2018 Picnics and Events

2018 Ear Community Microtia and Atresia Summer Family Picnics

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 Sacramento, California/ El Paso, Texas/ Cincinnati, Ohio/ Nashville, Tennessee/ Charleston, South Carolina/ Hamilton, Ontario – Canada and Johannesburg, South Africa!  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 and medical device companies all come together to mingle with us at our picnics, helping educate us on all of our options including hearing loss.

We look forward to seeing you at our Ear Community picnics this year!

Melissa Tumblin,
Founder and Executive Director of Ear Community
Founder of the Microtia and Atresia Support Group on Facebook

2018 Ear Community Picnics and Events

D/HH Resource Night for Colorado Families
Adams 12 School District
Date:  Tuesday, February 20th, 2018
Time 5:30PM to 7PM
RSVP to Julie Beard at:  https://goo.gl/DkQYQn
* Please visit us at the Ear Community booth!

EHDI (Early Hearing Detection Intervention) meeting
Denver, Colorado
Date:  March 18th -20th
Time:  7:30AM – 5PM
Please visit Ear Community at Booth #46!
*  For more information about the EHDI conference, click here.

State Capital Meeting
National SBDC Day
Denver, Colorado
Date:  Wednesday, March 21st, 2018
Time:  11AM to 1PM
Table #15

California Ear Community Picnic
Sacramento, California
Date:  Saturday, June 23rd, 2018
Time:  11AM to 3PM
RSVP to Heidi at:  EarCommunityCaliforniaPicnic@gmail.com

Texas Ear Community Picnic
El Paso, Texas
Date:  Saturday, July 21st, 2018
Time:  11AM to 3PM
RSVP to Heidi at:  EarCommunityELPasoPicnic@gmail.com

Tennessee Ear Community Picnic
Nashville, Tennessee
Date:  Saturday, July 21st, 2018
Time:  1PM to 5PM
RSVP to Melissa at:  TennesseeEarCommunityPicnic@gmail.com
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*  This Ear Community picnic will be in collaboration with a FREE surgeon conference that will take place at Vanderbilt University Medical Center (in the Children’s Hospital).  This conference is a wonderful opportunity to learn about all of your options for Microtia and Atresia and again…it is FREE to Microtia and Atresia families.  A special thank you to Vanderbilt University Medical Center and the Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt for helping host our Microtia and Atresia event.
Our collaborative event will begin at 8:30AM – 5:00PM with educational presentations by:

– Ron Eavey MD SM Director, Professor and Chair for Research and Causes of Congenital Ear Malformation, Vanderbilt
– Scott Stephan MD Facial Plastic Reconstructive Surgery Medpor and Rib Graft, Vanderbilt
– Alejandro Rivas MD Neuro-otology Hearing Restoration in Aural Atresia, Vanderbilt
– Margaret McRedmond Au.D. CCC-A Audiology, Vanderbilt
– Scott Fiscus B.C.O.,  Anaplastology Ear Prosthesis, Nashville, TN
– Parent Panel
*  A delicious lunch will be provided as we kick off our Ear Community picnic along with a face painter, balloon artist, and magician.  We look forward to seeing everyone at our event.  A special thank you to Vanderbilt Medical Center and Dr. Ron Eavey for making this event possible with Ear Community.  Please join us for an amazing day!
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Ontario Ear Community Picnic
Hamilton, Ontario – Canada
Date:  Saturday, July 28th, 2018
Time:  11AM to 3PM
RSVP to Heidi at:  EarCommunityCanadaPicnic@gmail.com

Ohio Ear Community Picnic
Cincinnati, Ohio
Date:  Saturday, July 28th, 2018
Time:  11AM to 3PM
RSVP to Heidi at:  OhioEarCommunityPicnic@gmail.com

South Carolina Ear Community Picnic
Charleston, South Carolina
Date:  Saturday, August 11th, 2018
Time:  11AM to 3PM
RSVP to Heidi at:  EarCommunityCharlestonPicnic@gmail.com

South Africa Ear Community Picnic
*  In collaboration with the Give An Ear Foundation
Johannesburg, South Africa
Date:  Saturday, September 29th, 2018
Time:  TBD
RSVP to Viola at:  viola@giveanearfoundation.org
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November 9th, 2018 is National Microtia Awareness Day!  Come celebrate with us throughout the United States and across the world for all who wish to celebrate with us!

To hear all about our amazing first National Microtia Awareness Day, please click here…
Click here for an interview with AudiologyOnline about National Microtia Awareness Day…
Click here for our radio commercial for raising awareness about Microtia and Atresia…
Coming soon….click (here) anytime during the year to order official National Microtia Awareness t-shirts…
National Microtia Awareness Day is an amazing day of awareness and one that is special to so many of us!

Sacramento, California (USA)
June 23rd, 2018

Everyone had an amazing day at our Sacramento, California Ear Community picnic that took place on Saturday, June 23rd 2018. It was a hot 105 degree beautiful day where we had nearly 250 people come together to meet each other and share their experiences about having Microtia and Atresia. Lindsay Mackey and her son, Aidan (who was born with Microtia and Atresia), including Lindsay’s daughter Shelby and husband, Jason, were our amazing picnic hosts. Lindsay and Family were so excited to host our California Picnic this year, she really worked hard to make it such a special day for families.  Lindsay and Aidan and their family have attended at least four Ear Community picnics over the years and I am proud to know this family since 2013.

Saturday was a day of giving back to the community. In fact, our picnic host, Lindsay, was so very thankful for the wonderful picnic, that she donated all of the remaining food to the local police department who were very touched and grateful for the delicious food. Families enjoyed a nice provided lunch from Costco.  Thank you to Costco Warehouses in Norther California for donating over $100 in donation gift cards to Lindsay Mackey for our event.  W had lots of fun for the kids with face painting, balloon art, and everyone enjoyed entertainment provided by a wonderful magician who brought along his magical white rabbit, Fluffy.  We had families at our Ear Community picnic who have been attending our California Ear Community picnics for the past several years and we also had newcomers to our picnic who were excited because they were able to make a decision on a bone conduction device after trying them on at our picnic. It was a day of joy and even some tears of joy for some families who were relieved to find others in the same situation with Microtia and Atresia. Thank you for coming to our picnic!

We would also like to extend special thanks to our wonderful sponsors who help to make our picnic events possible! Thank you to Cochlear Americas, Oticon Medical, Med-El, Stryker CMF (Medpor) and to Medtronic.  Our events truly could not happen without the support of our sponsors and the members of our very special Ear Community, thank you from the bottom of our hearts. Our amazing sponsors helped everyone learn about their options at our picnic. A special thank you to Cochlear Americas, our Ear Community Platinum Sponsor, who helped educate everyone on the Baha 5 and Sound Arc sound processors. A special thank you to Oticon Medical, an Ear Community Platinum Sponsor, who helped educate us on the Ponto 3 Superpower sound processor system. Thank you to Med-EL, an Ear Community Silver Sponsor, for helping educate families on the newly launched ADHEAR sound processor.  Thank you to Stryker CMF, an Ear Community Silver Sponsor, for helping educate families on the Medpor ear implant used for Microtia repair during outer ear reconstruction. Thank you also to Medtronic for being a part of our special day and educating about the Alpha 2 MPO processor.  At our Ear Community table, we had a lot of great information about Ear Community and Microtia and Atresia, as well as Spokiz glasses samples for people to check out from James Hermsen, and some helpful resources information from the California branch of Hands & Voices .

Sometimes it truly takes a village to do just about anything, and our picnic this year was no exception.  There are many things that happen behind the scenes to make everything run smoothly.  The fabulous entertainers at our picnic, were all from one family who had suffered a tragic loss only days before our picnic event.  They rallied together and still came to make this day special for us because of their integrity and desire to help support individuals with Microtia and Atresia.  We would like to offer our deepest and most heart-felt gratitude to our picnic entertainers who continued to make our day a special day during this time of heartache and loss for their family. Thank you All Party Art in the Sacramento area!  You helped make our day an amazing day for our Microtia and Atresia families!

Thank you to everyone who was involved with making our Ear Community picnic possible, and thank you to all who braved the blistering heat and partied with us! Our Sacramento, CA picnic was an amazing picnic for everyone who attended!  Below are some fun memories from our special day in California!
– Melissa Tumblin
and Ear Community Board Members

El Paso, Texas (USA)
July 21st, 2018

On Saturday, June 21st, 2018, Ear Community hosted a Microtia and Atresia picnic in El Paso, Texas. The picnic was held at a beautiful park across the street from a water park. The kids loved being able to play in the field right by the pavilion.  It was a warm sunny day with a nice breeze which was good because it helped cool everyone off since it was pretty hot. We had about 80 people attend our Ear Community picnic making it nice and quaint. Monica and Sebastian Rascon hosted our picnic along with Monica’s husband, Sergio, and their second son, Joaquin.   Sebastian is now 8 years old and was born with bilateral Microtia and Atresia and since then has had rib graft outer ear reconstruction surgery and is aided with the Cochlear Baha 5 Attract system.  Monica has wanted to host a picnic for some time and was thrilled to be able to bring families together from her area!  Especially, since Monica runs a small local microtia and atresia support group in her area called “three cheers for little ears” where her family helps connect other families in the area.  I have known the Rascon Family for the past four years now as they are members of our Ear Community Organization.

We had a delicious lunch from Costco in El Paso with chips, fruit, cookies, and plenty of water, which was perfect for a hot day. We also had a face painter there doing face painting and Jamie O’ Hara doing magic. The kids loved getting their faces painted!  Jamie’s magic show really got everyone involved and adults and children alike had a great time.  Thank you to Costco for donating one gift card toward our picnic food cost and also thank you to the local table rental company who donated all of our fold up tables to Monica and her family for our picnic.  A special thank you to Roberto Parra of Parra Photography who did a wonderful job as our picnic photographer. Roberto even donated his time to document our very fun and special day, thank you for being so generous! Thank you for helping make our day easier and even more special.

Our amazing sponsors helped everyone learn about their options at our picnic. Thank you so much for believing in our cause and for supporting Ear Community’s mission, to help bring everyone together so no one with Microtia/Atresia is alone and to help educate everyone about all options.  Thank you to Cochlear Americas helped everyone learn about the new Baha 5 Atract and Connect system and the newly launched SoundArc. Thank you to Oticon Medical for helping educate everyone on the new Ponto 3 Superpower System and wireless accessories. In order to help families understand more about Medpor, we had Stryker CMF join us with a Medpor ear implant. Thank you to Med-EL for helping educate us on the newly launched ADHEAR sound processor that adhears behind the ear as a nonsurgical option for a hearing device.  Thank you to Medtronic for coming and sharing about the Alpha 2 MPO E+processor that is the only sound processor that has rechargeable batteries.  At our Ear Community table we were also information about Spokiz glasses, from James Hermsen and Dr. Donny Suh, that are designed for kiddos with little ears so their eye and sunglasses stay up on their head.  Thank you also to Roberto Parra who donated his time to help capture our memories as our picnic photographer.  Thank you!

This day and entire event would not have been possible without the help of Monica and Sebastian Rascon and their family!   Monica enjoyed hosting our Ear Community picnic, she said that seeing families leave with information and hope was what made our whole event worthwhile. She also said that she was so very grateful to have been able to host this picnic and that it really meant a lot to her and her family to help bring their community together for Microtia and Atresia families.

Thank you to everyone who was involved with making our Ear Community picnic possible and thank you to all who braved the heat and embraced our special day together! Our El Paso, Texas picnic was an amazing picnic for everyone who attended!  Below are some fun memories from our special day in Texas!
Thank you!
Melissa Tumblin
Founder – Ear Community

3rd Annual Vanderbilt University Medical Center
Microtia and Atresia Conference and Nashville
Ear Community Family Picnic (USA)
July 21st, 2018

On Saturday, July 21st, Ear Community hosted it’s 3rd Microtia and Atresia summer family picnic in Nashville, Tennessee along with the McClellan Family (Melissa, James, and Jamison) who are patients of Vanderbilt. Jamison was born with Microtia and Atresia and wears the Baha 5 and SoundArc and likes his little ear right now.  I have known the McClellen We had over 160 people attend our event and it was an amazing day for everyone to come together. Families traveled from surrounding states including Tennessee to be with us on our special day.  Our Ear Community picnic was in collaboration with the 3rd Annual Vanderbilt University Medical Center Microtia and Atresia conference.  Vanderbilt’s Microtia and Atresia Clinic’s medical staff presented at our conference which included Dr. Roland Eavey (Rib graft and soft tissue reconstruction) also the Clinical Director for the ENT Otolarygology Department at Vanderbilt, Dr. Scott Stephan (Medpor and CAM) an Associate Professor at the University for plastic surgery, Dr. Alejo Rivas (Canalplasty, bone anchored implantation, and CAM) also an Associate Professor of Otolaryngology and Communication Sciences, as well as at the Department of Neurological Surgery at Vanderbilt, Dr. Margaret McRedmond and Dr. Brandy Stephens presented from audiology, and Scott Fiscus presented about prosthetic ear options.

Families enjoyed a delicious Jim n’ Nicks bar-b-q lunch and lots of fun and entertainment provided by our magician, balloon artist, and face painter. We had lots of families support our organization by wearing their National Microtia Awareness t-shirts, Ear Community t-shirts, and “Microtia Kids Rock” t-shirts to our picnic too and it was great to see so many familiar faces and meet many more new ones! We enjoyed our picnic portion of the event inside the beautiful recreation center with AC.  Our conference took place at the Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital.

Families were truly able to learn about all of their options at our Nashville Ear Community picnic and Vanderbilt conference…from soft tissue reconstruction, ear expanders, rib graft surgery, Medpor surgery, CAM and aural atresia repair, BAI surgery, prosthetic ear options, and of course the “do nothing option and support your loved one just the way your child is.”  On February 14^th, 2017, Dr. Ron Eavey launched the first “all options” Microtia and Atresia clinic at Vanderbilt University Medical Center along with the help of Melissa Tumblin, Founder of the Ear Community Organization.  Both are very excited to be able to offer all options in one location at the clinic, including providing a top medical center and university that can also help educate about  options for microtia and atresia for these families.

A very special thank you to our amazing sponsors who helped make our picnic day the amazing day it was!  Thank you to Cochlear Americas (our Platinum Sponsor) for helping educate families about Baha 5 Connect and Attract and SoundArc.  Thank you to Oticon Medical (our Platinum Sponsor) for helping educate everyone about the newly launched Ponto 3 Superpower along with all of the accessories that help make every day better for Ponto users.  Thank you to Stryker CMF (our Silver Sponsor) for helping educate families about the Medpor ear implant for outer ear reconstruction. Thank you to Med-EL (our Silver Sponsor) for helping educate everyone about the newly launched ADHEAR sound processor that adhears behind the ear.  Thank you also to Medtronic (Sophono) for helping educate everyone on the Alpha 2 MPO E+ sound processor and all of its accessories as well!  A special thank you to Vanderbilt University Medical Center and the Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital for helping host our event and conference during the first part of our day and for all that the University and Medical Center, along with Dr. Eavey, Dr. Chinnadurai, Dr. Rivas, Dr. Stephan, Drs. McRedomond and Stephens, and Scott Fiscus for all that you do to help everyone know what is the latest available option to help their loved ones who are born with Microtia and Atresia. Thank you to James Hermsen of Spokiz for joining us at our Ear Community picnic to help offer eye and sunglasses option for children who have no ears so they glasses stay up on their head (designed by Dr. Donny Suh).

Here are some memories from our 3rd Annual Ear Community Microtia and Atresia picnic day and Vanderbilt conference.
Thank you!
Melissa Tumblin
Ear Community

Cincinnati, Ohio (USA)
July 28th, 2018

On Saturday, July 28th, Ear Community hosted a Microtia and Atresia family picnic at the beautiful Winton Woods Park in Cincinnati, Ohio. Our picnic host was Camilla Gilbert (who was born with bilateral Microtia and Atresia) and her family.  Camilla enjoyed hosting our event so much that her entire family had special picnic t-shirts made that said host and co-host (on her daughter’s shirt) which was fun and helped who Camilla’s excitement for being our picnic host.  Camilla found the Ear Community Organization in 2012.  It was our very first Ear Community picnic that Ear Community hosted in Columbus, OH where Camilla tried on a new bone conduction hearing device that helped her realize she needed to hear better.  Ever since that picnic, Camilla has been aided with newer technology and has never looked back.  Camilla is a past board member for Ear Community and Ear Community’s very first college scholarship recipient.  Camilla even nominated Ear Community as her favorite nonprofit organization one year where Ear Community was awarded $1,000 through the Oticon Focus On the People Awards.  I have known Camilla for seven years now and have watched her grow and flourish.

We had about 180 people join us at our fun picnic from Ohio, Kentucky, Tennessee, Indiana, West Virginia, and Florida!  It was a beautiful day for everyone who attended.  The kids had a wonderful time getting their faces painted and balloon animals made and enjoyed some great magic too with our magician! Families were able to mingle with each other and share their experiences and let the kids play with each other.  A special thank you to Tyree Gilbert of SkatePhiMedia, Camilla’s brother, for donating his time as our picnic photographer.  Thank you for helping us capture the day’s memories, Tyree!  https://m.facebook.com/Skatephimwdia/  One of Ear Community’s board members, Melissa McClellan, and family also attended our Cincinnati picnic, coming all the way from Kentucky to be at our picnic to help represent Ear Community.

We would also like to extend special thanks to our wonderful sponsors who help to make our picnic events possible! Thank you to Cochlear Americas, Oticon Medical, Med-El, Stryker CMF (Medpor) and to Medtronic.  Our events truly could not happen without the support of our sponsors and the members of our very special Ear Community, thank you from the bottom of our hearts. Our amazing sponsors helped everyone learn about their options at our picnic. A special thank you to Cochlear Americas, our Ear Community Platinum Sponsor, who helped educate everyone on the Baha 5 and Sound Arc sound processors. A special thank you to Oticon Medical, an Ear Community Platinum Sponsor, who helped educate us on the Ponto 3 Superpower sound processor system. Thank you to Med-EL, an Ear Community Silver Sponsor, for helping educate families on the newly launched ADHEAR sound processor.  Thank you to Stryker CMF, an Ear Community Silver Sponsor, for helping educate families on the Medpor ear implant used for Microtia repair during outer ear reconstruction. Thank you also to Medtronic for being a part of our special day and educating about the Alpha 2 MPO processor.  We also had Spokiez glasses samples at the picnic, to show how kiddos who wear glasses but have little ears can keep their glasses on.

Thank you to Camilla Gilbert and her family for being such wonderful supporters to our Ear Community Organization over the years!  Camilla even traveled with other Ear Community members to the FDA this past February to talk about what it is like to live with bilateral Microtia and Atresia during a listening session.  Thank you for all of your commitment to our organization and to the Microtia and Atresia community, Camilla!  You are such an amazing role model and advocate for so many.  Your daughter, Jada, is so lucky to have you as her mom!  Thank you to everyone who attended our Cincinnati, Ohio Ear Community Microtia and Atresia summer family picnic this year!  This was Ear Community’s second time hosting a family event in the state of Ohio!
– Melissa Tumblin
Ear Community Founder
www.EarCommunity.org

Hamilton, Ontario (Canada)
July 28th, 2018

Ear Community hosted our 2nd Microtia and Atresia picnic in Hamilton, Ontario Canada on Saturday, July 28th, 2018.  What a beautiful day it was! We had over 100 people come together to share experiences about Microtia and Atresia from the Ontario and Toronto area, including some families Colorado and New York (USA)!  Picnic attendees learned about all of their options for Microtia and Atresia (surgical techniques, prosthetic ears, reconstructive implants for the outer ear, and hearing devices. A special thank you to Cindy Stewart and her son James and daughter Lily, for being our amazing picnic hosts. Cindy has been a part of Ear Community for several years now, and currently serves on the Board of Directors, actively helping us raise awareness about Microtia and Atresia in Canada.  Cindy’s son, James, was born with Microtia and Atresia and has had rib graft surgery and is implanted with the Cochlear Americas Baha 5 Attract and is doing great! Cindy has been a great advocate for her son, James, but also for the Ontario community as Cindy is very involved with the D/HH community and school districts in her area.  is happy to reach out to anyone who may have questions about James’ surgery and their experience on their big ear journey.   

The kids enjoyed getting their faces painted and meeting all of the animals at the petting zoo.  There were also had horse rides for the big kids and adults on Athen, the Clydesdale! A delicious lunch was provided and donated by Quiznos (thank you to Jaymie) and Garth Pizza (thank you to Kinar and his sons)!  We even had a live band and our picnic event made the Hamilton, Ontario news that evening!  So many families had a great time getting to connect with one another on our special day.  Melissa Tumblin, Ear Community’s founder was able to attend the picnic and meet many families that she has gotten to know over the years through Ear Community’s Facebook support group, “the Microtia and Atresia Support Group.” It is always so wonderful when Melissa is able to meet with children and families who are going through what she has with her daughter, Ally.  Melissa has know Cindy Stewart and her children for the past six years now and has enjoyed becoming friends over the years.  This was the fourth Ear Community picnic to be hosted in Canada since 2012. 

Ear Community picnics offer a chance for families to talk to one another about experiences they are dealing with, to know they aren’t alone, and to see other children with little ears.  The picnics are a chance to celebrate the community we have, and to learn from top medical professionals who specialize in options for Microtia and Atresia. Thank you to the Sunnybrook Medical team for joining us at our picnic in Ontario!  It was great to learn more about craniofacial options and prosthetic ear options from the Sunnybrook team!

We would also like to extend special thanks to our wonderful sponsors who help to make our picnic events possible! Thank you to Cochlear Americas, Oticon Medical, Med-El, Stryker CMF (Medpor) and to Medtronic.  Our events truly could not happen without the support of our sponsors and the members of our very special Ear Community, thank you from the bottom of our hearts. Our amazing sponsors helped everyone learn about their options at our picnic. A special thank you to Cochlear Americas, our Ear Community Platinum Sponsor, who helped educate everyone on the Baha 5 and Sound Arc sound processors. A special thank you to Oticon Medical, an Ear Community Platinum Sponsor, who helped educate us on the Ponto 3 Superpower sound processor system. Thank you to Med-EL, an Ear Community Silver Sponsor, for helping educate families on the newly launched ADHEAR sound processor.  Thank you to Stryker CMF, an Ear Community Silver Sponsor, for helping educate families on the Medpor ear implant used for Microtia repair during outer ear reconstruction. Thank you also to Medtronic for being a part of our special day and educating about the Alpha 2 MPO processor.  At our Ear Community table, we had a lot of great information about Ear Community and Microtia and Atresia, as well as Spokiz eyeglasses samples for people to check out from James Hermsen!  Thank you to all of the medical professionals who attended our event and met with families.  

It means so much for these families to come together and meet where they can share experiences and make a friend who is in the same situation.  Thank you to everyone who attended and made it such a special day! Thank you again to Cindy, James, and Lily for hosting our 2018 Ontario Ear Community picnic!
Thank you!
Melissa Tumblin
Ear Community Founder
www.EarCommunity.org

Charleston, South Carolina (USA)
August 11th, 2018

On Saturday, August 11^th, 2018, in Charleston, South Carolina we hosted our first Ear Community picnic in the Carolinas.  Eloise and Eric Thome, along with their daughters Landon and Anna, hosted our Ear Community picnic for Microtia and Atresia families. Landon is five and was born with Treacher Collins Syndrome, bilateral Microtia and Atresia, and wears two Cochlear Americas Baha 5’s.  Eloise and Landon explained why they were so grateful for Ear Community as it was the first organization they found that helped them with the answers they were looking for.  We had close to 100 people join us in coming together to share experiences with each other and to learn about their options for Microtia and Atresia. Families traveled from all over surrounding states to come to our Ear Community picnic (North Caroline, South Carolina, Kentucky, Virginia, Ohio, Georgia, Tennessee, and Delaware).

Eloise and Landon did an amazing job hosting our Charleston Ear Community picnic. The Riverfront Park location was beautiful, and they found an awesome face painter who created fun face art on everyone’s faces.  We had a fun magician who made everyone laugh and wonder about his magic tricks. We even had a really fun balloon twister who made fabulous creations for everyone!  We had a delicious lunch from Costco, and families had a blast connecting, learning about all of their options, and letting the kids play.

Landon had the chance to be a role model and share her journey with other families about her experience. It’s stories like Landon’s that help give other children and adults who attend Ear Community picnics the chance to see how important it is to know your options and how what a success and relief it can be when you finally feel comfortable enough making a decision that is right for you.

A special thank you to all who helped Eloise and her family make sure our Ear Community picnic went off without a hitch! Thank you to Ear Community’s board member, Melissa McClellan for traveling all the way from Louisville, Kentucky to attend the picnic and help. Thank you to Kasi Logan and her family from coming from Virginia, one of our Facebook support group admins for lending a helping hand at the event as well.  They helped hang our Ear Community banner, get the food for our picnic and drinks, organize and help greet everyone at our picnic. A special thank you to  manager Melissa Czyzewski from Costco for donating gift cards that allowed Eloise to buy extra water bottles and treats for our lunch.

We would also like to extend special thanks to our wonderful sponsors who help to make our picnic events possible! Thank you to Cochlear Americas, Oticon Medical, Med-El, Stryker CMF (Medpor) and to Medtronic.  Our events truly could not happen without the support of our sponsors and the members of our very special Ear Community, thank you from the bottom of our hearts. Our amazing sponsors helped everyone learn about their options at our picnic. A special thank you to Cochlear Americas, our Ear Community Platinum Sponsor, who helped educate everyone on the Baha 5 and Sound Arc sound processors. A special thank you to Oticon Medical, an Ear Community Platinum Sponsor, who helped educate us on the Ponto 3 Superpower sound processor system. Thank you to Med-EL, an Ear Community Silver Sponsor, for helping educate families on the newly launched ADHEAR sound processor.  Thank you to Stryker CMF, an Ear Community Silver Sponsor, for helping educate families on the Medpor ear implant used for Microtia repair during outer ear reconstruction. Thank you also to Medtronic for being a part of our special day and educating about the Alpha 2 MPO processor.  At our Ear Community table, we had a lot of great information about Ear Community and Microtia and Atresia, as well as Spokiz eyeglasses samples for people to check out from James Hermsen!  Thank you to all of the medical professionals who attended our event and met with families.  Thank you most of all to the families who attended our amazing picnic, coming together to share your experiences, and we are so happy that you were able to learn about your options.

Our Ear Community picnics are always so special.  Often times, our events are priceless to so many families.  There were tears of joy and laughter at our picnic in Charleston for families seeing their children hear for the first time and meet others in the same situation.  Here are some fun memories from our Charleston, South Carolina Ear Community picnic:

Johannesburg, South Africa
September 29th, 2018

On Saturday, September 29th, 2018, our South African Ear Community Microtia and Atresia family picnic and awareness walk took place, in collaboration with the Give An Ear Foundation, for families near the Johannesburg area.  It was a beautiful sunny day with over 100 people attending both the awareness walk for Microtia and Atresia and our picnic.  My dear friend, Viola Nwadike, organized our first awareness walk in South Africa for Microtia and Atresia families!  Another dear friend friend of mine, Mark de Klerk, helped guide and manage our Ear Community picnic portion of the event with this being his second picnic he has helped host.  Viola and Mark poured their hearts and passion into making sure our special day went off without a hitch!  The awareness walk was amazing and this was our second Microtia and Atresia picnic (with our very first Ear Community taking place in 2015).

Families were able to come together and share experiences and enjoy a wonderful day together where no one is different.  Families enjoyed a light lunch and were able to learn more about Microtia and Atresia and the options from Dr. Michael Mol (Microtia specialist) who joined us for the second time at our Ear Community/Give An Ear Foundation picnic.  Thank you to Dr. Tanya Hanekom (audiologist with the SAAA) who helped educate everyone about hearing loss.  A special thank you to our Ear Community sponsors for helping make our picnic day possible for these families to enjoy!  Thank you to Oticon Medical and Cochlear Americas for being our Platinum Sponsors and for being a part of our special day!  Thank you to Kaylini Naidoo of Oticon Medical for helping educate on the Ponto Plus and Ponto 3 Superpower sound processor and accessories.  Thank you also to our audiology sponsors from SAAA who helped educate and answer families questions about hearing loss and thank you also to Hearing in South Africa for recognizing our special day and blogging about our picnic and walk.

2018 was a big year for Microtia and Atresia families in South Africa thanks to the amazing support and advocacy they receive from some special people in the country.  A special thank you to Mark de Klerk for his story and for sharing his experience as an adult with Microtia and Atresia and also Treacher Collins Syndrome.  Over the year, Mark has experienced reconstructive surgery and also hearing device implantation surgery.  While these procedures were triumphs for Mark, Mark has also learned to manage the challenges and struggles along his journey as well.  However, Mark didn’t let any of this get him down.  In fact, he was able to take what he has learned and turn it into advocacy for South Africa.  Recently, Mark embarked on a journey to help try obtain hearing device coverage through insurance policies in South Africa (as not all hearing devices are covered).  Mark is also a strong advocate for many adults and children.  He is also a leader in his community and is a part of Eagle Scouts and Boy Scout local troops.  Thank you for your dedication, advocacy, and guidance to so many, Mark!  I have known Mark for the past 8 years and am thankful for his friendship.  This was Mark’s second time hosting an Ear Community picnic for the Microtia and Atresia community.

Another one of our special advocates in the South African community is Viola Nwadike, who founded the Give An Ear Foundation to help support Microtia and Atresia families in South Africa.  Viola’s son was born with Microtia and Atresia and she wanted to find a way to help give back.  This year, Viola focused on raising awareness and hosted our first Microtia and Atresia awareness walk and also helped campaign to help promote public awareness about Microtia and Atresia.  Viola and her foundation collaborate with our Ear Community Organization by helping children with hearing loss obtain donated hearing devices through our Ear Community Organization.  Viola’s Give An Ear Foundation is able to help provide transportation (in collaboration with the Smile Foundation) to help get our hearing device recipients to an audiologist so their new hearing devices can be fitted and she is able to help educate families who have children with Microtia and Atresia letting them know that they are not alone.  I have known Viola as well for the past seven years and have come to know her as a wonderful friend, mother, and advocate.  Thank you for all that you have done with Give An Ear and for the Microtia and Atresia community, Viola!

Again, thank you to all of the Microtia and Atresia families who were able to be a part of our special day with everyone coming together as a community this Saturday.  Love you all!  – Melissa and Ally