AAA Foundation Focuses on Fun (and Fundraising!) at AudiologyNOW!

AudiologyNOW! 2008 will offer the AAA Foundation several opportunities to showcase the research, education and public awareness initiatives it funds. And of course, it will also offer Academy members, exhibitors and other attendees the chance to support its annual fundraising events.

The Foundation will kick off the festivities with the always-popular Happy Hour-and-a-Half cocktail fundraiser. Once again, HearUSA Hearing Care Network will underwrite the event, being held in the Westin Charlotte on Wed., April 2 from 5 to 6:30pm. Entertainment will be provided by several musical audiologists, and those who attend can enjoy pop and jazz favorites while catching up with old friends. Tickets can be purchased through the AudiologyNOW! registration Web site ($35 advance discounted price, $20 for students). A limited number of tickets will be available at the door, so come by and join in the fundraising…and friend-raising.

This year a new special event, the Honors and Research Awards Banquet, will follow the Happy Hour. This first class dinner will celebrate the “best and brightest” in our profession, and will be held from 6:30 to 8:30pm at the Westin. Plan to join in the festivities as we honor colleagues who have made significant contributions to the hearing sciences, and we recognize the young researchers who are the future of our profession. Visit our Research Award site to find out more about those researchers who will receive funding from the AAA Foundation in 2008. To purchase tickets for the Honors and Research Awards Banquet, visit the AudiologyNOW! registration Web site.

The Foundation will focus on research at several other annual sessions in the Charlotte Convention Center. The Student Research Forum (Fri. April 4, noon to 1:30pm) will showcase the findings of five young researchers. The Forum is funded annually with a generous gift from Plural Publishing. In addition, three young researchers will receive the James Jerger Award for Excellence in Student Research for projects featured at the Poster Presentations. These three $500 awards are funded annually with a contribution from an anonymous donor who seeks to encourage and reward research by those new to the field of audiology.

On Friday, April 4, the AAA Foundation will continue its tradition of excellence with the presentation of the 2008 Marion Downs Lecture in Pediatric Audiology. De Wet Swanepoel, Ph.D., of the University of Pretoria, will speak about issues facing audiology in developing countries in his session, “Infant Hearing Loss: Silent Epidemic of Developing Countries." The Marion Downs Lecture is funded annually with a grant from The Oticon Foundation.

The AAA Foundation will continue its partnership with the ABA by cosponsoring fundraising for several of educational initiatives. The ABA 5K Fun Run/Walk will be held on Friday morning, April 4, 7:00am (tentative) at Freedom Park in Charlotte. Registration will be available onsite and first place finishers will receive a fabulous hot air balloon ride. Visit the ABA booth in Academy Central for more information or register online. Can’t participate…you can still support this effort by sponsoring one of the race runners/walkers. For more info contact, Sara Lake in the ABA office.

And while you’re visiting Academy Central, don’t forget to stop by the Foundation booth. All of the 2008 Silent Auction items will be available for preview and bidding, including the Great States! Baskets, contributed by State Academies from coast to coast. In addition, the AAA Foundation will also have Turn It to the Left shirts and CDs available as thank you gifts for those making contributions to the 2008 Annual Fund. You won’t want to miss out on your chance to help the Foundation and Academy “go viral” with this fun message about noise-induced hearing loss.

Proceeds from all AAA Foundation events support its mission to raise funds for research, education and public awareness in audiology and the hearing sciences. For information on all of the Foundation’s fundraisers and programs, contact Crystal M. Furr at 703.226.1048. The AAA Foundation is tax exempt under IRS code 501(c)3, and all contributions are tax deductible as allowed by law; consult your tax advisor.