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April 16, 2006
Hearing loss association walks for solidarity
One long walk for the Hearing Loss Association of America, one giant trek forward for scores of hard-of-hearing Peninsula residents. For HLAA's Redwood City-based Peninsula chapter, next month's 5K Walk 4 Hearing in San Francisco — one of six participating cities — presents a new opportunity to raise funds and awareness for people silently struggling with one of the largest disabilities in the country.
"Most hard-of-hearing people just get depressed, they don't participate in their family, they don't participate in life, they get a lot of other things wrong with them," said chapter co-president Raegene Castle, who lost most of her hearing after a severe case of meningitis six years ago. "I feel like that's why I was allowed to live, to help other hard-of-hearing people."
Half the proceeds will go to the national organization, the rest to local chapters. For the Peninsula, Castle hopes to use the money for scholarships for high school students, more publicity for meetings and to send members to national conventions to learn about new hearing aid devices.
The group already holds monthly information sessions at the Redwood City Library's community room, which was "looped" — wired for device-assisted sound — by a Library Foundation grant last year. At 10:30 a.m. the first Wednesday of every month, HLAA members demonstrate 25 devices — purchased with $4,000 from the Danford Foundation — to grateful walk-ins.
The devices include amplifiers for telephones and televisions, flashing lights fordoorbells and smoke detectors, vibrating alarm clocks and a variety of ear pieces and microphones. On April 5, Redwood City resident Bob Blackburn and Atherton resident Bob Procter honed in on one popular device: the Pocket Talker, which uses a small microphone to project a conversation directly to the user's ear.
"I spent a lot of money buying hearing aids and I wasn't happy with them. It can get pretty frustrating," Blackburn said, exploring the catalogues and "toys" around the room.
For more information
Walk 4 Hearing begins 9 a.m. May 6 at Crissy Field, part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area in San Francisco. Corporate sponsorship rewards range from a kilometer marker along the route for $100 to a featured spot on participant
T-shirts and route banners for $5,000.
Peninsula HLAA has already signed up more than 250 participants and raised $25,000, including large donations from the Danford Foundation and Noroian Capital Management, Castle said.
For more information, call Castle at (650) 369-4717, e-mail raegeneandjack@aol.com or visit http://www.hearinglossca.org/html/chapters/peninsula.htm.
By Nicole Neroulias
http://www.insidebayarea.com/sanmateocountytimes/localnews/ci_3717053
Posted by 4HL on April 16, 2006 5:51 AM
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