Oticon President Peer Lauritsen, left, presents the keys to the new home of Carla Harlee and her family as AAA Executive Director Cheryl Kreider Carey looks on. |
Oticon Inc, Denmark, has eased the Harlee family into their new Habitat for Humanity home in Charlotte, NC, with a $60,000 donation as part of a program heralding the American Academy of Audiology’s (AAA) 20th anniversary.
Peer Lauritsen, Oticon’s president, joined with Bert Green, executive director of Habitat Charlotte, and Cheryl Kreider Carey, CAE, the AAA executive director, in handing over the keys to the family—Carla Harlee, her sons, Brennen, 10, and Eric, 8, and twin daughters Kayana and Dayana, 14.
“Building a home is a bit different than building a hearing device but the desired outcome is the same—to change people’s lives for the better,” Lauritsen said.
The 1,230-square-foot, four-bedroom home on W Todd Lane is the 68th abode built by Habitat Charlotte this year.
Oticon, a leading hearing device manufacturer, has underwritten the effort as part of its Building Sound Foundations program. Carey commended the company’s humanitarian work in cementing the bond between the hearing care industry and association members to benefit those with hearing loss.
Habitat Charlotte homeowners contribute sweat equity to the project, but the Harlees say it was no sweat.
“We enjoyed helping other Habitat homeowners build their homes, but building our own home was so special to us,” said matriarch Carla Harlee.
North Carolina artist Kay Young donated a handmade quilt, and Oticon transformed the house into a home with its gift of a family portrait.