The TD Charitable Foundation Awards Grant to Special Olympics Florida to Improve Hearing Health of Duval County Residents

$25K grant supports health initiatives for people with intellectual disabilities

JACKSONVILLE, Fla., Jan. 24, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — To improve and support the hearing health of Duval County residents with intellectual disabilities, TD Charitable Foundation has awarded Special Olympics Florida a grant of $25,000.

The grant helps fund the work of Special Olympics Florida’s Healthy Hearing program, a year-round effort that seeks to provide comprehensive hearing screenings, follow-up care, and high-quality hearing aids for people with intellectual disabilities.

Healthy Hearing is just one of eight health discipline screenings offered to persons with intellectual disabilities through Special Olympics Florida’s Healthy Athletes initiative. The programs, services and equipment are provided at no cost to participants. Healthy Hearing is part of Special Olympics Florida’s broader health programming, which works to increase access to quality health care for people with ID.

The TD Charitable Foundation grant specifically targets residents of Duval County.

“This incredibly generous grant will help us expand our Healthy Hearing program and reach even more people with intellectual disabilities in northeast Florida,” said Special Olympics Florida President and CEO Sherry Wheelock. “We are so grateful to TD Charitable Foundation for supporting our athletes and for embracing our mission to ensure that people with intellectual disabilities receive the quality care they need and deserve.”

Though Special Olympics Florida is best known for its sports programming, the organization also provides critical health services to nearly 70,000 Special Olympics Florida athletes and persons with intellectual disabilities across the state. In 2023, Special Olympics Florida conducted more than 10,000 health screenings statewide.
  
The TD Charitable Foundation grant will help Special Olympics Florida provide Healthy Hearing screenings to Duval County’s Special Olympics athletes and help recruit audiologists to serve as clinical directors.

“The TD Charitable Foundation is proud to be able to support Special Olympics Florida, by providing this much needed hearing program to Special Olympics athletes across Duval county,” said Nick Miceli, Metro Florida Regional President. “Through the Better Health driver of the TD Ready Commitment, our philanthropic platform, we are always looking for programs that improve access to care for all. TD Bank and the TD Charitable Foundation have a long history of supporting Special Olympics across TD’s footprint in a variety of ways and I’m glad that we can once again be part of helping these amazing athletes.”

About Special Olympics Florida: Founded in 1972, Special Olympics Florida provides year-round sports training and competition, crucial health services, and life-changing leadership programs to people with intellectual disabilities, at no cost to the athletes or their caregivers. The organization serves nearly 70,000 athletes statewide and seeks to build communities where people with intellectual disabilities are treated with respect and given the opportunities they deserve. To learn more, visit www.specialolympicsflorida.org.

About the TD Charitable Foundation
The TD Charitable Foundation is the charitable giving arm of TD Bank, America’s Most Convenient Bank®, one of the 10 largest banks in the U.S., providing over 9.8 million customers with a full range of retail, small business and commercial banking products and services at more than 1,100 convenient locations throughout the Northeast, Mid-Atlantic, Metro D.C., the Carolinas and Florida. Since its inception in 2002, the Foundation has distributed over $323 million through donations to local nonprofits from Maine to Florida. More information on the TD Charitable Foundation is available at https://www.tdbank.com/corporate-responsibility/the-ready-commitment/funding-opportunities/. 

About the TD Ready Commitment
TD has a long-standing commitment to enriching the lives of its customers, colleagues and communities. Under the TD Ready Commitment and its four key, interconnected drivers of: Financial Security, Vibrant Planet, Connected Communities, and Better Health; we are targeting a total of $1 billion by 2030 in community giving to help support initiatives that focus on these drivers. Through the TD Ready Commitment, TD aspires to link its business, philanthropy and human capital to help people feel more confident – not just about their finances, but also in their ability to achieve their personal goals in a changing world. For further information, visit www.td.com/tdreadycommitment.

Media Contact:
Brittany Dowell
Uproar PR for Special Olympics Florida
bdowell@uproarpr.com