What Marlee said about Starkey

I agree. And I support what she's doing. Check out the screen capture on what she said in Twitter just recently.

How true!

NFL stars hand out Starkey hearing aids in Rwanda

Truly impressive charity work in Africa with various pro football players from different teams came together on a single mission, to help distribute and outfit hearing aids to those who cannot afford them.

A group of National Football League stars has spent the past week travelling through Rwanda and Uganda fitting free hearing aids on people too poor to afford them.

Notable NFL stars on the trip included: Tennessee Titans' Derrick Morgan, Tampa Bay Bucs' Gerald McCoy, Cincinnati Bengals' Roy Williams, former Chicago Bears' Tommie Harris, San Francisco 49ers' Vernon Davis, Miami Dolphins' Vontae Davis and Minnesota Vikings' Bryant McKinnie and Adrian Peterson.

They travelled through remote areas of Rwanda as well as the capital Kigali as part of an effort to distribute more than 22,000 hearing aids to needy people in Africa.

The initiative was organised by the Eden Prairie, Minnesota-based Starkey Hearing Foundation and Pros for Africa, a non-profit organisation based in Okhlahoma City.

And these are truly remote whose families are extremely poor. Even the poorest of towns in the U.S. in Africa would Africans regard them as one of the richest towns in Africa. These are the rays of hope that these guys can give with the help of the Starkey Hearing Foundation.

One single switch of a hearing aid inspires hundreds. Multiply that by 22,000 hearing aids and you have one heck of an inspiration impacting millions of people. Each year Starkey Hearing Foundation give away over 100,000 hearing aids.

Priceless.

No wonder Marlee Matlin supports the Starkey Hearing Foundation.

ICED....over.

As many may not realize that I'm happy with what ICED had to say because they made an important step about the acceptance and respect on language and communication. It didn't call for any kind of restriction and that's good. Very good. Even President Hurwitz was keen on this announcement that he shared the key thing that everybody should agree to. Pres. Hurtwitz re-iterated the key point on what ICED issued a global call to "accept and respect all languages and all forms of communication" in the education of deaf and hard of hearing people.

There were no restrictions or specificity against the use of cued speech, oral-auditory, SEE, PSE, AVT, note takers, CART, captioning, texting, voice to text, use of hearing aids and cochlear implants to help communicate and listen, and so on. Nor did it specify or condemn for using one form of communication method over another. Or whether two or more communication methods can be used or that a single preferred communication can be used.

ICED made sure that the message is to accept and respect all forms of communication be loud and clear. Nothing was said about which ones MUST be used but rather they all MUST be accepted and respected. No specific favoritism from this announcement. All forms of communication need to be accepted and respected.

Very nice.

I can live with that one.

Check out this poll about the $1 million dollars donation to Starkey Hearing Foundation on whether people approve or not the donation for free hearing aids to deserving kids from around the world, I'm sure Marlee Matlin approves.

Hmmm?

A Poll: Approve Marlee Matlin donating $1 million dollars to Starkey Hearing Foundation?

On the Celebrity Apprentice show last night Marlee Matlin was able to raise an astounding $1 million dollars and donated it to her favorite charity, the Starkey Hearing Foundation where thousands of free hearing aids will be donated to deserving kids around the world because of her generosity. For more information and captioned video go here.

Captioned Videos of Underprivledged People Receiving their Starkey Hearing Aids

Here's a captioned video of Starkey Hearing Foundation's trip to the Dominican Republican in 2009 where 2,200 hearing aids were distributed under the "So the World Can Hear" mission. In this video there are a few kids who signed "thank you" as well as adults who gave out tearful hugs of thanks after receiving their free Starkey hearing aids. Music and song in background, captioning begins about a quarter of a way into the video.

You can find more videos of these Starkey Hearing Foundation's "So the World Can Hear" missions to Tampa (2009). Phoenix 2009 (16 MB),Peru (2009), Nepal (2008), Mozambique (2008), Malawi (2008), Egypt (2008), Puerto Rico (2008) and the NBA All Star Week (2008). The captioned video of Peru is nice with a crowd of Starkey heairng aid recipents all signing "We...love...you!" And you'll see a few signs of "Thank you" and such. In Lima, Peru, over 3000 hearing aids were distributed.

Here's a captioned video on YouTube of a recent trip to Toluca, Mexico earlier this month. you can see the thanks in their eyes, their words and gestures.

So the world may hear...

Here are two organizations that provide hearing aids to the needy and poor around the world including children.

One is called "So the World May Hear" organization by the Starkey Hearing Foundation. Well known celebrities like Heather Whitestone and Lou Ferrigno support this mission. Plus many, many more well known celebrities that have attended the annual "So the World May Hear" award gala with the recent gala on July 12, 2009.

Elton John, Billy Crystal, Tony Bennett and Gladys Knight Headline at Ninth Annual So the World May Hear Awards Gala.

What an incredible line-up of stars, and what a magnificent evening of entertainment, celebration and generosity. The kind of generosity that is simply unprecedented. The kind of generosity that is born of passion and commitment. “The kind of generosity that will allow us to open the world as we know it—a world of music, laughter, language, and love—to kids all over the world by giving them the gift of hearing,” said William F. Austin, founder of Starkey Hearing Foundation. “I extend my heartfelt gratitude to everyone who made our 2009 Gala a success.”

The evening featured the comedy of Billy Crystal as well as performances by Gladys Knight, Tony Bennett and Ethan Bortnick. After saluting Bill and Tani Austin as two of the most important people in his life, Elton John capped off the evening with a touching and memorable one-hour performance that included such hits as “Rocket Man,” “Your Song,” “Daniel,” and “Circle of Life.” The inspirational evening would not have been complete without the recognition of four individuals and one corporation for their significant contributions to humanity. This year’s award recipients included comedian Norm Crosby, the 1961 New York Yankees, Minnesota philanthropists and business leaders Marilyn and Dr. Glen Nelson, and Rayovac, a long-time supporter of Starkey Hearing Foundation.

Additional celebrity guests who attended this year’s Gala included performers JC Chasez and Sam Moore; actors Lou Ferrigno, Verne Troyer and Robert Culp; TV personalities Alan Kalter and Paige Hemmis; astronaut Buzz Aldrin; golf legend Arnold Palmer; 1961 Yankees teammates Moose Skowron, Whitey Ford, Ralph Terry, and Bob Turley as well as Mickey Mantle’s son David Mantle; Southern Methodist University head football coach June Jones; songwriter Paul Williams; comedian Norm Crosby; and many others. In addition, Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty, Minnesota Vikings head coach Brad Childress, Minnesota Vikings trainer Eric Sugarman, University of Minnesota head basketball coach Tubby Smith, Marilyn and Dr. Glen Nelson, and several Minnesota Vikings players.

The other organization that benefits directly the children around the world is called "Hearing Angel." So far to date they have outfitted over 340,000 hearing aids to children around the world and saw miles of smiles as a result. One girl even expressed her gratitude to be able to hear sound again to the people who gave and outfitted her new hearing aid.

Please visit these two sites and learn what you can do for those who can use the joy of sound in their lives. The man, William Austin, who started the Starkey Hearing Foundation, read his story on how it all started.