Tomorrow night, March 27, Rhonda Vincent & The Rage will roll into Bristol, TN and the beautiful Paramount Center for the Arts in a special concert to benefit Waiting to Hear and their free weekend camp for deaf children.
Everyone reading this will know all about Rhonda and her sterling career in bluegrass music. But you may not know about Waiting to Hear, a charitable organization in nearby Kingsport whose sole function is helping deaf children hear.
Things started when Shannon and Sherry Ball found that their daughter, Sarah, lost her hearing suddenly at age two. The Balls found little to help them navigate the process of looking into cochlear implants for Sarah anywhere in the Appalachian Highlands where they lived. But by chance, they met a family whose little girl had just recently been through the procedure. The help they provided to Shannon and Sherry over the next few months was such a blessing that they decided to form an organization to offer that for other children in the region suffering hearing loss as well.
That was in 2014, and since that time Waiting to Hear has helped many youngsters and their families maneuver the difficulties that follow a hearing loss diagnosis.
Their mission statement says…
“Waiting to Hear exists for a single reason: To help deaf kids HEAR! We accomplish this by providing programs that support a listening and spoken language outcome for children with hearing loss. Our programs focus on timely access to hearing technology, support for newly diagnosed families, and building a support network to aid families throughout their child’s hearing journey.”
So anyone in east Tennessee or western Virginia can head to the Paramount on March 27, see a fabulous bluegrass show, and help a fine organization doing good for children in the area.
Tickets can be purchased online.
