BETHESDA, Md.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Hearing Loss Association of America (HLAA) Walk4Hearing announced today that 8-year-old Katherine Pawlowski is the first Walk4Hearing Ambassador. Katherine, a top fundraiser in the 2012 and 2013 Washington DC Walk4Hearing, will help raise awareness of hearing loss through the promotion of the HLAA Walk4Hearing program.
In her role as Ambassador, Katherine will engage with young walkers who are “just like her,” a child with hearing loss, to learn what motivates them to participate in the Walk4Hearing. Throughout the 2014 Walk4Hearing season, Katherine will conduct interviews with young walkers to be featured in HLAA’s Hearing Loss Magazine, attend Walks around the country, and speak at hearing loss awareness events. Her first appearance will be the Rochester Walk4Hearing in Rochester, New York on May 4, 2014.
“For me, the Walk4Hearing is a voice … and a loud one,” said Katherine. “Kids just like me need support, empowerment and help advocating for ourselves and others who have hearing loss.”
Katherine has a progressive sensorineural hearing loss, and has helped promote the Washington DC Walk4Hearing through speaking engagements at school events and fundraisers in her home town of Fairfax, Virginia. Since 2012 Katherine’s Walk team, Friends of Fairfax County, has raised more than $8,500 for programs for people with hearing loss.
“We are proud to have Katherine join the Walk4Hearing team on a national level,” said Anna Gilmore Hall, executive director of the Hearing Loss Association of America. “We believe that her interaction and open dialogue with young walkers will raise visibility of the Walk4Hearing and encourage others to step up to raise awareness about hearing loss.”
About the Hearing Loss Association of America
The Hearing Loss Association of America (HLAA), founded in 1979, opens the world of communication to people with hearing loss through information, education, advocacy and support. HLAA produces the Walk4Hearing in 21 cities across the country, publishes the bimonthly Hearing Loss Magazine, holds annual conventions (Convention 2014 is in Austin, Texas, June 26 - 29), advocates for the rights of people with hearing loss, conducts educational webinars, and has an extensive network of chapters and state organizations across the country. For more information, visit www.hearingloss.org.
