Osmond Heir Wants To Pay Forward For Hard Of Hearing Kids
KMVT 11
by Jay Michaels
November 16, 2011
GOODING, ID (KMVT) Olive Osmond, the matriarch of the famous Osmond clan, was born here in Idaho.
One of her sons is Merrill Osmond of the Osmond Brothers. And Merrill's son Justin is head of the Olive Osmond Perpetual Hearing Fund.
Osmond says, "What a lot of people don't know with the Osmond family was they started performing so they could raise money to buy hearing aids for their two brothers who were deaf and hard of hearing. They were never part of the musical group."
Osmond says he wants to team up with the Idaho School for the Deaf and Blind Foundation, to provide hearing aids and speech therapy for kids who can use them, or to help kids learn sign language if that's the best option for them. The ISDB Foundation helps kids all over the state of Idaho, not just at the school in Gooding.
Brian Darcy, Administrator of Idaho Educational Services for the Deaf and the Blind, says, "We look to really intervene with kids as early an age as possible, so we can develop the language and really set in stone a good foundation for them to succeed later in life."
Osmond is organizing an event in Idaho Falls in July, which will feature full and half marathons, along with 5 and 10 K runs. He says a concert with several of his family members as part of the event will also help raise money for the ISDB Foundation.
Osmond says, "Helping these kids to be all they can be with the gift of hearing, and getting them into good, strong programs. And to help maintain those programs so that it continues on for a very long time."
For more information, visit madrunseries or oliveosmond.org .
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