STARKEY HEARING FOUNDATION TEAMS UP WITH SPECIAL OLYMPICS FOR THE 2015 WORLD SUMMER GAMES

MINNEAPOLIS, July 16, 2015 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Starkey Hearing Foundation is showing its support for Special Olympics by becoming the Healthy Hearing partner for the 2015 Special Olympics World Summer Games in Los Angeles, July 25 through August 2. As a partner, the Foundation will provide hearing health exams and free hearing aids to Special Olympics athletes at the Summer Games.

"Starkey Hearing Foundation has been supporting the great work of Special Olympics for a number of years in Minnesota, so we are excited to have the opportunity to work with them on an even greater level for the World Games," said William F. Austin, Founder of Starkey Hearing Foundation. "We use hearing as a vehicle to improve the lives of people around the world, which fits perfectly with the Special Olympics Healthy Athletes initiative."

For more than three decades, Starkey Hearing Foundation has been changing lives through hearing care, providing more than 1.6 million hearing aids to people in need. Last year alone, the Foundation provided more than 175,000 free hearing aids worldwide. This partnership with Special Olympics will help the Foundation fulfill its goal of providing 1 million hearing aids this decade.

"We are proud to partner with an organization like Starkey Hearing Foundation," said Special Olympics CEO Janet Froetscher. "We use the transformative power of sports to instill confidence, improve health and connect our athletes into their communities. Having the ability to hear gives our athletes the confidence they need to succeed in competition and their communities."
 
Special Olympics Healthy Hearing is one of seven disciplines within the Special Olympics Healthy Athletes® program. The Healthy Athletes program works to provide health services and information to millions of people in need in more than 130 countries. Healthy Hearing has provided free hearing exams in more than 80 countries and has distributed more than 2,000 hearing aids worldwide.
 
The 2015 Special Olympics World Summer Games will feature 25 sports at various venues across Los Angeles, including USC and UCLA. More than 6,500 athletes from 165 countries will compete. Some of the sporting events include basketball, cycling, equestrian, soccer, golf, gymnastics, aquatics, powerlifting, volleyball and sailing. Additionally, throughout the nine-day competition, the World Games will offer fun, educational and inspiring programs for athletes, friends and families.
 
About Starkey Hearing Foundation

Starkey Hearing Foundation uses hearing as a vehicle to reflect caring and change lives around the world. Disabling hearing loss affects more than 360 million people, including 32 million children, worldwide, yet many do not have access to the hearing devices that can help them. As a member of Clinton Global Initiative, Starkey Hearing Foundation has pledged to provide more than one million hearing aids to people in need this decade and currently gives more than 175,000 hearing aids annually. In addition to giving the gift of hearing through worldwide hearing missions, Starkey Hearing Foundation promotes hearing health awareness and education through the Listen Carefully campaign and provides hearing instruments to low-income Americans through the Hear Now program. Started as the philanthropic effort of Starkey Hearing Technologies, Starkey Hearing Foundation was founded by William F. Austin in 1984. For more information on Starkey Hearing Foundation follow them on Facebook and Twitter, or visit www.starkeyhearingfoundation.org.
 
About Special Olympics

Special Olympics is a global movement that unleashes the human spirit through the transformative power and joy of sports, every day around the world. We empower people with intellectual disabilities to become accepted and valued members of their communities, which leads to a more respectful and inclusive society for all. Using sports as the catalyst and programming around health and education, Special Olympics is fighting inactivity, injustice and intolerance. Founded in 1968 by Eunice Kennedy Shriver, the Special Olympics movement has grown to more than 4.5 million athletes in 170 countries.  With the support of more than 1.4 million coaches and volunteers, Special Olympics delivers 32 Olympic-type sports and more than 94,000 games and competitions throughout the year.  Visit Special Olympics at www.specialolympics.org.  Engage with us on: Twitter @specialolympics;  fb.com/specialolympics; youtube.com/specialolympicshq; instagram.com/specialolympics and specialolympicsblog.wordpress.com.
 
For additional information about the 2015 Special Olympics World Summer Games, visit http://www.la2015.org