Thanks to grants received from the Ponte Vedra Beach Rotary Club and Rotary District 6970, Lend An Ear Outreach will be able to provide First Coast residents in need with free new hearing aids. To identify and select recipients, Lend An Ear will identify eligible recipients at screenings in Hastings Oct. 24 and 25.
“We decided to host the screenings in Hastings because we identified a particular need in that area for our services,” Lend An Ear Executive Director Scott Hetzinger said. “Thanks to the generosity of the Rotary Club, we will be able to provide 40 people with brand new hearing aids.”
The grants will allow them to be purchased at significantly reduced prices through the Starkey Hearing Foundation’s Hear Now program.
“Typically, new hearing aids cost around $3,000,” Hetzinger said. “So, through this outreach program, we hope to provide $120,000 in free hearing aids to local residents in need.”
To qualify to receive the hearing aids, residents must meet certain income guidelines and be screened by an audiologist. Hearing screenings will take place from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 24 at the Hastings branch of the St. Johns County Library, 6195 S. Main St. A second screening event will be held from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday, Oct. 25 at the W.E. Harris Community Center, 400 East Harris St.
Those who qualify will complete an application and return in December, when they will be professionally fitted. They will also receive a cleaning kit, instructions on the proper use and care of their hearing aids and a year’s supply of free batteries.
Hetzinger said those who do not qualify for the new hearing aids may be able to receive a refurbished one from Lend An Ear.
Ponte Vedra Beach Rotary Club President Vickie Cavey credited Rotarian Bruce Jones – head of the Vicar’s Landing continuing care community and president of Lend An Ear – with alerting the club to the need for hearing aids in the community. “The theme of Rotary International this year is ‘Rotary Connects the World’ – and hearing loss can be so isolating,” Cavey said. “By funding this program, we hope to help those with hearing disabilities connect to the wider world.”
For more information on the Hastings hearing screenings, contact Scott Hetzinger at (904) 241-HEAR (4327), information@lendanearoutreach.org or visit www.lendanearoutreach.org.
