Thursday, November 03, 2011

Walk4Hearing reaches pivotal fund raising goal

It took 10 months starting in January of this year the Walk4Hearing to finally reach their fund raising goal of $1.2 million dollars in record time. Money raised will be used toward resources for deaf and hard of hearing people. And why so quickly did it raise so much money in such a relatively short time? Simple. There was no politics mucking things up. No political correctness games. No secret agenda. No contacting employers because of disagreements or purely for hate against a person they don't like. No calling Child Protective Services. No practicing on exclusion.  No leading from behind. No leaving bad taste in people's mouths. No attacking other organizations. With HLAA, everybody is involved and we/they help each other out regardless of communication preferences.

Money raised is shared between the national organization (Hearing Loss Association of America) and local Walk sites.

Examples of how funds are used include:

National Programs
  • Advocating for the rights of people with hearing loss
  • Information, referral, education and coping resources through www.hearingloss.org, the Hearing Loss Magazine, the annual HLAA Convention, and the HLAA electronic newsletter
  • A nationwide network of 200 chapters providing personal support
  • 14 state organizations advocating for expanded state services
  • Support for parents of children with hearing loss at www.kidsandhearingloss.org
  • Outreach to veterans returning with hearing loss
  • Social networking site for young adults with hearing loss at www.hearinglossnation.org

Local Programs
  • Captioning and hearing assistive technology at chapter meetings to make them accessible
  • Scholarships for students with hearing loss towards college tuition
  • Funding for hearing aids and devices for people who cannot afford them
  • Installation of hearing assistive technology in public places
  • Captioning of live theater productions
  • Seminars on coping with hearing loss for families

Congratulations to Walk4Hearing on their successful fund raising effort. I'm sure money will be put to good use.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Awesome information...I surfed the website you posted. I don't see anything including "Hearing Loss or Deaf"? ASL not part of the tools? Just wondering...why limited to speech parts?

Mike said...

They do include sign language, just that the majority of people with hearing loss already have speech and some listening components. Go here for example and read - http://www.nashhhville.org/

Xpressive Handz said...

I went to my first HLAA meeting this month. They used CART (real time captioning) and when I came into the door, the president of our chapter asked if I would like her to Sign for me. Wonderful meeting, wonderful people! They meet every other month. I can't wait until the next meeting!

Mike said...

That's the same thing on other HLAAs I've been to. They are very accommodating.