The Hearing Foundation

The Hearing Foundation provides hearing aids, batteries, research and training to improve the lives of low-income hearing-impaired children and adults in the USA and throughout the world.

Why do we exist?

In 1973, the Starkey Hearing Foundation (www.sotheworldmayhear.org ) started with simple goal – “Alone we can’t do much, but together we can change the world.”  Today, the Foundation is sustained by efforts of volunteers and donors whose generosity is responsible for the donation of more than 20,000 hearing aids annually around the world.  Children who have never before heard will be able to hear their mother’s voice for the first time.

Hearing loss affects 1 in 10 people in the United States – approximately 31.5 million Americans.  With hearing impairment affecting 1 in 12 thirty-year-olds and 1 in 8 fifty-year-olds, there is still much work to be done.  The Starkey Hearing Foundation has made a monumental impact on the lives of so many, and with continued support, will continue to do so.

What have you accomplished?

While there is still much work to be done, the Starkey Hearing Foundation has brought the gift of hearing to less fortunate children and adults around the world, thanks to the help of our many volunteers and donors.  It is truly awesome to help a man keep his job so he can support his family; to help a grandmother hear the precious voice of a grandchild; to assist a young mother hear her baby cry; and to help make learning possible for a child in school.

The evidence is not only measurable by statistics.  It is in the smiles of thousands of children.  It is in the sparkle in the eyes of the boy who, by wearing his ear “helpers,” no longer considers himself disabled.  It is in a mother’s joyous tears as her daughter hears her voice for the first time.  Or the confidence of a young woman, her handicap left far behind, as she is crowned Miss America.  Countless numbers of people, young and old across the planet are positively affected by better hearing thanks to the Starkey Hearing Foundation.

	How do you help people in my community?		Why do you need my support?
	How can I be sure that you will use my money wisely and won't waste it?		Can I Volunteer? How?