Wini Robertson: Sharing the Gift of Sound With Others
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| Wini (above) and Josh Robertson wanted to help Cincinnati Children's provide hearing aids for children who can't afford them. For Wini, hearing aids bring music and the world to life. |
Wini Robertson loves music. She loves to feel the beat, dance, play piano or just listen. Thanks to her hearing aids, she can do all these things.
Wini, now 12, got her first hearing aids when she was 4. She will gladly show you the sparkly pink and purple gadgets. She loves them; they bring music – and the world – to life.
Wini and her mother, Josh, wanted to bring that same joy to children who can't afford aids. Lori Garland, MS, CCC-A, Wini's audiologist at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, once told them about patients who don't have hearing aids because their families can't afford them. Each one costs about $2,000, and insurance doesn't help much.
Josh and Wini talked a lot about those kids and what their lives must be like. They decided to do something. When they heard about Cincinnati Walks for Kids, the annual fundraising walk for Cincinnati Children's, they knew it was the perfect way to raise money for children who need hearing aids.
Wini worked very hard to make the fundraiser a success. She and Josh had monthly planning meetings with audiologists, and Wini wrote a letter asking for donations and inviting friends, family and neighbors to join her at the walk. With her sister, brother and three cousins, she spent hours stuffing 270 letters into envelopes.
Wini received 130 donations ranging from $5 to $250. Her father's employer donated, and her aunts and uncles asked coworkers for donations. She collected more than $5,800, making her one of the top individual fundraisers for the 2006 walk. The money went to the Division of Audiology to help offset the cost of hearing aids for children in need.
Wini once said to her mom, "When I put my hearing aids on, I feel so much better. The world opens up." Thanks to her hard work, other hearing-impaired children will now get to experience the same wonder.
