Archives for March 15, 2024

On January 31, 2024, the Ear Community Organization was awarded the Charlie F. Cronheim Memorial Grant, by Reconstruct Together – a nonprofit organization that aims to sponsor established humanitarian missions in need of funding that serve the reconstructive needs of patients in communities around the world. Reconstruct Together’s Board of Directors honored Ear Community for the work the organization does for the microtia and aural atresia community. “Our organization is proud to be a Charlie F. Cronheim Memorial Grant Recipient,” says Melissa Tumblin, Founder of Ear Community. I have had the pleasure of knowing Dr. Angelo Leto-Barone, President and Founder of Reconstruct Together, for the past eight years while working together to help patients in the microtia and atresia community. Dr. Leto-Barone is a wonderful plastic surgeon and friend who has dedicated his life to helping patients in need of microtia repair, cleft lip and palate repair and more.”

Thank you to Reconstruct Together for offering support to other advocate organizations and medical professionals in our community who are in need and share the same vision! Many of the communities like the microtia and atresia community are underserved communities needing additional help whenever possible. Thank you for helping give back to the community and by helping change people’s lives! Reconstruct Together’s grant is appreciated more than you know and will help many in the microtia and atresia community go on to live better quality lives!

To learn more about Reconstruct Together’s organization and mission, click here.

Here is a lovely video Reconstruct Together made when honoring our Ear Community Organization and the work we have done for the microtia and atresia community:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CznyIPfUuO0

Here is more on Ear Community’s work and mission.

Again, Ear Community is honored to be a grant recipient! Thank you to the Board of Directors at Reconstruct Together for selecting our organization to help give back to and support!
Melissa Tumblin
Founder – Executive Director
EarCommunity

Ear Community hosts picnics every year around the world helping bring Microtia and Atresia families together. This year’s picnics will take place in the United States in Orlando, Florida/ Fullerton, California/ Calgary, Canada/ Edina, Minnesota/ Broomfield, Colorado/ New Orleans, Louisiana and Laval, Quebec Canada! It is very exciting for many families! Everyone enjoys attending our picnics and our Ear Community picnics always offer such a wonderful opportunity for Microtia and Atresia families to come together, share experiences with each other, and maybe even make a new friend. Medical professionals such as world renown Microtia and Atresia repair surgeons, anaplastologists, ENTs, audiologists, and therapists along with the world’s leading hearing device companies all come together to mingle with us at our picnics, helping educate us on all of our options including hearing loss.

Ear Community Texas microtia and atresia picnic

Event locations for 2024

June 1st – Orlando, Florida (in collaboration with Nemours Children’s Health)
June 22nd – Fullerton, California (in collaboration with Dr. Tahiri Plastic Surgery)
June 22nd – Calgary, Canada
June 29th – Edina, Minnesota (in collaboration with Children’s Minnesota Hospital)
July 13th – Broomfield, Colorado
July 20th – New Orleans, Louisiana
July 27th – Laval, Quebec Canada
* To RSVP, send an email to Caitlin at:  CaitlinEarCommunity@gmail.com

Our events are held outdoors providing a relaxed environment and so the kids can play.

A special thank you to our amazing Ear Community Sponsors!
Platinum Sponsor – Cochlear Americas
Gold Sponsor – Oticon Medical
Silver Sponsor – MED-EL USA

A special thank you to the Blue Chip Foundation, The William, Jeff and Jennifer Gross Family Foundation, the Omnium Foundation, the Emily Hall Tremaine Foundation and the Every Kid A King Foundation for helping make our special days possible and for helping provide the much needed support to our organization it needs on many levels!

Ear Community’s events are made possible thanks to our organization’s proud sponsors, donor organizations and our community contributors! Without the continued support of our sponsors, donor organizations and community contributors, we would not be able to bring our Microtia and Atresia families together at our events as we have done for more than a decade. We also would not be able to work on all of the research and studies that our organization contributes to that help benefit our community in the future without the help of public contributors. Ear Community is thankful and appreciates the continued support from all of our supporters! Your support means the world to our families, our community and to our organization!

We look forward to seeing everyone at our Ear Community picnics this year!
Melissa Tumblin
Ear Community
Microtia and Atresia Support Group on Facebook