Ottawa, July 21, 2010: The Canadian Hard of Hearing Association (CHHA) is
the voice for hard of hearing Canadians, providing educational programs and advocates self-help for the hard of hearing. CHHA’s aim is to achieve full hearing accessibility in Canadian society. The Canadian Hard of Hearing Association Foundation (CHHAF) was established to create a perpetual financial legacy to support the activities of CHHA. In 2008, through the support of the CHHAF, the CHHA Scholarship Program for hard of hearing post-secondary students offers financial assistance and recognition to students with a hearing loss registered in a full-time program at a recognized college or university with an aim to obtaining a diploma or full degree. There are two more CHHA scholarships awarded beside the CHHAF that are funded by private donations.
The
Charles A. Laszlo Scholarship was created by Dr. Doreen Laszlo to honour the commitment and work of her husband on behalf of hard of hearing people. Dr. Laszlo, CHHA’s founding President served as its Executive and Board of Director for 16 years; as President of the International Federation of Hard of Hearing People (IFHOH) and as the President of CHHAF for a six year term.
The
Frank Algar Scholarship was created by the Algar family in memory of their father who was one of the founding members of CHHA and provided outstanding service for many years to the work of the association at the National, Chapter and Branch levels. He received numerous awards on behalf of his advocacy for the hard of hearing and those with disabilities, including the Marilyn Dahl Award of Merit in 2002 and the President’s Award in 1996.
The Canadian Hard of Hearing Association is pleased to announce the following winners:
CHHA/CHHAF Foundation Scholarship 2010 was awarded to
Mark Sherwood of Osoyoos, BC, diagnosed with a hearing loss at the age of three. A teacher from high school describes Mark as a “quiet yet confident young man, who has a positive presence amongst his peers”. Mark is an avid soccer and hockey player, who will be attending the University of Victoria for a Bachelor of Commerce in the fall.
The
Frank Algar Memorial Scholarship 2010 was awarded to
Kristin Ramsey of Richmond, BC, a fourth year Communications student at Simon Fraser University. Diagnosed with a hearing loss at three, Kristin never let this stop her from achieving Grade Eight in the Royal Conservatory of Music for Piano. She volunteers with the SFU student Newspaper, The Peak, and the BC Cancer Foundation. In the past year Kristin endured an injury that caused her hearing loss to drop dramatically, but she overcame this scare because of her strength of character.
The
Dr. Charles A. Laszlo Scholarship 2010 was awarded to
Sarah Hajjar of Calgary, AB, who has completed her first undergrad degree at the University of Alberta in Kinesiology. Diagnosed with a hearing loss at seven, she is currently enrolled at the University of Calgary in a Professional Doctorate of Medicine, and has become the first severely hard of hearing student to be accepted for this program. Her goal is “to become an understanding and caring physician who makes a difference in other people’s lives,” yet looking at her 250+ volunteer hours at the Stollery Children’s Hospital, it seems she already has.
For more information, contact Snookie Lomow, Executive Director, at the Canadian Hard of Hearing Association at
execdir@chha.ca or call toll free 1-800-263-8068.
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