3rd annual contest honors organization’s Miracle Mission and Gift of Sound program
MINNEAPOLIS, June 28, 2021— The Miracle-Ear Foundation announced it has received the Cause Marketing Champion Award from Franchise Update Media in its 3rd annual Franchise Innovation Awards. The goal of the awards is to identify and recognize franchisors creating and implementing the most original and successful innovative strategies and tactics to build their brand. The Miracle-Ear Foundation was named the winner for its first Alabama Miracle Mission, where the organization gave the Gift of Sound through free hearing exams and hearing aids to residents of Tuskegee and Selma, Alabama. Both are predominantly Black communities that have been devastated by the COVID-19 pandemic and the negative economic impacts.
“The Miracle-Ear Foundation and our franchisees are committed to helping all individuals, regardless of their ability to pay, live and hear more fully,” said Jenni Hargraves, vice president of the Miracle-Ear Foundation. “We’re honored to receive this recognition for our efforts in delivering the Gift of Sound directly to residents who live in communities with high rates of poverty and no immediate access to hearing care.”
Nearly 30 million adults could benefit from hearing aids, but only 30 percent utilize them. Stigmas and ageism play a significant contributing factor in this gap, but access to proper medical care and treatment can also be a significant obstacle. Compounding the seriousness, untreated hearing loss is associated with increased rates of anxiety, depression, loneliness and stress, with moderate hearing loss tripling the risk of developing dementia.
In partnership with the Brown Chapel AME Church, the Miracle-Ear Foundation completed its first Miracle Mission this past November, with volunteers spending two weeks on the ground, completing more than 60 hearing exams and delivering just under 100 hearing aids to residents in need. In addition, the Miracle-Ear Foundation set up an ongoing, bi-monthly service site in Selma to care for residents long-term and prevent them from having to drive to Montgomery for service.
Following the success of the 2020 Alabama Miracle Mission, the Miracle-Ear Foundation has two new missions planned for 2021, taking place in St. Louis in September and Kentucky in November.
In 2020, the Miracle-Ear Foundation gave the Gift of Sound to more than 2,000 children and adults, delivering nearly 4,000 free hearing aids. The organization also donated more than 10,000 hours of hearing health care (courtesy of more than 700 hearing care professionals) – delivering hearing aids and providing after-care services.
Twenty-two winners were chosen from more than 100 entrants. Each winner will be profiled in Franchise Update magazine.
About the Miracle-Ear Foundation
Since its founding in 1990, Miracle-Ear Foundation has donated more than 30,000 hearing aids to more than 16,000 children and adults who could otherwise not afford them. Through the generous support of Miracle-Ear franchise owners and donors, the Foundation delivers life-changing services, bringing the Gift of Sound to an increasing number of people in need each year. Approximately 5 percent of all Miracle-Ear customers receive the Gift of Sound through the Foundation. For more information, visit www.miracle-earfoundation.org.
About Miracle-Ear
For more than 70 years, Miracle-Ear has been a leader in providing innovative hearing solutions that improve lives, relationships and communities. Based in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Miracle-Ear has a retail network of more than 1,500 locally franchised and corporate-owned locations in all 50 U.S. states. Every Miracle-Ear location leverages leading-edge technology to customize hearing solutions and services for each customer’s hearing needs. The Miracle-Ear brand is owned by Amplifon – the global leader in hearing care with more than 11,400 points-of-sale in 26 countries. For more information, visit www.miracle-ear.com.
