Members, families and supporters of the hard-of-hearing community spent Sunday night at the High Dive celebrating the triumphs of their loved ones while raising money for a cochlear implant program.
The event was hosted by Hearoes for Hearing, a 16-year-old organization under the UF National Student Speech Language and Hearing Association that raises awareness for the hard-of-hearing community and helps cochlear implant patients.
All proceeds from ticket sales will go toward the cochlear implant program at the UF Health Speech and Hearing Center, which provides cochlear implants to children and organizations that support Gainesville’s hard-of-hearing community.
The amount of money raised will be announced on Facebook Monday, said Hearoes for Hearing director Naomi Kelly, a 21-year-old UF communication sciences and disorders senior. In the 2018-2019 academic year, the organization raised $8,054 at their benefit concert, relay races and socials, according to its website.
The evening started with a “kids’ hour” at 5 p.m., featuring face painting, crafts and activities. A concert by local artists followed. This was the benefit’s first kids’ hour, and Kelly said she was happy with the turnout of more than 20 children.
“Last year was our first time putting on a benefit concert,” Kelly said. “So to have the opportunity to do that again has really been wonderful — to have such a supportive community and to work with people I’m already familiar with.”
The concert featured local bands including the Stiff Joints, Tanuki Garden Club, Friendly Dads and The Real You.
During the Stiff Joints set, Jeff Barnhart, the band’s lead vocalist and guitarist, thanked Hearoes for Hearing for inviting his band to perform at the benefit concert for its second year, highlighting the organization’s cause.
“We can get behind that,” he said. “After all, what kind of world would this be if you couldn’t hear The Stiff Joints?”
Rosemeri Richardson said Hearoes for Hearing has been helping her family for 10 years. When her son couldn’t get ideal hearing loss screening in South America, her family moved to Gainesville and was helped by Hearoes for Hearing and the UF Health Speech and Hearing Center.
She said her family has benefited from the efforts of the organization through its support of the UF Health Speech and Hearing Center, a clinic her family depends on for her son’s implants.
“When you’re a parent and you have kids that are born with hearing loss you can feel so lost,”
Richardson said. “That there are people and groups of people that are out there organizing these kinds of events — it’s just great.”
Correction: This article has been updated to reflect the organization is Hearoes for Hearing. The Alligator previously reported different.
Tanuki Garden Club plays Sunday night at The High Dive as part of the Hearoes for Hearing concert to benefit the hearing impaired.
