Rayovac Honors Better Hearing & Speech Month

MADISON, Wis.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--In honor of Better Hearing & Speech Month in May, Rayovac®, a worldwide leader in battery power and innovation, reaffirmed today its continuing partnership with the Starkey Hearing Foundation (SHF) to provide the gift of hearing around the world, a cooperative effort based on the belief that quality hearing healthcare is a right all people, including children, should have.

“Our relationship with the Starkey Hearing Foundation is truly a special one for us at Rayovac. Bill Austin, founder of the Starkey Hearing Foundation, is a galvanizing force and the Foundation's mission, So the World May Hear, could not be more compelling”

For more than a decade, Rayovac, a division of Spectrum Brands Holdings, Inc., has worked closely with SHF in a mutual mission and commitment to help with hearing loss internationally through the donation of hearing aid batteries to assist hundreds of thousands of those in need each year.

"Our relationship with the Starkey Hearing Foundation is truly a special one for us at Rayovac. Bill Austin, founder of the Starkey Hearing Foundation, is a galvanizing force and the Foundation's mission, So the World May Hear, could not be more compelling,” said Randy Raymond, Vice President, Global Sales & Marketing, Hearing Aid Batteries for Rayovac.

“I've had the privilege of working with Bill, Tani and their exceptional team in some of the poorest parts of the world to help give the gift of hearing, and hope, to people who live under some of the most desperate conditions imaginable,” Raymond said. “Bill and his team do this, motivated only by the love of their fellow man and Bill's complete conviction that you can change the world, one person at a time. Having personally seen the smiles and the tears of joy when a child hears for the first time, I know he's right."

In support of SHF, Rayovac is a major sponsor and active attendee of the organization’s “So the World May Hear®” awards gala on July 24 in St. Paul, MN. Generous proceeds from the annual ceremony, which spotlights humanitarians and celebrates the spirit of giving, support SHF’s worldwide hearing mission trips.

As a global leader in engineering high-quality hearing aid batteries, Rayovac has donated millions of batteries each year and has been an official sponsor of the Foundation’s worldwide hearing missions. Rayovac employees have given generous service by participating in numerous missions trips throughout the years, including Tanzania, the Dominican Republic, Guatemala, Mexico and South Africa. On these missions, thousands of hearing aids are fit on individuals in select communities.

Please visit Rayovac’s Hearing Aid Batteries page on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/RayovacHearing, click to donate, and Rayovac will give a pack of hearing aid batteries to the Starkey Hearing Foundation.

"Rayovac is proud to help sponsor the remarkable work of Bill and Tani Austin and the wonderful, caring team at the Starkey Hearing Foundation,” Raymond said. “The hearing aid batteries and support we provide, however, are just a small fraction of what they need to carry out their important work. We encourage other companies and individuals to support their efforts – So the World May Hear.”

About Spectrum Brands Holdings, Inc.

Spectrum Brands Holdings, Inc., a member of the Russell 2000 Index, is a diversified, global consumer products company and a leading supplier of batteries, shaving and grooming products, personal care products, small household appliances, specialty pet supplies, lawn & garden and home pest control products, personal insect repellents and portable lighting. Helping to meet the needs of consumers worldwide, the Company offers a broad portfolio of market-leading and widely trusted brands including Rayovac®, Remington®, Varta®, George Foreman®, Black & Decker®, Toastmaster®, Tetra®, Marineland®, Nature’s Miracle®, Dingo®, 8-in-1®, Littermaid®, Spectracide®, Cutter®, Repel®, and Hot Shot®. Spectrum Brands Holdings' products are sold by the world's top 25 retailers and are available in more than one million stores in more than 120 countries around the world. Spectrum Brands Holdings generated net sales of $3.1 billion from continuing operations in fiscal 2010. For more information, visit www.spectrumbrands.com.

About Rayovac

Rayovac is a worldwide leader in battery power and innovation. Backed by a long history of bringing the latest innovations to the marketplace, Rayovac offers a full range of high-performance batteries to meet the power needs of today’s consumers. From long-lasting alkaline batteries to advanced green rechargeable technology to the world’s top-selling, longest-lasting mercury free hearing aid battery, Rayovac’s state-of-the-art products offer more power for the money. The company also manufactures a wide selection of high-quality flashlights. For more information, visit www.rayovac.com.

About The Starkey Hearing Foundation

The Starkey Hearing Foundation is striving to change the social consciousness of hearing and hearing loss prevention. Hearing loss affects one in 10 Americans, and 63 million children worldwide, yet many do not have access to the hearing devices that can help correct that disability. 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 498,000 hearing aids to people in need and is striving to achieve its goal of distributing over one million free hearing aids in this decade. For more information on the Starkey Hearing Foundation, visit www.starkeyhearingfoundation.org.