Give Thanks and Then Give Back

By Pallavi Bharadwaj

Black Friday, the Friday after Thanksgiving, is the official kickoff to the holiday buying season. Cyber Monday has become synonymous with online-only shopping deals on the Monday after the Thanksgiving weekend.

Giving Tuesday is a movement to create a national day of giving during the holiday season that will inspire philanthropy and encourage bigger, better, and smarter charitable giving.

HHF is thrilled to participate in Giving Tuesday this year on November 29th. 

This Giving Tuesday, please join HHF and support groundbreaking research to cure hearing loss and tinnitus. You can donate directly, or fundraise for a cure.

If you’re looking for some ideas to contribute to HHF on Giving Tuesday:

• Post on Facebook and Twitter (and other social networks that you belong to) encouraging each of your friends to donate $1 to HHF. The average individual has 300 friends on Facebook which means that if each of your friends donates just $1 on Giving Tuesday, you can raise $300 in one day—it’s that easy!

• Contribute to an item on our Wish List and give our researchers the tools they need to conduct their studies.

• Host a potluck dinner party and invite your family and friends to join you by bringing a dish and making a donation to HHF.

• Hold a bake sale at your workplace or your child’s school and advertise that the proceeds will be donated to HHF.

• If you play a musical instrument, ask for donations for your music practice that day.

• Take some time to burn those excess Thanksgiving calories and go for a run, swim (indoors of course!), or bike ride fundraising for every mile accomplished.

• Make a donation to HHF in honor or in memory of someone close to you.

• You can make gifts of appreciated stocks too.
  
  Do you have other ideas to fundraise for a cure? Please share with us in the comments!

Give to HHF this #GivingTuesday

By Laura Friedman

#GivingTuesday is an international day of giving that kicks off the holiday giving season, is November 29th!

Hearing Health Foundation (HHF) wants to thank you for your support of our research programs, such as the Hearing Restoration Project (HRP) and Emerging Research Grants (ERG). Your support enhances the lives of millions of Americans. Thank you!

Here are some of our successes, dating back to our founding in 1958:

• HHF is the largest non-profit funder of hearing research in the U.S.

• HHF-funded research has led to the development of cochlear implants and treatments for otosclerosis (abnormal bone growth in the ear) and ear infections.

• n 1987, HHF-funded researchers discovered that chickens regenerate their inner ear hair cells after damage and mammals do not. This led to the development of the HRP in 2011.

• In the 1990s HHF advocated for Universal Newborn Hearing Screening legislation, to detect hearing loss at birth. Today, 97% of newborns are tested, up from 4% in 1994!  

The question of finding a cure for hearing loss is not if, but when. 

You can change the course of hearing and balance science and
helps us find better therapies and cures by giving today.

Here are some ways you can #HearTheHope this holiday season:

• Make a donation to HHF in honor or in memory of someone close to you. You can even make gifts of appreciated stocks or a planned gift!   

Post that you gave to HHF on social media, such as Facebook or Twitter, and encourage your friends to give as well.

• Post that you gave to HHF on social media, such as Facebook or Twitter, and encourage your friends to give as well.

  • The average person has 300 friends on Facebook which means that if each of your friends donates just $1 on Giving Tuesday, you can raise $300 in one day—it’s that easy!

• Let your talents and interests lead you to your own fundraiser for HHF through our website! No event is too large or small. Here are some ideas for inspiration:

  • Host a potluck and ask your guest bring a dish and make a charitable contribution to HHF.

  • Organize a bake sale or golf outing with the proceeds will be donated to HHF.

  • Burn excess Thanksgiving calories and go for a run, swim (indoors of course!), or bike ride, fundraising for every mile accomplished.

Have other ideas or questions for us? E-mail us at Development@hhf.org.

Support HHF This Mother's Day

By Heather Friedman

Laura (second from left) with her sister in-law Liza, her maternal Grandmother and Aunt, with Heather on the far right.

For three and a half years my daughter, Laura, attempted to hear and to be understood. As her mother, I struggled to make sense of her difficulties—which I knew in my heart did not stem from developmental or attention deficit disorders.

Prior to her diagnoses at three and a half, Laura had a very difficult time communicating. I took her to specialists and started her on speech therapy, with little result. When Laura was finally diagnosed and fitted with hearing aids, things began to fall into place.

When Laura finally received the correct diagnosis—hearing loss—I was relieved. Parents and children should not have to wait over three years to have this condition detected, struggling all the while with delays hampering social and emotional growth. Parents should not have to go through the pain of knowing something is holding their baby back, when it could be so easily detected.

In 1993, four years after Laura was born, Hearing Health Foundation’s steadfast advocacy work led to the passing of Universal Newborn Hearing Screening Legislation. As a result—today, 97% of American babies are tested for hearing loss at birth. This means newborns with hearing loss can immediately get the help they need through technology such as hearing aids and cochlear implants, as well as speech and language therapy. This means an easier life, from birth, for children with hearing loss.

Today, I am proud to say that Laura is a happy and successful adult. In fact, she is such a staunch champion for people with hearing loss that when a job became available at Hearing Health Foundation, she jumped at the chance to work there! As Hearing Health Foundation’s Communications and Programs Manager, Laura works hard to advocate for those with hearing loss, to prevent hearing loss, and most importantly to raise funds to research for a cure.

It is my hope that she can one day benefit from her tireless efforts. Your support can make my dream for her, and other people living with hearing loss, a reality. A gift to this amazing organization is a gift to all people with hearing loss, as well as to their families!

This Mother's Day, Hearing Health Foundation would like to shine a light on all Mothers for all they do for their children and families.

Please consider giving a gift in Honor or in Memory of a wonderful Mother you know. Your gift will be used to fund groundbreaking research to prevent and cure Hearing Loss and Tinnitus and to promote hearing health.

#HearTheHope This Holiday Season

By Laura Friedman

#GivingTuesday 2015, an international day of giving that kicks off the holiday giving season, is just around the corner on December 1st.

Hearing Health Foundation (HHF) wants to thank you for your continued support of our mission and programs, such as the Hearing Restoration Project (HRP) and Emerging Research Grants (ERG). Your support matters and has, and will continue to, enhance the lives of millions of Americans. Here are some of our successes, dating back to our founding in 1958:

• HHF is the largest private funder of hearing research in the U.S.

• HHF funded research has led to:

  • The development of cochlear implants

  • Treatments for otosclerosis (abnormal bone growth in the ear) and ear infections.

• In 1985, scientists funded through the ERG program discovered that chickens regenerate their inner ear hair cells after damage and mammals do not. This study led to the development of the HRP in 2011.

• In the 1990s HHF advocated for Universal Newborn Hearing Screening legislation, to detect hearing loss at birth.

  • Today, 97% of newborns are tested (up from 4% in 1994).

The work doesn't stop there. Your support will continue to impact the course of hearing and balance science and help us find a cure for the 50 million Americans living with hearing loss and tinnitus. The question of finding a cure for hearing loss is not if, but when. Making a financial commitment to HHF is an investment in our future. But we need YOUR help. Here are some ways you can #HearTheHope this holiday season:

• Make a donation to HHF in honor or in memory of someone close to you.

• Post on social media, such as Facebook or Twitter, encouraging your friends to donate to HHF.

  • The average person has 300 friends on Facebook which means that if each of your friends donates just $1 on Giving Tuesday, you can raise $300 in one day—it’s that easy!

• Contribute to an item on our Wish List and give our researchers the tools they need.

• You can make gifts of appreciated stocks or a planned gift!

• Let your talents and interests lead you to your own fundraiser for HHF through our website! No event is too large or small. Here are some ideas for inspiration:

  • Host a potluck and invite your guest to join you by bringing a dish and making a donation to HHF.

  • Hold a bake sale or golf outing and advertise that the proceeds will be donated to HHF.

  • Burn excess Thanksgiving calories and go for a run, swim (indoors of course!), or bike ride, fundraising for every mile accomplished.

Have other ideas or questions for us? E-mail us at Development@hhf.org.

Any donation you send before December 31st will be instantly doubled thanks to a generous matching gift from one of our supporters with hearing loss — and you will make twice the IMPACT!

Running with only one goal

By Claire Schultz

I am running this race with one goal in mind:  To raise as much money as possible and accelerate the pace of Hearing Health Foundation's research that will lead to a cure for hearing loss and tinnitus (loud ringing in the ears) in our lifetime.

I decided to take on this enormous challenge of mental and physical endurance with just five weeks to go until the race. A bit daunting, yes. But it is for a good reason.  When I joined Hearing Health Foundation (HHF) back in April,  people were signing up to run on the HHF team to raise money for our mission.  I was told we had one spot remaining and could not fathom that HHF might not take full advantage of this opportunity to raise money to fund our research consortium of leading scientists who are working collaboratively toward a cure.   So, I made the commitment.  I will run the 26.2 miles throughout NYC, and I will cross that finish line with a smile and, hopefully, with your support!   

I am doing this for the people who I know personally who live every day with the challenges of hearing loss.  I he learned from them just how hard it is to live life in a world of silence.  There are 50 million women, men, teens, and children in the U.S. who live each day without their hearing. Noise Induced Hearing Loss (NIHL) and tinnitus are the top two service-connected disabilities among US troops.

You can support me and my goal to raise money for the Hearing Health Foundation. With your help we will make great strides toward a cure for all those people living with hearing loss and tinnitus.

Please go here to donate and those of you who live in and around NYC, come out on November 2nd and cheer me on. 

HHF's National Junior Board Raises Over $60,000 at 2nd Annual A Summer Soiree Event

By Tara Guastella

HHF Board Chair Shari Eberts presents Partner for Hearing Health award to Regal's Chris Chromey-Marquis

This past Monday night, HHF’s National Junior Board hosted its second annual “A Summer Soiree” event to benefit a cure for hearing loss and tinnitus. Held at the restaurant Ainsworth Park in New York City, nearly 200 attendees enjoyed cocktails, hors d’oeuvres, a silent auction, raffles, and a fun photo booth. The event raised more than $60,000, a portion of which will be allocated to naming an Emerging Research Grant.

Regal Entertainment Group was presented with the annual Partner for Hearing Health Award for its commitment to people living with hearing impairment. Regal is dedicated to providing solutions for hearing impaired movie-goers and showcased a pair of newly released closed captioning glasses at the event.

HHF CEO Claire Schultz provided remarks at the event and shared her enthusiastic support of the Junior Board members. “It was so encouraging to see such a fantastic turnout at the Soiree and the interest in our work to cure hearing loss and tinnitus,” says Schultz. “I am thrilled to continue working with the Junior Board to further our mission.”

ACS Customs, a provider of custom-fit hearing protection and in-ear monitors for musicians, was also present and provided custom earmolds for attendees.

National Junior Board President Michael Kolodny also spoke before the crowd. “Hearing research is very important to my family since my daughter was born with bilateral hearing loss and currently wears cochlear implants,” he says. “I am so encouraged by the groundbreaking research that HHF funds and I am excited to support the cause of preventing and curing hearing loss and tinnitus.”

HHF appreciates the support from Regal as well as additional event sponsors UBS, Advanced Bionics, Legendary Pictures, Macquarie Capital, ACS, Blue Moon, and DASHA Wellness.

View more event photos on our Facebook page.

Make Your Summer Fun for a Good Cause: Fundraise to Cure Hearing Loss & Tinnitus

By Tara Guastella

Temperatures are heating up, beaches are now open, the smell of grilling is in the air, and schools will soon be out for summer vacation. This is one of my favorite times of year.

If you have plans for a get together this summer, did you know you can turn your summer fun into a good cause? Well, you can! Whether you’re holding a pool party, car wash, barbecue, or any other type of event, you can turn your occasion into a fundraiser for Hearing Health Foundation (HHF) to support a cure hearing loss and tinnitus.

You can create your fundraiser through our online fundraising website that was specifically designed with you in mind. Once you register, you’ll be able to personalize your giving page with a photo, story about why you are fundraising for HHF, and fundraising goal. You’ll then be able to email family, friends, colleagues, and members of your community directly through our website to encourage them to attend the event and support the cause. You can share your fundraising on social media like Facebook and Twitter to encourage your social network to get involved, too. Finally, track your fundraising progress with your own personal thermometer that will increase with each new donation you receive.

The team at HHF is here to help with your event. We can provide you with written materials (such as complimentary copies of Hearing Health magazine and brochures on a cure hearing loss and tinnitus), earplugs, gift bags, and bracelets. We are also happy to answer any questions you may have about hosting a fundraising event or about using our fundraising website. If you’ve never done anything like this before, don’t let that stop you! We are happy to be your partner in raising funds for a cure for hearing loss and tinnitus.

If you don’t have any events planned this summer, here are a few ideas for you to consider:

• Pool party

• Barbecue

• Clam bake

• Bake sale

• Car wash

• Beach volleyball tournament

• Golf tournament

• Baseball tournament

• Bike race

• Running race

• Obstacle course race (e.g., Spartan race, Warrior Dash, Tough Mudder)

• Birthday, anniversary, wedding, bar/bat mitzvah, Sweet 16 (you can ask for donations in lieu of gifts)

See more ideas and examples of past fundraising events and get started today!

Boston Marathon Bombing Inspires Family to Run to Cure Hearing Loss and Tinnitus

By Tara Guastella

Last April 15 was a life-changing day for the Campbell family—as it was for many who attended one of the greatest annual sporting events: the Boston Marathon. This year, the Campbell family is not only running their first ever Boston marathon but fundraising to cure for hearing loss and tinnitus. We wanted to share their story with you and hope you'll join us in supporting their marathon run.

Out of the 264 people injured on the day of the Boston Marathon bombing, the Massachusetts Office of Victim Assistance (MOVA) now estimates that at least 150 are experiencing hearing loss or tinnitus.

Jean Campbell is one those people, and this is her and her family’s story.

The days preceding the big race, a friend from Atlanta who was running the race stayed at the Campbell home in New Hampshire. Early the morning of April 15, Jean’s husband Christopher, his wife Jean, and their three sons Corey, Trevor, and Mitchell headed to Boston to watch the friend and several others run the race. (Corey has a mild hearing loss and Trevor moderate to profound hearing loss. Trevor wears hearing aids.) The family was split into two groups since the sons went to different schools and arrived at the race at different times. Jean and youngest son Mitchell were together and Christopher was with the two older sons, Corey and Trevor.

Chris, Jean, Trevor, Mitchell, and Corey Campbell

The two groups ended up on opposite sides of Hereford and Commonwealth Avenue while watching the race. After their friend Diane ran by, both groups started to head to the finish line on Boylston Street. Jean was busy taking photographs of other runners, and like any teenage son, Mitchell urged his mother to hurry up and the two began to bicker. Mitchell was eager to get to the finish line and starting to get impatient. “If we hadn’t been bickering, we would have been closer to the explosions,” says Jean, referring to the two homemade pressure-cooker bombs that exploded that day.

“That blast felt like a hurricane and immediately, it looked like a war zone,” she says. Jean has a sensorineural hearing loss in both ears, she instinctively leaned her “better ear”, the left one toward the first blast. “I knew immediately my hearing loss had worsened,” she says. As a result of the bombings, she also lost discrimination in both of her ears and her tinnitus worsened.

Jean and Mitchell ran for their lives clinging to one another. Jean immediately knew it was a bomb. “ I felt like we were in a movie,” Jean says. To get off the street, they ran into a Crate & Barrel store. “The very competent staff helped us escape through a back door,” she says. “They were incredibly kind and helpful. It was almost as if they were trained for it.” Jean adds that Mitchell remained very calm and collected throughout the day’s events, even after getting hit with a piece of shrapnel and his existing tinnitus growing much worse.

At the moment the blasts were occurring, Christopher and his two older sons happened to be taking a shortcut through the Sheraton Hotel to get to the finish line more quickly. “I couldn’t hear a thing,” Christopher says. “I didn’t even know the bombs had gone off.” Corey and Trevor were worried and frantic wondering where Jean and Micthell were. Since cell phone service was quickly overwhelmed following the explosions, the family could not contact one another. It wasn’t until 10pm that night—back in New Hampshire—that the family was reunited.

As soon as the blasts happened, Jean knew she had to see her audiologist at Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary as she could not hear out of her right ear. She says she had the fleeting thought of trying to go to the hospital in Boston, but at the time it was unclear whether the entire city was under attack. “I needed to find the rest of my family and get out of there,” she says. Jean has bilateral hearing aids and is in a support group for people injured in the Boston Marathon bombings.

One year later, the Campbell family is running the 2014 Boston Marathon in support of Jean and her recovery. They are fundraising to support Hearing Health Foundation and our search for a cure for hearing loss and tinnitus through the Hearing Restoration Project (HRP). The Campbell family has lived through a traumatic event but since there had been hearing loss in their family, they feel they were slightly better equipped to handle the confusion and depression that can come with sudden hearing loss. “We think educating people about what to expect, and how to cope, is important,” Christopher says.

The Campbells are very encouraged by the strides Hearing Health Foundation and our HRP consortium have made so far toward finding a cure for hearing loss and tinnitus, such as early success with regenerating sensitive inner ear hair cells in adult mice that, in all mammals, once damaged through noise or age lead to permanent hearing loss.

Please join us in supporting the Campbell family as they tackle their first marathon and give hope for a cure within a decade.

Support a Cure for Hearing Loss and Get Your Tax Deduction Before 2013 Ends!

By Tara Guastella

What’s a better way to take part in the season of giving than by making a tax deductible donation and showing your support for a cure for hearing loss and tinnitus? I can’t think of any!

This time of year, charities always see an influx in gifts with many donors waiting until the last minute to write their check or go online to donate. Last year, we broke records in the amount of charitable gifts that came in during the fourth quarter and this year we hope to do so yet again!  Will you help us break records by making a year end, tax deductible gift?

Why should you donate to HHF this year? Kille, a mother of three sons (two have hearing loss), recently shared: "When I stumbled upon HHF's free magazine, Hearing Health, I said to myself 'Thank goodness there is an organization out there working on offering a cure for hearing loss for those who want it. And I want to be part of making that a reality.'"

We hope you will join Kille. There are many ways you can support HHF and a cure for hearing loss and tinnitus this giving season:

• Make an online donation (before December 31).

• Mail in a donation (remember it must be postmarked and the check date must be no later than Dec. 31); see our mailing address in the footer below.

• Contribute to an item on our Wish List and give our researchers the tools they need to conduct their studies.

• Create a giving page or fundraising event where you can raise funds from family and friends.

• Make a donation in honor of or in memory of someone special to you.

• Give a gift of appreciated stock from an IRA or a gift of life insurance.

Which way will you show your support? Share in the comments!

#GivingTuesday Shines in Its Second Year

By Tara Guastella

Yesterday was Giving Tuesday, the official kickoff to the holiday giving season.  After Black Friday, Small Business Saturday, and Cyber Monday, I am glad to finally see a day in honor of charitable giving!

In its second year, Giving Tuesday seemed much larger and more diverse than last year with a wide range of charities devising unique ways to raise funds. According to one report, donations nearly doubled compared with last year.

I have been looking forward to Giving Tuesday since July. Yet over the past week or so, I began to worry as I started to receive countless emails and updates in my Facebook and Twitter feeds about Giving Tuesday from every charity I have ever heard of. I wondered if HHF would get drowned out by larger, more well-known charities like American Cancer Society or The Boys and Girls Club.  

People always tell me that I worry too much. And, in this case, they were right. I am proud to report that yesterday HHF received the largest amount of individual donations in one day ever (with the exception of December 31)! Since this was HHF’s first year as an official partner of Giving Tuesday, we are thrilled at the support our community has shown in support of a cure for hearing loss and tinnitus.  

HHF’s National Junior Board celebrated Giving Tuesday by hosting the second annual “Hear, Hear for Holiday Cheer” benefit at Connolly’s Pub in NYC last night. Over 100 attendees enjoyed free beer and wine, fun conversation, and great raffle prizes. Raffle items included a DASHA wellness package, tickets to a New York Giants football game, a photography session with a top NYC photographer, and multiple trip packages to Antigua, Barbados, Panama, and much more.

Now that Giving Tuesday is over, I can look forward to making next year even better and more successful for HHF!