Widex USA announced its pledge to donate at least $20,000 in the New Year to the Helen Keller National Center for Deaf-Blind Youths and Adults (HKNC), a division of Helen Keller Services (HKS). For every pair of WIDEX EVOKE hearing aids purchased through January 31, 2019, Widex USA will donate a portion of the proceeds, with a minimum commitment of $20,000. Headquartered in Sands Point, New York, HKNC is said to provide comprehensive vocational and independent living training to youths and adults who are deaf-blind.
“WIDEX EVOKE has been our bestselling line of hearing aids to date, and we’d like to take this opportunity to thank our customers, partners, and the hearing community for their continued support,” said Jeff Geigel, President, Widex USA. “We would also like to start 2019 by giving back to an organization that for more than 50 years has worked to ensure that deaf-blind individuals in the United States, young and old, have access to the same opportunities as their hearing and sighted neighbors. Widex USA is honored to support Helen Keller National Center in their important mission.”
Authorized by an Act of Congress in 1967, HKNC is said to be “the only organization of its kind” providing training and resources exclusively to people age 16 and over who have combined vision and hearing loss. According to Executive Director, Susan Ruzenski, students travel from across the country for on-campus training in assistive technology, vocational services, orientation and mobility, communication, and independent living.
Susan Ruzenski, executive director of Helen Keller National Center for Deaf-Blind Youth and Adults (HKNC), takes Widex USA executives Cheryl Anderson and Michael Tease on a tour of their facilities in Sands Point, NY, demonstrating how the Widex donation will be used to expand and update HKNC technology. (Photo: Business Wire)
“The generous donation from Widex USA will help HKNC provide enhanced learning opportunities in our audiology department, Adaptive Technology Center, and low vision department,” Ruzenski said. “We look forward to purchasing a new computer for the audiology department which is used to program hearing aids, portable braille devices, and low-vision equipment for use by the participants in the vocational rehabilitation program. Everyone at HKNC joins me in thanking Widex USA and its customers for their thoughtful, meaningful support.”
About WIDEX EVOKE
Launched in May 2018, WIDEX EVOKE is said to be “the first hearing aid” developed to meet the wearer’s unique listening intention in each specific moment, through a combination of automation and personalization, according to the company. In Widex Evoke, this personalization is delivered by SoundSense Learn, a real-time machine-learning algorithm that reportedly adjusts hearing aid parameters to meet the listening intent of the wearer in the moment. WIDEX EVOKE will be on display at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) January 8-11, 2019 in Las Vegas, Nev. For more information, please visit: https://www.widex.com/en-us/hearing-aids/evoke-smart-hearing-aids.
Source: Widex USA, HKNC
Image: HKNC, Business Wire
