FOR THE 18TH ANNUAL FEAST, NYC’S TOP CHEFS AND BROADCASTERS SUPPORT THOSE WITH AN INVISIBLE YET STIGMATIZED DISABILITY IN AN EPICUREAN EVENT
New York’s 101-year-old nonprofit for the deaf, hard of hearing, and deaf-blind community will be supported by a large showing of television personalities, top chefs, and Broadway performers for their 2011 fundraiser gala
New York, NY, October 18, 2011 – The incidence of hearing loss is on the rise just as researchers are discovering more about the negative social, emotional, and health implications of communication challenges. Over 38 million people in the U.S. suffer from hearing loss, and 65% of them are under 64. With one in six boomers afflicted and an increase in young people’s exposure to noise, mostly due to mobile tech, experts agree that today’s noise environment is likely causing record levels of hearing loss in younger generations.
Founded in 1910, the Center for Hearing and Communication (CHC) is a historic pillar of support for New Yorkers who are hard of hearing, deaf, and deaf-blind. The organization’s annual, heartwarming gala uniquely taps into NYC’s talent pools to support CHC’s services, which change the lives of individuals and families struggling with hearing loss and communication challenges. Slated for October 24, 2011 at Pier Sixty, part of Chelsea Piers, Feast host Bill Ritter, anchor of Eyewitness News, will lead the festivities. The event will illuminate the world without limits made possible by the nonprofit agency’s extraordinary public service.
Those lending their talents are supporting public awareness around hearing loss, its prevention, and its treatment. A majority of people with hearing loss aren’t using technology that would help them connect to life; audiologists cite reasons like the expense, denial, and the stigma of using hearing aids. In fact, people wait an average of seven years between awareness of a possible hearing loss and treatment, and communication breakdowns with family, friends, and coworkers result. Untreated adult hearing loss is associated with a significant increase in risk for other issues, including dementia, anxiety, depression, and under/unemployment; in children, it can ruin an academic trajectory from an early age.
CHC is renowned for a unique approach, a hugely diverse array of services, and successful outcomes that cut down to size the obstacles between people and hearing healthcare. In the words of a client’s mother, “Rarely a day goes by that I don’t look at Zoe and something she has accomplished and honestly wonder how it would have happened had I not found CHC when I did.” Donor support allows the agency to connect people in all financial circumstances with the hearing technology they need to connect to life. A warm, welcoming space devoted to providing compassionate care, the agency takes care to address the emotional needs individual and families during treatment of hearing loss, encouraging a positive sense of acceptance toward the benefits of hearing technology. CHC teaches clients how to advocate for their (or their child’s) needs, and many clients credit the agency for fostering their ability to do so: “CHC played a pivotal part in my life. It broadened my horizons and expectations of what I could achieve. My interaction and association with other children, like myself, provided me with the self-esteem I was so desperately in need of,” reports Estelle, who has been a client since the 1950s when she was three years old.
As is Feast tradition, guests will enjoy a walk-around tasting as 30 of NYC’s top chefs offer up their specialties. This year’s culinary artists include Iron Chef America competitor and executive chef at Butter Alexandra Guarnaschelli, the Beacon Restaurant & Bar’s Waldy Malouf, and Ed Brown of his namesake Ed’s Chowder House. The walk-around layout gives guests the opportunity to interact with the chefs and New York’s television broadcasters, who act as “sous chefs.” Attendees will find the familiar faces of Brenda Blackmon from My9, Francesca Maxime of PIX11, Ernie Anastos of Fox 5, and NY1’s Shazia Khan, among others, helping to serve so many signature items from famous New York kitchens in one place. For the first time, this year’s Feast will feature a seated dessert room. Guests will be served sumptuous treats while bidding on fantastic live auction items auctioneered by Nicholas Dawes of Antiques Roadhouse, like tickets to exclusive venues, performances, and fashion. Following the auction, guests will enjoy special performances by Broadway talent, including Janet Dacal and Darren Ritchie.
This year’s gala theme, Hear the Difference, will highlight the audiological, speech and communication therapy, and emotional health and wellness services that rise above and beyond what is provided by typical private practices. Among other offerings, top notch clinicians provide innovative communication therapy that teaches babies who were born deaf to speak; a staff of certified therapists counsel people with all degrees of hearing loss; and a state-of-the-art “Listening Studio” allows audiologists to fit modern hearing aids in dozens of real world noise environments, allowing for real-time adjustments and maximum gain. A public resource, every day the not-for-profit organization’s staff responds to requests for information and help from around the world.
The Feast is an event of joy and hope, and an embodiment of New York City’s spirit of compassion. To learn more about the event, phone (917) 305-7702 or visit www.CHChearing.org.
Contact:
Laurie Hanin, Executive Director
lhanin@CHChearing.org
(917) 305-7760
