Callier Center Receives $1.2 Million from Crystal Charity Ball

The Callier Center for Communication Disorders has been selected as a 2025 beneficiary of The Crystal Charity Ball. The award will provide $1.2 million for the Callier Center’s Hearing Opportunities for Pediatric Equity (HOPE) Project, which offers hearing care for economically disadvantaged and Medicaid-eligible children in Dallas.

The HOPE Project is part of the Callier Center’s Pediatric Clinical Care program and fills a critical need by providing hearing aids and follow-up services to underserved children suffering from hearing loss.

According to Callier Center statistics, approximately 390 newborns are impacted by hearing loss in North Texas each year, with 250 children at risk for developmental delays due to lack of care. The Callier Center is currently the only facility in the North Texas region that provides comprehensive hearing loss treatment for all Medicaid-eligible and uninsured families.

“Untreated hearing loss can lead to auditory deprivation, which negatively impacts brain auditory pathway development, delays communication and learning, and creates barriers to social, emotional and academic growth,” said Angela Shoup BS’89, MS’92, PhD’94, the Ludwig A. Michael, MD Callier Center Executive Director.

Through the HOPE Project, the Callier Center provides children with timely hearing diagnoses, personalized hearing devices and ongoing treatment, ensuring access to life-changing services and eliminating obstacles to children’s healthy growth and development.

In recent years, the center has pioneered efforts to accelerate care for children who need hearing aids. The Clinical Innovation Lab creates 3D-printed earmolds in-house, reducing production times from three weeks to a few hours and minimizing the gap between patients’ diagnoses and when they receive hearing aids.

Once hearing devices are fitted, ongoing care provided by the Callier Center ensures proper functioning and adjustments to meet a growing child’s changing needs. Depending on their age, patients may be seen as often as six times a year to support listening and language development.

Over the next three years, Crystal Charity funding will enable the Callier Center to provide 400 economically disadvantaged children with personalized hearing aids, including 3D-printed earmolds, as well as hearing aid fittings and comprehensive audiological care, removing financial obstacles for low-income families and ensuring children receive uninterrupted treatment.

This funding also augments the Callier Center’s hearing aid loaner program, which has a limited number of devices to provide for temporary use while patients await their personal hearing aids.

With Crystal Charity’s support, the Callier Center will be able to provide devices to patients, enhancing their connections with family and friends at all hours of the day or night.

“The Callier Center is fortunate to be the recipient of Crystal Charity’s generosity,” Shoup said. “Because of Crystal Charity’s support, hundreds of children in our community who experience speech, language and hearing disorders will receive the tools and support needed to learn, connect with others and thrive.”