The Parents and Friends of the Hearing Impaired, Inc. is working to ensure that area citizens have access to hearing aids.
The organization was formed in Marietta, Ohio in 1974 as a tax-exempt charitable organization by a group of parents, teachers, and friends of young deaf or hearing-impaired children. The initial purpose of the Parents and Friends of the Hearing Impaired was to assist these children who were grouped together to form Ohio's first pre-school hearing impaired educational unit. The Parents and Friends provided monetary and volunteer support to this ground-breaking pre-school educational unit by helping to obtain equipment, educational supplies, or other necessary supplies needed for the students' success.
Over the years, the Parents and Friends of the Hearing Impaired organization's mission evolved to meet the needs of all the Mid-Ohio Valley area's deaf and hard of hearing citizens, primarily focusing on providing hearing aids to low-income persons. During 2019, the group, in partnership with its area sponsoring providers, funded and provided 79 hearing aids for 50 individuals who would otherwise not have been able to afford these aids.
To solidify their commitment to the Mid-Ohio Valley region, Parents and Friends of the Hearing Impaired's Board of Directors recently established an endowment fund with the Parkersburg Area Community Foundation (PACF) that will help provide operating support for the organization.
"This new fund will serve as a permanent source of funding to support our organization's mission," said Jim McCauley, President of Parents and Friends of the Hearing Impaired. "Our organization is run by a group of totally unpaid volunteers. We rely heavily on monetary donations to provide these hearing aids"
In December 2019, the PACF awarded a $5,000 grant to Parents and Friends of the Hearing Impaired to support its work.
"We are committed to continuing our work here in the region," said McCauley. "We plan to raise money through the PACF's upcoming Give Local MOV campaign on May 5 to build our endowment fund."
Individuals who would like to learn more about Parents and Friends of the Hearing Impaired are encouraged to call Jim McCauley at 740-423-8436. Individuals wishing to donate to support the new Parents and Friends of the Hearing Impaired Fund can make their donation by sending a check (payable to PACF with the fund name in the memo line) to: PACF, PO Box 1762, Parkersburg, WV 26102 or give online here.
Photo caption: Jim McCauley, President of Parents & Friends of the Hearing Impaired, Inc., with Julie Posey, Development and Communications Officer for the Parkersburg Area Community Foundation, signing paperwork to create an endowment fund with the Foundation in the name of the Parents & Friends of the Hearing Impaired.
