The Starkey Hearing Foundation Gifts Free Hearing to Children at Yankee Stadium

NEW YORK, Sept. 27 /PRNewswire/ -- At Yankee Stadium yesterday, the Starkey Hearing Foundation delivered nearly 300 free state-of-the-art, hearing aids to underserved, hearing-impaired children throughout New York City.

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The mission, sponsored by FedEx, included Justin Osmond (the Osmond family), as the event emcee, along with special celebrity volunteers to assist with the fittings.  These included: Buddy Valastro, TLC's Cake Boss; Whitey Ford, Yankees Hall of Fame Pitcher; Gabe Saporta, lead singer Cobra Starship; Dominic Chianese, actor, The Sopranos; Sam Moore, Rock and Roll Hall of Famer and the original "Soul Man"; Alan Kalter, CBS Late Show; Yul Vazquez, actor, War of the Worlds; Heather Whitestone McCallum, former Miss America and first deaf Miss America; Gina Cirili, Miss Pennsylvania; and Elena LaQuatra, Miss Pennsylvania Teen.

During the mission, hearing aid recipients were joined by their parents and families as they enjoyed their new-found ability to hear after being fitted for the custom-made devices the Starkey Hearing Foundation created especially for each child.  A team of Starkey and local audiologists and experts were on hand, to ensure the devices properly fit each child, were adjusted for comfort and the appropriate level of hearing, and to show each recipient how to properly maintain and care for their hearing aid.

Founded by Bill Austin, the Starkey Hearing Foundation, "So the World May Hear," is the global leader in hearing health care and is striving to change the social consciousness of hearing.  Each year, the Foundation delivers more than 100,000 hearing aids through hearing missions in countries stretching from the U.S. to Vietnam.  Since 2000, the Foundation has supplied nearly 500,000 hearing aids to people in need and is striving to achieve its goal to distribute more than one million free hearing aids in this decade.

"These children have so much talent and ability, by giving them the gift of hearing, we can help them maximize those abilities and have a productive life," said Bill Austin, CEO and Founder of the Starkey Hearing Foundation. "They are our future and we want to make sure it's a good one."

Last week, as a guest of former U.S. president Bill Clinton, Starkey founder and CEO Bill Austin recently attended the Clinton Global Initiative held in New York City, the summit brought together key foundation leaders focused on Global Humanitarianism. Additionally, Austin recently received the Azteca Eagle Award from the President of Mexico in honor of the great humanitarian efforts of the Starkey Hearing Foundation.  This is the highest honor paid to a non-citizen.  President Dwight D. Eisenhower, Senator Ted Kennedy and Bill and Melinda Gates are the only other U.S. citizens to have received this prestigious award.

SOURCE The Starkey Hearing Foundation