Hello and Good morning!

I wanted to give you an update that Amelia received her brand new hearing aids and is absolutely loving them! We had no idea what a difference the newer technology would make- Amelia has said that she can hear so much more now and we have noticed her talking so much more and being so much more clear in her speech. It’s crazy because the change was almost overnight since having her new aids! We were able to get two FM type systems with them, the Roger Partner Mic and Roger Select (both pictured in attached image) and holy cow!! Amelia loves them! We can wear either of them around the house, outside, at the park, in the car and she absolutely loves that she can hear us more. Christine forgot to put on the partner mic the other day when going out to run an errand with Amelia and had to return home because 2 minutes into the car drive Amelia mentioned that she could not hear Mama well and asked why? Christine realized she forgot to put on the partner mic and returned home to grab it. 

There are so many other little moments as well, such as when we played a family game the other night laying on the carpet. Amelia loved being able to put the Roger Select on the floor in the middle of all of us so that she could hear us better. One of the biggest things for her is TV time. We don’t let her have much TV time at her age, but the little she does have, or when we watch a family movie has been amazing and I’m sure life changing in her little world. I was able to connect the Roger Select to the TV ( a cool function it comes with!) and it plays the TV sound directly into Amelia’s hearing aids through the bluetooth capability! I wish you could have seen this little girls face when she experienced some  of her favorite Disney songs (Let It Go, from Frozen) for the first time with her new Hearing Aids. She was literally welling up with tears of joy. As schools are beginning to reopen in our area and we hope to get Amelia in preschool in the very near future I know that these new Hearing Aids are going to serve her so well.

Amelia picked out the colors and ear mold style herself, she wanted them to look like “Elsa hearing aids” (From Frozen). As you can see in the picture I think that Amelia got it spot on and as I have told her, “I think those are exactly what Elsa would wear!”.

I’m attaching some pictures of her getting her new HAs at UCSF and being the silly Amelia she is when they turned on for the first time. Thank you again so much and we hope to be able to pay your kind generosity forward for years to come and look forward to introducing Amelia to Job’s Daughters and other service oriented opportunities as she grows into a young women.

Sincerely,

Neil, Christine and Amelia Altimari

When The HIKE Fund Board of Directors realized that the “big time” spring fundraising events were going to be canceled due to COVID19, we sprang into action to offer everyone a small way to contribute. Launched on April 1, 2020, the virtual 5K run/walk for The HIKE Fund held registration through May 24, 2020, with participants finishing their runs and walks by May 31, 2020.

From literal coast to coast, we are so excited to announce that 276 participants and 101 individual donors raised $13,219.14! Virginia (51) edged out California (49) in having the most registrations, followed by Ohio (41), Nebraska (24), Michigan (20), Missouri (18), Illinois (17), and Indiana (16). A huge thank you to all of the represented states—PA, WA, NC, FL, ID, MD, SD, KS, MN, TX, UT, WI, and WY!!

We received photos and photos and photos and photos!! See if you can spot you and your friends and puppies in this video (12 minutes of fun)!! Steps and miles were done with love for The HIKE Fund – thank you, thank you, thank you! Together we can accomplish great things and your support means the #giftofhearing for so many children.

Due to a very generous donation, we are on track to meet our 2019-2020 goals. You can always see our year-to-date fundraising contributions by state at our DONATE link. We are gearing up to close out the year on June 30th so get your donations into John Hauser, Executive Secretary, as soon as possible! His address is: 530 Elliott Street Council Bluffs, IA 51503. (Don’t forget to include a donation form with your checks.)

Gracie in Tennessee received her new hearing aids this spring. Her mom wrote to us and said, “Gina Piscopo Angley, Au.D., CCC-A, Associate Director of the Adult Amplification Program at Vanderbilt Bill Wilkerson Center, presented Gracie and me, Mary Anne, with a HIKE award for new hearing aids. Gracie has known Dr. Angley for several years and this was such an exciting award as the technology had advanced so much since her last hearing aids that a deluge of happy tears soon followed as new sounds and possibilities were discovered! Thank you so much to the philanthropy of the Job’s Daughters International that enabled this to happen.”

This is your impact. You are waymakers and life-givers. The HIKE Fund is incredibly grateful for your partnership in improving lives like Gracie’s.

We’re having a busy winter as grants make their way to recipients to purchase new hearing aids! Our incredible partnership with our amazing donors and supporters enables life-enhancing hearing improvement all over the country! It’s a pleasure to be the Job’s Daughters International® philanthropy for 34 years!

celebrate with 2020 vision

South Carolina – Courtney A. Russo, AuD, CCC-A, FAAA, Doctor of Audiology, at Greenville Ear, Nose & Throat, Prisma Health–Upstate, presented Andrew and his father, Michael, with a HIKE award for new hearing aids. Dr. Russo is a high-impact audiologist who advocates strongly for her patients.

Kansas – Karly, Daughter HIKE Coordinator, was able to make two HIKE grants happen at a recent luncheon fundraiser for The HIKE Fund! Congratulations to Angel and his father, and David and his parents!

Virginia – Bethel 42, Virginia Beach, had the pleasure to provide a check for a new hearing aid for Tamyia. What made this HIKE award so special was that a few years ago, Tamyia received a similar award from our Bethel. As soon as she walked into the room, her mother recognized several of the girls and suddenly it was like one big family reunion! We enjoyed celebrating with her mother and her friend. Her mom shared with us what this award means to them.

Recently, the HIKE Fund granted the gift of hearing to 8 year old Lyla, from Muskegon.

On October 5, 2019, Michigan Job’s Daughters hosted a HIKE fundraising event, where they excitedly welcomed Lyla and her family to the Red Flannel Festival in Cedar Springs, the home of our Grand Bethel Honored Queen, Makeelie.

MaKeelie presented Lyla with a check for $4,500 to cover the cost of hearing aids. During the event, they also participated in a parade and MaKeelie thought it would be super fun to make Lyla the HIKE Princess for the day! Lyla received a sash and a crown and rode in a 1969 Camaro convertible (thanks to MaKeelie’s grandpa!) so that Lyla could ride in style!

It was a beautiful day, in ALL senses of the word! 

Samantha Andersen, Youth HIKE Coordinator for Wisconsin, and  Mom Sheryl Bertram, Grand Guardian for Wisconsin Job’s Daughters, had the pleasure of presenting a check to a young man named John on October 3, 2019 . It was wonderful to meet John and his family along with his audiologist, Beth.

John was recently diagnosed with congenital hearing loss and needed hearing aids. John’s audiologist Beth and his mother Lauren applied for a grant to financially assist them in getting John hearing aids.

His mother Lauren said, “Words cannot even begin to express how full my heart is. Thank you for your efforts as well as those of all Job’s Daughters.  You assisted in improving the quality of life for my son. WE are forever grateful.”

Dr. Courtney Turner, Audiologist, is an avid promoter of The HIKE Fund, Inc. She works at The Children’s Center for Communication and Development at The University of Southern Mississippi. The Center is a non-profit that provides cost-free communicative and developmental transdisciplinary services to infants, toddlers, and preschoolers while educating, training and supporting families, university students and professionals.  A recent HIKE recipient was treated at USM and here is the story.

We recently received a lovely letter from a HIKE recipient. This is your impact. Your hard work is changing lives for the better! Keep raising money and motivating your Bethel to do what they can to support the HIKE Fund. Thank you!

The HIKE Fund, Inc. has had a busy winter presenting awards across the U.S.  Fundraising continues to be strong, and we have a few updates. Our top five fundraising states are Virginia ($17,293.87), Nebraska ($10,758.18), Wisconsin ($10,445.83), Illinois ($8,821.84), and Maryland ($8,703.13). Since 1985, donations total $5,459,757.99 – almost $5.5 million – will you help us hit that goal by Supreme Session in Utah?

January 6 – Ali Blankfeld, Grand Bethel Honored Queen, and Lynette Camerlin, Ohio Miss Congeniality, led a presentation about Ohio Job’s Daughters and HIKE for Ella and her family at Bethel 11, Rocky River.  The family stayed for the installation that followed the presentation, and Ella helped with sunshine collection with another Jobie To Bee!

January 7 – Jeffersonville family gets $3,000 donation needed for 9-year-old’s hearing aids

January 26 – The Children’s Center for Communication and Development at The University of Southern Mississippi had the honor of presenting to Hunter, from The Hike Fund, Inc. Hunter, age 4, was accompanied by his mother, Megan, and Courtney Turner, Hunter’s Educational Audiologist, had the pleasure of presenting him with his check. “I am so thankful to The Hike Fund for the important work that they do,” said Turner. “They fill a real need in the hearing-impaired community, providing help for those who need it the most, and making these essential hearing devices accessible to all.”

January 29 – Adam received HIKE award for bilateral hearing aids, presented by Dr. Ashlee Vandiver, Au.D. in Maine.

 

The HIKE Fund Board of Directors is currently meeting in Las Vegas, and working to improve the efficiency of our application to award process. We care about what you think about our work and are always open to your feedback.