At A&E Hearing Connection, we want to help people reach their full potential. We believe it’s possible for people to receive the care they need, as long as we are willing to meet them where they are.
For the past five years, Kayleah Saylor has been an ambassador for HearCare Connection, a Fort Wayne, Indiana nonprofit helping people receive the hearing healthcare they need. She recently made a trip to Lancaster to speak to volunteers and donors at A&E Hearing Connection, a nonprofit, like HearCare, created to help those who struggle to receive hearing healthcare.
“There’s a lot of people who miss out on life and don’t reach their full potential,” Kayleah says about those with hearing loss. During her trip to Lancaster, she was able to speak to people about the benefit HearCare Connection has had on her life.
Kayleah is only 13 years old. She’s making a difference in the lives of people in her community by sharing her story and the story of the nonprofit who helped her hear her own voice.
At A&E Hearing Connection, we’re aiming to make a difference, too. Here’s why our mission is important:
People like Kayleah show us that truly anyone can serve anyone else.
Kayleah, although affected by hearing loss, is not defined by it. Instead of letting it get in her way, she’s chosen to share her story with others.
“Everyone can make a difference, even if you can’t hear,” she says.
Although she has hearing loss, Kayleah knows she is still capable of doing something for others. Tweet This
A&E Hearing Connection uses the circle of giving model. We provide services at a reduced cost based upon patient’s’ income, and in return, we ask you to serve the community. We want to reconnect our patients with their ability to contribute to the community.
Kayleah, her mom, and Dr. Kamal Elliot at a Lancaster Barnstormers game
When you think of a volunteer, you think of someone with a smile on their face, happy to help where needed, and not self-serving, right? I think we can all agree volunteers are happy people.
Kayleah has been directly affected by the people at the nonprofit in Fort Wayne who helped her with her hearing loss.
“I don’t know where I’d be without HearCare,” she says. She can hear her family, her preacher, and nature. All sounds she was missing before.
Volunteering not only does great things for the people you’re helping, but it really does make you happy and healthier. A study from Carnegie Mellon University in 2013 showed that adults over 50 who volunteered were less likely to develop high blood pressure. It literally and figuratively is good for the heart!
During her visit, Kayleah was able to throw out the first pitch for the Stormers game. “I even made it to home plate!”
Those who experience hearing loss and can’t afford treatment often continue with life, allowing their hearing loss to go untreated. We know that untreated hearing loss affects brain health, social isolation, and even job performances.
“A lot of people settle because they don’t think they can do anything,” Kayleah says. She’s lucky that she was able to find the services she needed at such a young age. But, not everyone is so lucky.
That’s why A&E Hearing Connection is important. We believe that everyone deserves a chance to receive the hearing healthcare they need. It isn’t free; it comes at a reduced cost.
We believe in doing the best we can to keep people from settling for a life of untreated hearing loss. Tweet This
Kayleah and Steve Zuckerman, one of the owners of the Barnstormers
Kayleah Saylor shows us how a hearing healthcare nonprofit changed her life. Because of the audiologists in Fort Wayne, she now knows she, too, wants to help others with hearing loss and one day become an audiologist.
At A&E Hearing Connection, we believe anyone can be a difference maker, even those with hearing loss. We believe people deserve the chance to hear the world as it was meant to be, not a muffled version due to hearing loss.
Our mission is one that matters. Our mission is to help all people reach their full potential. Will you join us? Volunteer or donate today. You could be the difference maker in someone’s life.
Lititz | Willow Street | Lancaster | Stevens