By Janet May | KEX Kids Fund Board Member
Dear Donors,
Thank you for helping us make this another successful year for the KEX Kids Fund and continuing our goal of providing hearing care for all eligible children requesting our help!!
In 2013, your support helped us raise nearly $180,000 to provide both hearing and vision care for needy children in Oregon and SW Washington. Most of our operating expenses for 2014 are pledged and collected during our annual Thanksgiving Fundraiser. We received $110,443 during our November 2012 fundraiser to be used for our $160,000 budget for 2014. Our funds are kept in one account and are used for both of our Hearing and Vision Care programs.
Hearing Care Program Services expenses for 2013 were $28,449.76. The KEX Kids Fund provided care for 40 children in 2013. These children received hearing care services valued at nearly $114,000. Our Hearing Care Program has experienced changes and challenges in the recent years. In 2011, Oregon legislation impacted our hearing program in two ways. First the requirement that insurance companies to cover costs of hearing aids for children under 18 reduced our hearing program expenses. Second, cuts in education funding resulted in a reduction in staff at several of our ESD hearing care locations. In some cases, audiologists are able to continue to provide hearing exams but are no longer able to fit or dispense hearing aids. In our October 2011 board meeting, we approved reimbursement for private providers for the fitting and dispensing fees for children in this area. Private audiology providers are also offering services to our children. In 2013, the Oregon Department of Education policy reduced or eliminated support of audiology services at ESD resulting in further impacts on our hearing program. Some ESD districts have agreed to use local district resources for evaluation and dispensing hearing aids for children in their district while others are limiting services to evaluation and/or serving children 0 to 5 years of age. Our board member, Sherry Brown, is keeping the KEX Board updated on these developments and suggesting ways that the KEX Kids Fund can continue to serve children in need of hearing care services. We currently have eight audiologists providing services to our children through the KEX Kids Fund. One of our board members is knitting hats for our babies to wear to protect their hearing aids from exploring fingers.
Throughout the year we receive thank you notes and photos from our hearing care children. We are attaching copies of these items to this report.
Thank you again for helping us bring sound to needy children in Oregon and SW Washington.
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