Generous Gift to Support Children’s Hearing Care Across Oklahoma
OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. (April 3, 2024) Masonic Charity Foundation of Oklahoma recently awarded Hearts for Hearing a generous grant of $250,000 to support its pediatric hearing health care services across the state. Hearts for Hearing provides the first set of hearing technology and listening and spoken language services to children born deaf or hard of hearing in Oklahoma.
“This generous gift is a testament to the Masonic Charity Foundation’s long-standing commitment to the health and well-being of the children of Oklahoma,” says Hearts for Hearing founder Joanna T. Smith, who adds, “What seemed almost impossible 20 years ago is now achievable and happens almost daily in our clinics.” Smith continues, “Through our own research and the work of our clinical teams, we know the earlier a child is diagnosed with hearing loss, fit with technology, and participating in speech-language therapy; the better their chances to enter school listening and talking on par with their typical hearing peers.”
John Logan, Executive Director of the Masonic Charity Foundation of Oklahoma added, “Public wellness and education have long been focal points of our mission. Hearing loss can present great challenges for children and their ability to attain educational goals, have meaningful relationships, and enjoy the same opportunities as their hearing peers. Early detection and therapy can provide life-changing help for children with hearing loss, as they learn to listen and talk.”
Hearts for Hearing is the only hearing care organization in Oklahoma to combine a professional pediatric audiologist and Listening and Spoken Language Specialist as part of the same care appointment; a protocol recognized to help achieve industry-leading results. In 2013, Hearts for Hearing expanded its services to provide comprehensive hearing health care services to adults as well.
About Hearts for Hearing: A comprehensive hearing health clinic for both children and adults with offices in Oklahoma City and Tulsa. It was founded as a 501(c)(3) to provide funding for the first set of hearing aids for children with hearing loss in Oklahoma. Its mission expanded to become a comprehensive hearing health clinic that provides industry leading clinical, technology, and research services. Its collaborative model of audiologists and speech language pathologists working together enables the best outcomes for its patients. Learn more at www.heartsforhearing.org.
