The 10 Year Journey
Even the longest journeys start with a single step. In August of 2009, Sue Tyrrell decided to put her foot down. To many, it was obvious that Eastern Iowa desperately needed to improve access to American Sign Language (ASL) interpreters. With encouragement from others, Sue was on a journey to make that change.
At the time, Deaf, Deaf-Blind, and Hard of Hearing Communities had very limited access to ASL interpreters. Individuals were flat out being denied their human right to communicate. With a vision bigger than just herself, Sue decided to build Hands Up Communications.
Behind her, Sue had the support of her community and a dedicated team. In front of her, an unpredictable journey. More specifically, a decade-long journey that would eventually turn Hands Up Communications into what it is today. Here’s the story of Sue, her vision, and how Hands Up came to be.
Hands Up’s First Few Steps
At the beginning of Hands Up’s journey, it was strictly an American Sign Language (ASL) interpreting company. Since a sign language interpreter’s job requires them to use their hands, Sue decided to call the company, Hands Up Communications.
Not only that, Hands Up was strongly based on love and faith. Not everyone knows, but Sue was first inspired to build Hands Up by her love for the Deaf Ministry in her church. To also make interpreters available outside of her church, she needed to organize an agency.
At first, operating out of Sue’s basement, Hands Up offered Sign Language interpreters upon request to local businesses and organizations around Cedar Rapids. In turn, these businesses and organizations scheduled Sue and her American Sign Language interpreters whenever a deaf person needed access to communication.
Of course, it didn’t take long for the local community to realize just how necessary Hands Up’s services were. After a few months, Sue’s vision attracted a team of passionate interpreters, looking for a better way to help their community. Once Sue had a dedicated team of interpreters in place, Hands Up began to grow and gain traction. It was only the first year, and everyone was staying busy.
Hands Up Learns to Walk
Over the next few years, Hands Up began to build relationships with different businesses and organizations. In fact, one of its first big partnerships was with Eastern Iowa Health Center in Cedar Rapids. By 2012, Hands Up was making headway and the local Deaf Community was getting the communication access they deserved.
After 3 years, Hands Up Communications grew to be a well known and reliable resource for ASL interpreters. Not to mention, Sue and her team were passionate about what they were doing. In everyone’s minds, things could only get better.
As momentum grew, Hands Up expanded its services even more. In addition to serving the Deaf, Hard of Hearing, and Deaf-Blind Communities, they began to serve Limited English-Proficient (LEP) communities too.
In other words, Hands Up Communications would now provide foreign language interpreters upon request to local businesses and organizations to help them interact with people who spoke limited English.
After 6 years, with a growing team of Foreign Language interpreters, Hands Up Communications’ journey was moving in the right direction. Unfortunately, few businesses complete their journey without a few bumps and bruises.
A Few Bumps, Scrapes, and Bruises
In January 2016, Hands Up merged with a much larger organization. With a new strategy in place, Hands Up would combine and expand its services to create an even better resource for the community. Not to mention, with the addition of Video Remote Interpreting, the Hands Up team would be able to extend communication access across the world. To everyone’s shock, this would prove to be the most difficult chapter in the Hands Up Communications journey.
To everyone’s surprise, the new partnership was looking less successful than Sue and her team anticipated. After two years, it became clear this other larger corporation primarily valued profit, productivity, and growth. In the meantime, they were also losing sight of their people and the community. By February 2018, the corporate partnership was failing, and the entire team was soon to be let go.
In that dark time, everyone saw what was coming. In an attempt to rebuild what was left of Hands Up, Sue and her team approached the corporate board and insisted on taking back their interpreters. With corporate board approval, on February 7th, 2018 the partnership ended. Even worse, everyone was officially let go. Hands Up would once again continue its journey on its own.
A Healing Vision for the Hands Up Team
What felt like the end’s beginning was later seen as a beautiful opportunity. The day after ending the partnership, roughly 30 interpreters and office staff walked back in together to reestablish Hands Up. With the support of a strong team and a few donations, in 2018, Hands Up Communications successfully rebooted. Of course, this portion of the journey also came with a few hiccups.
Despite the fear of starting over, and the lack of initial paychecks, the vision didn’t stop. A range of stressful barriers and tear-jerking obstacles filled the first year with uncertainty; funding being a primary concern. Nevertheless, the Hands Up team worked relentlessly to rebuild what was envisioned together. One victory at a time, they were making progress, yet again.
Hands Up’s Never-ending Journey
As the team grew bigger and stronger, so did the culture. In 2019, the Hands Up team had become a one-minded unit. Above all else, they were still determined to infuse a sense of inclusion and belonging into the communities they served.
Hitting just over 2 million in revenue, and scheduling roughly 15,000 interpreting assignments in 2019, Hands Up is stronger than ever before. What started as a small American Sign Language interpreting operation, has grown into a full-scale interpretation and translation company. Better yet, Hands Up has become a vital resource for the Cedar Rapids community, and to communities across the state of Iowa.
The Secret to Hands Up’s Success
In the end, Hands Up’s journey would not have been the same without its dedicated team. Having such a diverse group of individuals means each Hands Up team member has something unique to offer their company, and their community.
Hands Up team members make an effort because they choose to, not because they have too. It’s a diverse family that shares a cohesive vision; where trust, support, and flexibility are paramount to the success of its team.
Hands Up is proud to be where it is today. At the same time, it will never be satisfied with the service its team offers. Why? Because there’s still so much work that needs to be done. Language access and community service is truly a never-ending journey. With a familiar hello in every language, Hands Up Communications is happy to lead the way.