New Green Cleveland Hearing and Speech Center

Delta Zeta’s national philanthropy, supported by both collegiate and alumnae chapters, is speech and hearing and The Painted Turtle camp.  Delta Zeta's partnerships with and The Painted Turtle and The Starkey Hearing Foundation were announced at the 2006 National Convention. 

All of these important programs provide additional volunteer and giving opportunities for collegiate and alumnae members.

Chapters also support local and national speech and hearing organizations, such as Gallaudet University in Washington, D.C., the only four-year liberal arts school in the world devoted wholly to the needs, instruction, and training of young people who are deaf, and the House Ear Institute, which is one of the world's foremost research, teaching, and treatment centers in the field of hearing.

To go off of that, our local chapter supports the Cleveland Speech and Hearing Center.  As of October 19, 2010 the USGBC's Green Building Certification Institute completed their final review and officially awarded Cleveland Hearing and Speech Center LEED Silver certification for their new eco-friendly building.  LEED stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design. The United States Green Building Council (USGBC) created LEED as a rating system for green building.  The following points describe the new Cleveland Hearing and Speech Center LEED Highlights for their silver certification:

• Our decision to build on Euclid Avenue in University Circle. This put CHSC on a predeveloped site, with close access to neighborhoods, amenities and public transportation.
• Efficient use of green space - the small amount of landscaping requires no irrigation system.
• Cost-effective plumbing fixtures which use 45% less water than typical fixtures.
• The building is designed to be 27.5% more efficient than required.
• During the construction process, high volumes of construction waste were recycled, with a target minimum of 75% being diverted from landfills.
• Wood used in the construction was FSC certified.
• The interior building materials meet or exceed LEED required Indoor Air Quality standards.

For more information on the new eco-friendly Cleveland Hearing and Speech Center, visit CHSC.