“Two years ago I received a heart breaking phone call from my closest and dearest friend telling me that her 6 year daughter Rachel was losing her hearing.  It was shocking news for the family to find that Rachel was already profoundly deaf and would be completely deaf within weeks or months.  The good news was that Rachel was a candidate for cochlear Implants and her family’s insurance would cover their medical expenses which would run over $200,000.  Rachel has undergone two surgeries to install two cochlear implants and is thriving!  Follow this link to hear her story in her own words (audio file was sent along with this document).
While over 100,000 people worldwide have received cochlear implants, there are still over 14 million who could benefit from one.  Many of these are children.   Children like Erikson whose family in Honduras has been searching for years to find a way to pay for cochlear implants for him.  So many families around the world can barely afford regular check-ups, let alone cochlear implants.

I have been training for a half marathon (13.1 miles) which I will be running on June 7th in Kansas City.   I am running in honor of Rachel and we have teamed up with the Help Me Hear Foundation to raise awareness and money for deaf children who can not afford or do not have access to these extraordinary devices.  For $7,000 in tax free donations, one child can receive the gift of hearing.  So, our goal is to provide the gift of hearing to 1 child by raising $7,000.

We are asking for your help.  We would like to include you or your company on our list of contributors who are helping us reach this goal.  Your tax free donation could help a child hear.  What an incredible gift!  Please check out the Help Me Hear Foundation site by clicking on the following link: http://www.helpmehearfoundation.org .   There you will find information about the foundation and about cochlear implants.  You will also be able to make a tax-deductible donation on-line in Rachel’s honor using your credit card.

I sincerely hope that you'll take the opportunity to support Help Me Hear in any way you can. On behalf of the children Help Me Hear serves, thank you!

Warmest Regards,
Cindi W.

Over $3,500 was raised by this event. The following are pictures of Cindi, Rachel, and Cathy (Rachel’s mom and Cindi’s friend).