St. Petersburg, FL (February 2023) – Sounding Joy, a new Tampa Bay area charity whose mission is to ignite joy by providing hearing aids to local children whose families can’t afford them, has been chosen as the beneficiary of the Centre Club Tampa’s March Helping Hands Happy Hour.
The Centre Club hosts monthly happy hours to raise awareness and funds for non-profits in the Tampa Bay area. The price of admission is a donation that goes directly to the charity and includes a drink, appetizers, and the opportunity to network and learn more about the cause.
“I am so excited to have the opportunity to share our mission with a new audience and to be able to raise some additional funds,” said Christy Vogel, Chairman and Founder of Sounding Joy. “Sounding Joy serves such a niche need in Tampa Bay, so the more we can get our word out and in front of those that can help raise funds and those that can benefit from our services, the better!”
The event takes place on March 9, 2023, from 5:30 – 7:30 p.m., at the Centre Club Tampa. The public is welcome to attend for a $20 donation, which includes one drink ticket, appetizers, raffle entry to win lunch for two at the Centre Club as well as networking opportunities and the chance to learn more about Sounding Joy.
Tickets can be purchased through Eventbrite. Visit the Facebook or LinkedIn event pages for more information.
Sounding Joy partners with audiologists in the Hillsborough and Pinellas County school systems to identify those children with the most need.
For more information, please visit SoundingJoy.org.
The need: Three in 1000 children are born with hearing impairment in one or both ears. Due to the isolation hearing-loss causes, hearing-impaired children without a hearing aid are twice as likely to become addicted to drugs or alcohol. Untreated hearing loss is linked to other health conditions such as dementia, depression, high blood pressure and increased risk of trips and falls. Untreated hearing loss even reduces earning potential by $12,000 to $30,000 annually.
Most major insurance policies do not cover hearing aids.
Founder’s Story: At the age of 11, Christy Vogel was told two things: that she was hearing impaired (probably since birth) and that she had taught herself how to read lips without realizing it. “I didn’t get hearing aids because we couldn’t afford them. And, because I had to otherwise figure out what people were saying, many assumed I was slow or stupid,” says Vogel, founder, chairman and treasurer of the charity. “When I finally could afford hearing aids – when I was in my 20s – it changed my world.” She feels that she was supposed to be born hearing impaired and unable to afford hearing aids so that she could eventually help others; thus, Sounding Joy was born.