Starkey Hearing Foundation, dedicated to bringing understanding among people through hearing care, announced its illustrious roster of honorees for this year’s So the World May Hear Awards Gala scheduled for Saturday, August 4, 2012 at the Saint Paul RiverCentre in St. Paul, Minnesota.
“We are excited to announce our honorees this year as they truly embody an unwavering commitment to helping others,” said Bill Austin, Founder, Starkey Hearing Foundation. “We believe service is the noblest work one can do, and we are excited to honor these fine men and women from around the globe and across various disciplines who positively impact the world with their own talents and abilities.”
During the night’s event, Starkey Hearing Foundation will recognize each honoree, specially chosen for their relentless efforts to make a positive change in the world. They include:
- Maria Bello, Actress and Co-‐Founder of We Advance – A world-‐renowned actress and co-‐founder of We Advance, Bello helps women in Haiti reach their full potential by empowering them in the most dire situations to improve their health, wellbeing and safety. Bello has continued her work in Haiti with Artists for Peace and Justice and Femmes en Democratie. Her activism in the country has not slowed as she continues to fight for women’s rights.
- Sister Rosemary Nyirumbe, St. Monica’s School – Sister Rosemary is a natural-‐born leader and has helped numerous women and children in Uganda lead productive lives. Her mission at St. Monica’s is to provide refuge to women who have been abducted by the Lord’s Resistance Army and help them recover from the brutality faced and create new lives for themselves and their children. Sister Rosemary was a 2007 CNN Hero award winner for her work with the women of Uganda and her mission to stop violence against women.
- John Johnson, Retired CEO of CHS Inc. – John Johnson is the retired president and chief executive officer of CHS Inc., one of the nation’s leading energy, grains and foods companies. CHS is the largest cooperative business in the United States and supplies energy, crop nutrients, grain, livestock feed, food and food ingredients, along with business solutions including insurance, financial and risk management services. Upon Johnson’s retirement, he left CHS and the countries in which they do business with the infrastructure in place to better distribute food around the globe. While doing so, he created an environment where the farming community has stretched the reach of products even further to provide for the hungry nations of
the world. - Glenn and Mindy Stearns, Life Changing Lives. One Nation. One Heart. – Glenn and Mindy Stearns
demonstrate how one couple can help change the world with their charitable donations throughout a wide range of philanthopic causes. In 2008, the Stearns founded the Life Changing Lives Gala honoring American Heroes on September 11th. Their efforts through Life Changing Lives has raised nearly $4 million in just four years, helping benefit more than 35 local and national charities including the Starkey Hearing Foundation.
Over the years, Starkey Hearing Foundation delivers the gift of hearing to those in need through its international and domestic hearing missions. Each year, the Foundation presents its So the World May Hear Awards Gala to recognize individuals dedicated to making the world a better place. The event is also the largest annual fundraiser for the Foundation, helping to make the hearing missions possible. Past gala honorees have included well known philanthropists as Elton John, Willie Mays, Goldie Hawn, Billie Jean King, Muhammad Ali, Steve Martin, Doug Pitt, Marlee Matlin, Randy Hogan and President Bill Clinton. Last year’s Starkey Hearing Foundation So the World May Hear Awards Gala successfully raised $7.2 million – the most monies raised to date – which allowed the Foundation to give away more than 110,000 hearing aids and change the lives of thousands of people around the world.
