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"Help the Children Hear" Project at Bernardsville Library
by M. English

Help the Children Hear is a project sponsored by the Bernardsville Rotary Club to collect old, used and broken hearing aids for the benefit of disadvantaged children around the world. The Bernardsville Library Teen Council, Girl Scout Troop 450, and members of the Rotary Club are working together on the collection process. The young people are decorating small boxes and will be placing them throughout our community for collecting hearing aids during March and April.

As part of the effort, there will also be a program at the Library at 4 pm on Thursday, March 14, for both adults and children, about canine hearing companions. During the program, visitors will meet Holly Berry, a high energy golden retriever who is trained to help the hearing-impaired. Her owner will explain how such dogs are selected and trained, and how they can help people with the chores of everyday life. There is no charge, but advance sign-up is requested.

Help the Children Hear is an established not-for-profit project, the objective of which is to accumulate hearing aids, regardless of condition, that are no longer needed by current owners. These will be turned in for credit toward the purchase of new and reconditioned hearing aids which will in turn be distributed to infants and children in low-income families. Intervention is critical in children as early as 12 months of age because hearing devices can enable hearing-impaired children to communicate and learn. Ultimately, this will enable them to fulfill effective roles in their communities and give them a chance to interrupt a legacy of illiteracy and poverty.