Handmaker has hosted countless events and programs in the Great Room. For the last several years, attendees of programs held there have frequently commented that the program was good, but the speaker was difficult to hear or the image on the screen was hard to see.
This was very frustrating for the attendees and impacted Handmaker’s mission to serve older adults in our community.
This is why Handmaker is extremely grateful to Jewish Philanthropies of Southern Arizona (JPSA) for providing the funds, through a Community Impact Grant, to make some very noticeable improvements to its 15-year-old AV system.
In February, new speakers, a new amplifier, and a new projector with updated connectors were installed in the Great Room. Steve Ibarra from J2 Technology Solutions said that the six new 15-watt speakers he installed replaced four half-watt speakers. You can imagine the difference that made! But it is not just the amplification, it is the location. All six new speakers are directional, and two of them have been added to the front of the room. And everyone has noticed.
“They make a vast difference,” said Irv, one of Handmaker’s regular Thursday Torah Study attendees. This group was among the first to test the new sound system. At the Brandeis Classical Music Lecture the next day, when asked if they noticed a difference in the sound from the previous week, attendees’ response was a resounding “YES!” “It was much more crisp, much clearer,” said Susan, one of the regulars at the lecture.
When the new projector was installed the following week, everyone who attended the Brandeis birding lecture had a similar reaction…magnificent! “The photos of the birds are so clear and colorful. It makes them look even more beautiful,” one Handmaker resident remarked after the class. Mission accomplished.
This JPSA Community Impact Grant has made a big impact at Handmaker, helping to make the Great Room more accessible to all. With these needed improvements completed, Handmaker plans to hold more community events in the Great Room, where more community members can come and see and hear the difference, too.
