Bobby Simmons was fitted with new hearing aids at the Beltone New England clinic in Orange on Oct. 3 under a grant program established by the company. Photo courtesy of Beltone New England.
Bobby Simmons suffers from severe hearing loss but can’t afford to purchase hearing aids.
Fortunately, the 54-year-old Bridgeport man won’t have to. Cassandra MacDonald, a hearing care professional at the Beltone Hearing Center in Orange, took matters in to her own hands, applying to the Beltone Hearing Care Foundation on his behalf and getting him approved for new hearing aids. Simmons was fitted with them on Oct. 3.
The foundation, a 501(c)(3) charitable organization, donates hearing aids to those who are in need and are unable to access them. Both individuals and organizations are eligible to receive assistance from the foundation through direct nominations to Beltone or at one of its 1,500 locations across North America.
In MacDonald’s application letter, she wrote that Simmons came to the Orange clinic on Sept. 19 in search of help for his failing hearing.
“He desperately needs hearing aids so he can secure a part time job for income to pay his rent and is applying now to the foundation for assistance,” she wrote.
Simmons was originally from South Carolina, where he was the manager of a Subway and a clothing store before becoming ill. He now lives alone in a Bridgeport apartment. He receives dialysis due to two failed kidney transplants and is currently on a list for a third kidney.
“This Foundation gives us a new path to achieve this mission by helping deserving individuals and organizations in their communities enrich their quality of life,” said Beltone CEO Michael Andreozzi.
“We are thrilled to be able to help Bobby Simmons, obviously a person who is truly deserving and who needed our assistance in a huge way,” said Andreozzi. “We are also happy to have played an important role in changing his life for the better. That’s what Beltone is all about.”
The Beltone Hearing Center is located at 518-2 Boston Post Rd. in Orange.