Lion Jill Bates, Spotsylvania Courthouse 100 Lions Club
Visit the "Listen Up!" website.
See the new Community Brochure.
About the Program:
The objective is to educate families and communities about early childhood hearing loss and provide free hearing screenings to children 2- 5 years of age, in order to find deaf and hard of hearing children at an earlier age.
The program was launched by District 24-C in April 2025. In our district, informational Road Shows were held to explain the program rollout, leadership roles, and the recruitment and training of volunteers to serve on Teams.
Program Leadership:
Program Champions:
- PCC Jean Cook -- cookjean548@gmail.com
- Lion Valerie James Abbott --valeriejamesabbott@gmail.com
24-L Regional Coordinators:
- Lion Evelyn Marr -- remlik@verizon.net
- Lion Sandy Smith -- sandyclaresmith@gmail.com
Updates:
SEPTEMBER 2026 -- DG Chuck Schwab -- The next phase of our Listen Up! program is ready to begin. Over 120 Lions have attended training events during the past several months. Our Listen Up! leads are looking at building teams across the District but before they can complete that task, we need to do a little fundraising to purchase the equipment that we will be using when the program launches in early 2027.
Lions Clubs and individual Lions can send contributions to DLCI. This 501(c)(3) will be holding all the funds until we are ready to purchase the equipment. Individual Lions will receive tax receipts for their contributions. We are also applying for community and corporate grants to assist us in purchasing the OAE devices.
Our goal is to begin forming teams and purchase the equipment in the coming months so that in early 2027 we will be able to join other Lions across the state and begin screenings in our district.
The Listen Up! program is a partnership with the Virginia School for the Deaf and Blind and the three Lion Districts in the Commonwealth of Virginia. What started as a dream a few years ago will become a reality in the coming months. Thanks to PCC Jean Cook, Lion Valerie Abbott and our Listen Up! district leads, Lions Evelyn Marr and Sandy Smith, this project will soon be a reality.
For more information contact: Lion Evelyn Marr at remlik@verizon.net or Lion Sandy Smith at sandyclaresmith@gmail.com
Contributions can be sent to: DLCI, c/o Harry Leipfert, 2257 Cedar Grove Road, Winchester, VA 22603.
JULY 2026 -- As we begin the next phase of the project, many of you have attended in-person training. Lions Evelyn Marr, Sandy Smith, and PCC Jean Cook have been busy traveling the district demonstrating the equipment that will be used, answering questions, and looking at building teams. It is not too late to consider being part of this worthwhile project to detect possible hearing issues among our youngest children.
We are committed to amplifying voices that need to be heard, speaking up for those that can’t speak for themselves. Helping children not to fall behind before they even start their educational and formative years. This is our chance to connect with children and their parents, to detect hearing issues before they are noticed and to help these children to start off on the right foot.
It is now time to look for funding for the equipment. It is our hope that over the next several months, we will receive donations from clubs, individuals, and businesses to purchase equipment in November. DCLI, a 501(c)(3) Foundation for our District, will be holding the funds. Send contributions to: DCLI – Listen Up, c/o Harry Leipfert, 2257 Cedar Grove Road, Winchester VA 22603.
And, attend our Fall Conference to “hear” more about this project.
Additional Information:
- WDBJ7 News Coverage -- Groundbreaking initiative to improve access to hearing screening for kids
- HLAA Webinar -- Catching Kids Before They Fall: Pediatric Late Onset Hearing Loss Awareness
- ALHA Newswire -- A National Push for Continuous Early Hearing Screening
In Our District:
This program is uniquely organized. It is not fulfilled by clubs but rather, by Teams which can be comprised of Lions from several clubs.
- Phase One: Hold Road Shows -- These are in-person or Zoom sessions of 1-1 1/2 hours explaining all the aspects of the program. Complete.
- Phase Two: Sign Up Volunteers -- Enroll people who are committed to putting the program in place. Complete.
- Phase Three: Training -- Complete.
- Phase Four: Team Set Up -- Those trained will be assigned to Teams of about 20 volunteers.
Training:
Any Lion can be trained to use the OAE device (whether or not that Lion attended a Road Show) and be on a "Listen Up!" hearing screening team. Register with Lion Evelyn Marr or Lion Sandy Smith.
Lion Valerie James Abott met with Dr. Ashleigh Greenwood, the pediatric audiologist and clinical director at Inova Fairfax Hospital overseeing the newborn hearing screening team. Dr. Greenwood also oversees the referrals that come to them from pediatricians, families, early intervention offices, etc. seeking a hearing evaluation for a small child. She and her team from Inova are led the trainings.
Six trainings were held this summer in our district.