperation! \*\* The AWS Women’s User Group is the very first official women-centric AWS User Group in DACH and EMEA. This group serves as a secure and supportive platform for women who want to share their AWS knowledge, passion for cloud computing and advance their career through targeted learning opportunities. We extend a warm invitation to FLINTA individuals who are interested in being part of our User Group. Code of Conduct: At the AWS Women's User Group in Berlin, we have a strong and unequivocal code of conduct in place to create a safe and empowering environment for all.

Erlerne Meditations- und Entspannungsverfahren kennen und sorge damit für mehr Bewusstheit und Stressreduktion in deinem Alltag.

We are excited to feature **Fazl Barez**, who is currently a Senior Research Fellow at **University of Oxford** and will discuss "**Towards Automated Interpretability for AI Safety**", lasting approximately 45 minutes. After the talk, seize the opportunity to connect with fellow AI enthusiasts to share ideas and questions while enjoying free drinks and pizza. **Door close by 7.15pm, so please come early! Also, "attend"ing (RSVP) here on Meetup is strictly necessary to be guaranteed entry.** Please note that Meetup has recently been quite keen on promoting its Plus program. However, you are not obligated to purchase it, as both our events and the platform remain free. **Who is this event for?** This event is open to everyone interested in state-of-the-art AI research. We especially design it for students, PhD candidates, academic researchers, and industry professionals with a research focus in machine learning. **Abstract**: TBA **Bio**: TBA We are [BLISS](https://bliss.berlin/) e.V., the **AI** **organization** in Berlin that **connects like-minded individuals** who share great interest and passion for the field of machine learning. This summer 2026, we will, again, host an exciting speaker series on site in Berlin, featuring excellent researchers from cohere, ETH Zürich, University of Oxford, HuggingFace, and Stanford University. Website: [https://bliss.berlin](https://bliss.berlin/) Youtube: [https://www.youtube.com/@bliss.ev.berlin](https://www.youtube.com/@bliss.ev.berlin) Disclaimer: By attending this event you agree to be photographed.

## AI IN RETAIL: AGENTIC OPERATIONS & COMMERCE ​Die Expert Group „AI in Retail“ bietet Entscheidungsträger:innen aus Handel, Konsumgüterbranche und Technologie eine Plattform für regelmäßigen Austausch – vom Use Case zum Business Case. ​Unser zweites Treffen steht im Zeichen von „Agentic AI im Handel“ – und wir beleuchten das Thema aus zwei Perspektiven: Wie setzt ihr selbst KI-Agenten in euren Prozessen ein, um operative Abläufe end-to-end zu übernehmen und Kosten zu senken? Und was bedeutet es, wenn Agenten bald auch von außen auf euer Unternehmen zugreifen, einkaufen oder euch als Kanal umgehen? Konkret, praxisnah und interaktiv – mit Impulsen, Workshops und dem Austausch mit Branchenkolleg:innen und führenden Expert:innen. ​Lösungen für heute. Strategien für morgen. ​Bitte geben Sie uns bis zum 25.06. Bescheid, ob Sie dabei sein werden. Die Teilnahme ist kostenfrei & bedarf der Bestätigung durch den KI Park. *** ## ​AGENDA ​11:30 – Ankommen, Vernetzen + gemeinsames Lunch ​12:30 – Begrüßung & Warm-up ​ ​**AGENTIC OPERATIONS** * ​Keynote: Agent ≠ Chatbot ≠ Dashboard – KI als Prozessverantwortung ([Marco Szeidenleder](https://www.linkedin.com/in/szeidenleder/?utm_source=luma) \- Gründer & Managing Partner \- [Pandata](https://www.pandata.de/?utm_source=luma)) * ​Keynote: Agenten testen bevor sie live gehen – Qualitätssicherung ohne Tech-Hintergrund (Dr. Nicolai Bohn - Co Founder & CEO - [Rhesis AI](https://rhesis.ai/de?utm_source=luma)) * ​Workshop: Der nächste Mitarbeiter ist kein Mensch: KI-Agenten im Retail-Betrieb einsetzen ([Aaron Koivunen](https://www.linkedin.com/in/aaron-koivunen?utm_source=luma) CTO & Founder & [Adriana Carmona Beltran](https://www.linkedin.com/in/adriana-carmona-beltran/?utm_source=luma) Co Founder - [TEDIX](https://tedix.dev/?utm_source=luma)) ​**AGENTIC COMMERCE** * ​Impuls + Diskussion: Agentic Commerce & die Fragen, die niemand stellt ([Paul Krauss](https://www.linkedin.com/in/paul-krauss-ba89605b/?utm_source=luma) \- Partner AI \- [Team One Developers](https://www.team-one.de/?utm_source=luma)) * ​[Stephan Ritter](https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephanritter/?locale=de_DE&utm_source=luma) ([Deloitte Digital)](https://www.deloittedigital.com/de/en.html?utm_source=luma) x [Tim Bielski](https://www.linkedin.com/in/timbielski/?utm_source=luma) ([Shopify](https://www.shopify.com/de?utm_source=luma)): ACO Opportunities, "No Regret Moves" and Experience Outlook * ​Showcase: Kundenbindung in der Agentic World – wie Retailer den Kundenkontakt behalten ([Ralph Hünermann ](https://www.linkedin.com/in/odoscope-ralph-hunermann/?utm_source=luma)\- Gründer & CEO \- [ODOSCOPE](https://www.odoscope.com/de?utm_source=luma)) ​ ​18:00 – Next Steps & Networking ​ ​Das Event wird auf Deutsch stattfinden. *** ​**Fragen zum Event? ->** retail@kipark.de

Hey everybody, Moving to Berlin is an adventure, but let’s be real—the bureaucracy is a headache and making friends in a city this big can feel like a full-time job. Whether you’ve been here for three days or three years, the **Expat Stammtisch** is your home base to meet cool people. 🍻 We have a reserved area just for us. Grab a drink, find a spot, and join any conversation. **Ready to join?** See you at the bar!

On the 1st of July we will host the next iteration of our monthly Audio Developer Meetup where **Peggy Sylopp** from [sinceare](https://www.sinceare.com/) will be presenting her work on personalization approaches for hearables, and **Vlad Litvinenko** will demo 'Spotykach', a looping playground. See below for details! As always, there will be a chance to network over drinks and pizza. Anyone interested in Audio development is welcome! Doors open at 18:00, talks start at 18:15. Please note: Attendance is **strictly limited** to people who have RSVP'd. Talk details: **Can users train their own audio system?** \- Peggy Sylopp In this talk, we present Sinceare’s closed-loop personalization approach for hearables. Instead of relying on predefined fitting rules or static presets, users teach the system how it should sound through interaction and feedback. These preferences are transformed into personalized machine-learning models that learn how to control existing audio processing algorithms according to individual preferences. Rather than replacing audio DSP algorithms, the generated models act as an adaptive control layer that continuously adjusts algorithm parameters based on user-specific listening preferences. Based on more than eight years of research and a recent study conducted with Fraunhofer IDMT and Charité, we will share insights into user-driven audio model generation, human-in-the-loop machine learning, and the path from research prototype to future embedded hearable deployment. **Spotykach, a looping playground** \- Vlad Litvinenko Vlad is a Berlin based software developer doing e-commerce by day, bleeping machines at night and sometimes music in between. The talk is about device they’ve recently built. It’s “Spotykach”, a looping playground, as they call it. It started from an attempt to do a simple Beat-Repeat kind of plugin, but then evolved into a community project within Synthux Academy with people from different backgrounds and countries.

There’s a peace and relaxation possible for everyone, that can occur with total ease, with a simple body process, called Access Bars ® Access Bar is like hitting the delete button on your computer’s hard drive. Negative thought patterns and mental chatter can be released and a space for peace, ease and new possibilities opens up. Best, everyone can learn this body process in a one day class. You can give the Bars® to your family and friends and to your clients. And of course you can let the Bars run also on yourself. Access Bars ® and Bodyprocess classes in English take place once a month, classes in German twice a month. Just ask for your desired date. Would this class be a contribution to your body, to your life, your business? Then I would like to have you in a one-day Access Bars. Consider this your invitation to a totally different paradigm for healing, change and transformation in all aspects of your life. The Access Bars class fee is 380 Euro, Practitioner License, Manual, Charts, food and drinks included. PLEASE NOTE THAT REGISTRATION IS ONLY POSSIBLE BY PHONE. For more information please visit my website: https://www.i-feel-so-good.de/home-en.html What happens in the brain during a Bars Session: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DgGbFRjqQPk If you have any question or you want to book a session, do not hesitate to contact me. Once a week we have an Access Bars ® evening that gives you the opportunity to exchange the Bars® and to meet other practitioners. ®

Hola chicos, Moin zusammen, lasst uns Deutsch und Spanisch sprechen und ein paar Bier zusammen trinken, die Idee ist einfach und gut :) Bitte bringt zumindest basis Deutsch oder Spanisch Kenntnisse mit! Vamos a hablar español y alemán y tomar unas cervezas, la idea es simple y buena jaja. ¡Por favor, ven por lo menos con un nivel básico de español o alemán! Danke, gracias!

**Join us in this guided movement workshop!** Beginner friendly – no previous dance experience needed. Language: **English**. Through imagination and guided movement, we will explore a journey into the deep sea, inspired by ocean creatures and underwater landscapes. This workshop combines simple movement patterns, improvisation tasks, and moments of rest and observation. **What to bring:** Comfortable/stretchy clothes for movement and somethink to drink. A pullover and socks are recommended (just in case). **Contribution:** 10€ (on site) Workshop starts at 10:15 to 12:00, doors open at 10:00. Further questions? We are happy to receive your message.

\*English below\* **Sprachaustausch in Moabit** *(jeden 1. Donnerstag des Monats)* Sie möchten in entspannter Atmosphäre mit anderen ins Gespräch kommen – über Sprachen, über das Leben, über das, was Sie bewegt? Dann laden wir Sie herzlich zu unserem Sprachaustausch ein. Hier entsteht ein offener Raum für Begegnung, Gemeinschaft und soziale Teilhabe – unabhängig von Herkunft, Alter oder Sprachkenntnissen. Ob Sie eine Sprache neu entdecken, Vertrautes wieder aufgreifen oder einfach mit Menschen aus unterschiedlichen Ländern in Kontakt kommen möchten: Sie sind willkommen, so wie Sie sind – und in Ihrem eigenen Tempo. Eine neue Sprache zu lernen öffnet immer auch neue Türen und Möglichkeiten der Begegnung, welche wir in dieser Gruppe teilen wollen. **Language exchange in Moabit** *(Every first Thursday of the month)* Would you like to connect over languages with others in a relaxed atmosphere — talking about your language journey, interests and the things that matter to you? Then our language exchange is the perfect opportunity! The event creates an open space to meet people, build community, and foster social inclusion—regardless of background, age, or language proficiency. Whether you want to discover a new language, refresh your old skills or simply connect with people from different countries, you are welcome to join! Learning a language is always an opportunity for connection and new experiences which we want to share through this group .

**📢 Wichtiges Update für das Sprachcafé in Manifesto!** 📢 2. Etage wo es geschlossen ist. Alle Teilnehmende **müssen** etwas bestellen. Wenn nicht, werden wir uns in Neukölln treffen. **Ein Getränk bei der Soot Bar** (unten bei den WCs) **oder Essen woanders** zu kaufen, damit wir dort bleiben dürfen. Danke fürs Mitmachen! 😊

Most people use LLMs by feel: ask a question, read the answer, decide whether it “seems good,” and move on. That works for casual use. It does not work when you are building software, automating workflows, writing important documents, or relying on AI for anything that needs to be repeatable. In this talk, we’ll look at how to improve and evaluate the inputs and outputs of LLMs using practical measurement techniques. We’ll cover how prompt changes affect results, how to compare outputs, how to build simple evaluation sets, and how math-based methods like similarity scoring can help you move beyond guesswork. This will be beginner-friendly, so even if you don't know anything about AI, you should get something out of it. However, this will be a little more technical than our intro talks. You do not need to be an AI researcher, but programmers and technically curious attendees will get a lot out of it. We’ll cover: * Why “it looks good” is not enough * How to improve prompts by changing the input, context, and constraints * How to compare LLM outputs more systematically * Basic evaluation techniques for accuracy, consistency, and usefulness * How embeddings, cosine similarity, and scoring can help evaluate results * Where automated evaluation works — and where humans still need to stay in the loop By the end, you’ll have a practical mental model for treating LLMs less like magic and more like systems you can test, measure, and improve. LOGISTICS AND PARKING: The talk starts at 7:00 PM. The first half hour is reserved for everyone to get set up and mingle. Free pizza and drinks! The cheapest parking option is to find street parking, which will only cost you a few bucks. Otherwise, park in the nearby veteran's museum lot for $8. It's highly recommended you avoid the nearby $15 garage parking.

This is not an event, but an announcement that we are accepting new members. If you'd like to pursue joining our group, please read the "about us" section and then write us at columbusmensgroup@gmail.com with a few paragraphs about yourself, what you'd like to experience in the group, and the contribution that you'd like to make. Thank you!

Let’s meet and discuss John Updike's Rabbit, Run, the first in his series of four novels following the life, hopes, and disappointments of former local basketball star, Harry "Rabbit" Angstrom, as he fitfully confronts and evades adulthood.

Join us for lunch and meet our very successful group. We are each others sales team...always looking for referrals for our members. If you are looking for new clients, let us help you out! Bring your business cards and brochures to share with us. We have a speaker each week so that we can learn about their business. Because we have only one member per business, we have many of the spots filled. However, we are specifically looking for an estate attorney, a handyman/electrician, and an event planner. We have referrals for you! All visitors are welcome. Any questions contact [pmarchio@farmersagent.com](mailto:pmarchio@farmersagent.com)

Join us as we get together for a CAPA Summer Movie event to see the romantic, funny, heartwarming, feel-good classic, PRETTY WOMAN! Julia Roberts and Richard Gere star in this modern-day fairy-tale romance! Here’s a description, trailer and plan for this event: DESCRIPTION: A wealthy corporate raider hires a Hollywood escort as his date for a week of high-society business events. But what starts as a business transaction blossoms into genuine love, challenging both of their lives and leading to an unexpected romance. The film is directed by Garry Marshall and stars Richard Gere, Julia Roberts, Héctor Elizondo, Ralph Bellamy (in his final performance), Laura San Giacomo and Jason Alexander. MINI TRAILER: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K-JghOdhAwc](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K-JghOdhAwc) SHORT BONUS CLIP #1 - DIRECTOR GARRY MARSHALL Recalls Famous Scenes from the Film: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HpIMOzieGPs](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HpIMOzieGPs) SHORT BONUS CLIP #2 - RICHARD GERE on the Film’s Impact all these years later: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O0T3O94dAA8](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O0T3O94dAA8) SHORT BONUS CLIP #3 - JULIA ROBERTS Remembers a Gift from Director Garry Marshall: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pJ4AZSjbMsA](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pJ4AZSjbMsA) BUZZ & ACCLAIM: A huge box office hit at the time of its release, PRETTY WOMAN has since gone on to become a modern-day classic! The film catapulted Julia Roberts to superstardom and earned her a Golden Globe for Best Actress and her first Oscar nomination! Critics praise Julia Roberts’ star-making performance, the undeniable chemistry between her and Richard Gere, and its warm, funny feel-good story about kindness, self-worth and transformation! The film’s “intelligence and wit,” “first-class performances” and “sharp, funny script” have made Pretty Woman a classic and truly “something special!” THE OHIO THEATRE: The Ohio Theatre is located at 39 E. State Street, between 3rd and High Streets, across the street from the Ohio Statehouse. From classical music to modern dance, yearly family traditions to hot concerts, the world’s best artists come to the 2,791-seat, historic Ohio Theatre. The breathtaking details (including the 21-foot-high chandelier!) of its opulent, Spanish-Baroque architecture make any night at the Ohio Theater an event to remember! PRE-SHOW ENTERTAINMENT: Now celebrating his 33rd year as featured organist for the CAPA Summer Movie Series, Clark Wilson will again provide pre-show entertainment at the keyboards and controls of the Ohio Theatre’s treasured “Mighty Morton” theatre organ 30 minutes prior to each screening. PARKING: Parking is available at Columbus Commons Parking Garage off 3rd or Rich Streets or in Statehouse Parking Garage off 3rd Street. You can find out more about parking in Downtown Columbus by visiting the Downtown Columbus website. PLAN: Purchase your ticket for the 7:30pm showing and we’ll meet outside the theater between 6:50 and 7:00pm. We’ll head in at 7pm to get good seats and enjoy the pre-show organ music! TICKETS: Tickets just $6 adult / $5 senior! Parking is available under the Capital building, in the nearby garage, or on the nearby streets. You can purchase your ticket at the box office on the day of the event or online here: [https://www.capa.com/capa-summer-movie-series/](https://www.capa.com/capa-summer-movie-series/) Look forward to seeing you there, Dan

Come assist Van Buren Shelter (https://ymcacolumbus.org/locations/vanburen) staff in serving dinners and cleaning up on the 3rd Tuesday of each month. Dinner for the women is 5-6 pm and for the families is 6:15-7:15 pm. There is ample free parking available in the shelter's lot. The recommended area to park is in green in the image above. There will be a new entrance for the time being. We are asking all volunteers to enter through the Donation Dock door, the orange mark on the image above. This door is located between the Single Adults and Family Shelter. You will see 2 large garage doors with a large green trash compactor in the center. Please head to the closest garage door to the building wall, with a ramp leading up. There, you will see a door with a sign stating instructions on how to enter the building. Please ring the doorbell, and a staff member will come and escort you into the building. If a staff member takes longer than 5 minutes, please call the front desk at 614-689-2020. This is a new process for us, and we do not want to keep you waiting! We appreciate your patience as we navigate this temporary change. The shelter needs a volunteer count the day before the event so sign-up ends Monday at 4:50 PM. Afterwards some of us go to the Omnipresent Atheists Weekly Meetup in progress to have a bit to eat or drink (http://www.meetup.com/omnipresentatheists/). Volunteers must be 14 or older. Since we will be working around families, the YMCA does not permit volunteering by individuals with convictions for violent or sexual crimes. The YMCA reserves the right to run background checks on volunteers. For questions, comment on this page or contact: Andrew, awhit12@yahoo.com, (614)937-5802 (cell). Please let Andrew know if you volunteer anytime other than our COUNT events so that he can count your hours toward our service record.

We meet to learn and practice American Sign Language and to grow our familiarity with Deaf culture. Facilitated by hearing folks (with a connection to a professional interpreter) using Deaf-created content. People of all ASL skill levels are welcome! As we learn, we hope to connect more with the Deaf community in Central Ohio. Join us as you're able! Come regularly or just once - whatever you're looking for! Each meetup will explore different topics related to ASL/Deaf culture, and will feature time to practice conversation with one another. Just bring yourself and a willingness to learn!