Dallas Hearing Foundation Announces Sounds of the Season Gala

For Immediate Release       

March 16 2009                  

Kristen Dickson, CSEP

kristen@kristendicksonpr.com

214 991 4009

Dallas Hearing Foundation Announces First Formal Fundraising Gala to Give the Gift of Sound

After 8 Years of Successful Casual Fundraising Events, Local Non-Profit Launches December Gala, “Sounds Of The Season”

Dallas, Texas – The Dallas Hearing Foundation (DHF) announced this week that they will host a gala on Saturday December 19 at Union Station in downtown Dallas to raise funds towards the gifts of hearing and speech for deaf children and adults.

            The Dallas Hearing Foundation is a not-for-profit foundation dedicated to providing a hearing/speaking life and quality education available to many deaf children and adults through medical and surgical treatment, hearing technologies, speech and hearing rehabilitation, and educational support for hearing-impaired patients in financial need.  DHF uses revolutionary technologies such as digital hearing aids, cochlear implants, and auditory-verbal therapy.

The Fundraising Committee has held a successful fundraising event every year since 2001 and has provided over $1 million in services to improve the lives of individuals with hearing loss. This is the first year that the DHF Fundraising Committee has decided to launch a formal gala event. They have developed 12 sponsor levels named after the 12 nights of the holiday season; the title sponsor level, Drummers Drumming, is $40,000, which provides a hearing impaired beneficiary one cochlear implant surgery, including all exams, surgery, rehabilitation and therapy.

            “Sounds of the Season is an event we are very proud of,” said Dr. B Robert Peters, president of the Dallas Hearing Foundation. “It is an event that DHF has needed and toward which we have been working for several years. Even during these trying economic times, we feel it is time to make the push towards a top-notch, high class event.”

DHF will use funds raised from Sounds of the Season to provide financial aid to patients seeking cochlear implants through the Dallas Otolaryngology Cochlear Implant Program.  A cochlear implant is a prosthetic replacement for the inner ear that bypasses damaged parts of the ear and electronically stimulates auditory nerve fibers to produce a sense of hearing. The cochlear implant includes two parts: an internal bundle of wires surgically implanted into the cochlea through the skull behind the ear, and an external part consisting of a microphone, connecting cables, and a speech processor that converts sound into electrical impulses.

            “Unlike other causes,” Dr. Peters continued, “donations to the Dallas Hearing Foundation will provide tangible, concrete surgeries and services. One donation of $40,000 pays for a cochlear implant surgery and all rehabilitation for a child; that donor will truly give the gift of sound.

For a child with hearing loss, this donation also provides funding for therapy and the education support services necessary to mainstream patients into public school systems, which saves the public school system up to $200,000 per child in special education costs.   Rather than receiving disability throughout adulthood, deaf individuals who are orally educated and auditorally competent are more likely to achieve gainful employment and independence.  DHF individualizes each child and adult’s treatment to provide the extraordinary attention needed to optimize each deaf person’s potential to hear, speak and receive a quality education. 

To raise awareness about the gala, DHF is hosting two Preview Parties to invite potential sponsors and guests to learn more about the Dallas Hearing Foundation and its mission. The first preview party will be held May 19 2009 from 6:30-8:30pm at the Hickory Street Annex and the second preview party will be held in September at Marc Events, date TBD.

The Dallas Hearing Foundation is a 501 (c) (3) not-for-profit charitable foundation that provides cochlear implants, hearing aids, auditory-verbal therapy, and educational support services based on financial need. They are dedicated to providing a hearing/speaking life and quality education available to many deaf children and adults. DHF uses revolutionary technologies such as digital hearing aids, cochlear implants, and auditory-verbal therapy.

 

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For more information about DHF, the Sounds of the Season Gala, or to schedule an interview with DHF President B. Robert Peters, MD, DHF Gala Liaison Melissa Benton, or Sounds of the Season event producer Meredith Commender, please contact Kristen Dickson at Kristen@kristendicksonpr.com or 214 991 4009. Please also visit www.dallashearingfoundation.org,  www.dallascochlear.com, www.soundsoftheseason.org, or www.soundsoftheseasongala.blogspot.com. A list of human-interest story leads is also available, including current and past patients.