Hearing and Speech Center of Florida's 2nd Annual Fund-Raising Gala Marks Record Year of Contributions Hosts BellSouth Pioneer Volunteers Miami-Keys Council Receives Awards

HSCF held its annual fund-raising gala, show, and silent auction on May 9, 2003 on Key Bicacayne, Florida. Hosted by Bellsouth Pioneers Volunteers, the event drew more than 260 patrons and guests and reached its fund-raising goal. The proceeds will benefit the many programs the Center provides to children and adults with hearing and speech disabilities in the South Florida community.

Miami, FL, (PRWEB) May 17, 2003 -- The Hearing and Speech Center of Florida (HSCF), a United Way organization which provides diagnosis and treatment for individuals of all ages with speech, language and hearing disabilities, held its second annual fundraising gala on Friday, May 9th at the Rusty Pelican Restaurant on Key Biscayne. The event, hosted by the BellSouth Pioneer Volunteers, presented a dazzling gala dinner, dance, show, and silent auction, which showcased the New World School of the Arts, "The New World Connection" in an high-energy performance of song and dance. Additionally, the event paid tribute to the memory of HSCF board member and friend, Gert Beigel, whose family established "The Gert Beigel Fund" in 2003 to provide financial support for clients with fluency (stuttering) disorders and hearing aids for senior adults.

"It was a most wonderful evening for the 260 guests, patrons and board members of the Center, which included Bellsouth State President-Florida Joe Lacher; Early Childhood Initiative Foundation, President David Lawrence; EWM President Ron Shuffield with HSCF board member and wife Anita Shuffield; and County Court Judge Beth Bloom with Pres., FKS Realty and husband Lyle Stern; Jordan Padial Castellon & Co., Managing Partner Arturo Jordan with Mexican actress and singer Lucia Mendez...fabulous entertainment by Miami's next rising stars, a delicious dinner menu, and variety of exquisite auction items to bid on as well as the chance to win wonderful raffle prizes --- and all to benefit one of South Florida's most remarkable organizations which has been serving children and adults for more than 67 years, here, in our community ... the Hearing and Speech Center of Florida," states HSCF President and Assistant Manager, BellSouth, Consumer Services, Silvano Merendi. The evening was a huge success states HSCF Executive Director Lillian Poms --- we exceeded our attendance and fund-raising goals. We are very blessed to have the support of our board, patrons and friends. The proceeds will support our many programs in speech and language, occupational therapy, and our audiology department which provides the most current technology in hearing aids, testing, and assistive listening devices."

BACKGROUND INFORMATION
Established in 1936, the veteran not-for-profit Center serves more than 3,600 clients annually with a professional staff of twenty employees including speech-language speech-language pathologists, audiologist, occupational therapist, case manager, educational psychologist, and an administrative staff of four. Staff members have doctoral and master degrees and/or state licenses and certifications from the American Speech-Language and Hearing Association.

An 18-member board of directors headed by Board President Silvano Merendi, Assistant Manager, BellSouth, Consumer Services and a 6-member advisory board, assist the organization in setting policies and procedures, and actively raises funds. Funding is provided through partial support from United Way, private and public grants, services fees, and the fundraising efforts of HSCFs board of directors and volunteer corps. The current annual budget is $1.2 million.

The BellSouth Pioneer Volunteers represent over 90,000 active and retired employees from each of the nine states of the BellSouth organization. The Pioneers support a broad base of community programs centering on education, the environment, health, human services and life enrichment.

HSCF main office is located at 9425 SW 72nd Street, Suite 216, Miami, FL 33173, with satellite offices in Miami Lakes and Leisure City. For additional information, call (305) 271-7343, e-mail HSCF@aol.com or visit us at www.hearingandspeechcenter.org.