Deaf Crab Feasts

Creative and Fun Fundraisers

Ongoing Crab Feasts

Deaf-Reach, a nonprofit organization in Washington, DC, began hosting an annual crab feast in 2005. We went to the first one. It was held at a family farm in Maryland, and over 100 people came. There was a good mix of hearing and deaf people.

In addition to the crabs and other food, there was a Silent Auction of a variety of items, such as restaurant gift certificates, the opportunity to sail on a boat, and handmade items. (I was outbid for one handmade item).

Past Crab Feasts

For several years, there was an annual deaf crab feast in Maryland to support the Joe Fund. The Joe Fund is the Joseph L. Mattivi Memorial Scholarship Fund at Gallaudet University, which thanks in part to the crab feasts, was the "fastest growing" scholarship fund at Gallaudet. This endowed fund supports several scholarships, all funded with the interest earned by the fund. According to the booklet distributed at the crab feast, the fund disbursed almost $5,000 to deserving Gallaudet students one year.

Mattivi was a hearing internship counselor and a School of Management associate professor at Gallaudet University who died in 1992 when he was only 34. After his death, surviving family and friends decided to establish a scholarship fund to honor his memory. The fund's goal was to raise $500,000 in principal by 2001; by 1999, it had raised over $100,000.

Anyone who remembers the fun of the Joe Fund crab feasts can still make a contribution to the Joe Fund through the Gallaudet Development Office.