The Foundation

About Us:

Mission

The Marion Downs Hearing Center Foundation is a 501 (c)3 nonprofit organization that provides financial support to the Marion Downs Hearing Center.

The Marion Downs Hearing Center provides culturally sensitive services, resources, education, and research to support the needs of individuals who are deaf, hard of hearing, or hearing, their families, and professionals; all activities value individual/family choice in communication and use of technology, striving to optimize the quality of life for all that it serves.

History

The Marion Downs Hearing Center was founded in 1996 by a group of distinguished professionals in the field of hearing loss, basing their efforts on the vision and work of Dr. Marion Downs, Professor Emeritus at the University of Colorado. A pioneer in the field of audiology, Marion was instrumental in conducting research that led to federal legislation requiring the screening of all newborn babies for hearing loss.

Prior to Marion’s ground-breaking research and the founding of the MDHC, services for children, youths, and adults who are hard of hearing were fragmented which often required parents of deaf or hard of hearing children to move from county to county or move to another city in order to access the programs their child needed. The Marion Downs Hearing Center recognized this gap and now offers individualized programs that teach the children and teenagers the skills to become independent adults, no matter their communication preference.

The Marion Downs Hearing Center Foundation was founded in 2002 to support the Marion Downs Hearing Center’s ever-growing programs, services, and research through charitable gifts from foundations, individuals, and businesses throughout Colorado, the West, and the nation.

Staff

Kristi Frahm, Director of Development

Vickie Thomson, Program Director