Salt Lake City – Sonic Innovations has announced the donation of over 44,000 hearing aid battery cells to three Minnesota nonprofit groups. The Minnesota Hands & Voices at Lifetrack Resources, Lifeworks Services, and The Lutheran Home: Belle Plaine are receiving the batteries, which were about to be thrown away.

Sonic President and COO Joe Lugara explained in the press statement, “We can no longer ship these [batteries] to customers due to the proximity of their expiration date and the length of our warranty periods, but they could still be beneficial to people with hearing aids. Once our team discovered the extent of the situation, they approached me with the idea to donate the batteries to local causes and help the people in their community. This donation is a great example of how our team saw an opportunity to give back, and we are excited to help support these three nonprofit organizations in their valuable endeavors.”

Sonic Innovations’ western inside sales representative Andrew Jennings and central inside sales representative Erica Sweet were selected to coordinate the donation of the batteries.

Jennings and Sweet selected two of the organizations based on their own personal experiences with them.

Minnesota Hands & Voices is a private not-for-profit program at Lifetrack Resources with a mission to provide a variety of support services to families of children who have been recently identified as deaf or hard of hearing, as well as families further along in their journey. As a chapter of the national Hands & Voices organization, they will be able to distribute the batteries to parents and consumers across the United States and British Columbia.

Lifeworks Services is a nonprofit organization that helps individuals with disabilities live fuller lives that are integrated into the flow of community experience. The organization serves 3,000 people with developmental disabilities and their families across the Twin Cities and throughout Minnesota.

The Lutheran Home: Belle Plaine is part of The Lutheran Home Association, a not-for-profit corporation owned and operated by a national association of Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod and Evangelical Lutheran Synod congregations. The facility offers specialized skilled nursing care, memory care, and a Wellness and Rehabilitation Center.

Photo: (L to R): Andrew Jennings (Sonic), Erica Sweet (Sonic), Candace Lindow-Davies (MN Hands & Voices), Kathy Landon (Sonic), Erin Reichert (Sonic), Joe Ranasinghe (Sonic)

SOURCE: Sonic Innovations