MINNEAPOLIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Yesterday, Starkey Hearing Foundation and Major League Baseball (MLB) hosted the 2014 MLB All-Star Hearing Mission. MLB legends and celebrities who were in town for the 85th MLB All-Star Game volunteered at the event, giving the gift of hearing to more than 80 people in need.
Paul Molitor, Dave Winfield, Jack Morris, Lou Brock, Eric Davis, Reggie Sanders, Scott Erickson, Lisa Guerrero and Mallory Weggemann volunteered at the event at Starkey Hearing Technologies’ headquarters, just hours before the All-Star Game. Patients, who were part of the Boys and Girls Club of the Twin Cities, Special Olympics and ASLBlend, received customized, state-of-the-art digital hearing devices courtesy of Starkey Hearing Foundation. The hearing mission was part of the most extensive community outreach efforts in the history of the MLB All-Star Game.
“When you experience someone hearing for the first time, it’s very emotional,” said Paul Molitor, Baseball Hall of Famer and coach for the Minnesota Twins. “Starkey is doing what they do best, and that’s changing people’s lives.”
Starkey Hearing Foundation uses hearing as a vehicle to improve the lives of individuals, families and communities around the world by helping them reach their full potential. The Foundation, which conducts hearing missions in the United States and around the globe, has given away more than a million hearing aids to people in need.
“We were honored to be part of the All-Star celebrations, and to have so many baseball legends join us for the event,” said Bill Austin, founder of Starkey Hearing Foundation. “We provide the gift of hearing all around the world, and giving back to our community is just as important and rewarding as the work we do internationally.”
This event comes just five days before Starkey Hearing Foundation’s annual So the World May Hear Gala, which will take place in St. Paul, Minn., on Sunday, July 20. Hall of Famers Paul Molitor and Dave Winfield will also attend the gala, along with other celebrities and VIPs, including former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton; Rob Thomas, Sammy Hagar, Jessica Sanchez and John Legend, who will perform at the gala; event emcee Norm Crosby; and other supporters of the Foundation, including Derrick Coleman, Greg Jennings, Brandon Marshall, NaVorro Bowman, Dikembe Mutombo, Shannon Elizabeth, Verne Troyer, Marlee Matlin and Patrick Warburton. This year’s honorees include Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Forest Whitaker, Sandi Young, Prince Seeiso, Bassam Aramin, Mazen Faraj, Abraham Elhanan and Ayelet Harel.
More information about the Foundation’s work can be found at Starkey Hearing Foundation’s website, or on their Facebook and Twitter pages. For additional information about the 2014 Starkey Hearing Foundation So the World May Hear Awards Gala, visit http://www.starkeyhearingfoundation.org/galas.
About Starkey Hearing Foundation
Starkey Hearing
Foundation uses hearing as a vehicle to reflect caring and change lives
around the world. Disabling hearing loss affects more than 360 million
people, including 32 million children, worldwide, yet many do not have
access to the hearing devices that can help them. Starkey Hearing
Foundation fits and gives more than 100,000 hearing aids annually, and
as a member of President Clinton’s Global Initiative, it has pledged to
fit one million hearing aids this decade. In addition to giving the gift
of hearing through worldwide hearing missions, Starkey Hearing
Foundation promotes hearing health awareness and education through the
Listen Carefully campaign and provides hearing instruments to low-income
Americans through the Hear Now program. For more information on Starkey
Hearing Foundation, visit www.starkeyhearingfoundation.org.
