Community Corner

Kings Park Girl Inspires Family to Walk4Hearing

Kern family raising funds to help raise awareness and support for people living with hearing loss. Find out how you can help.

A Kings Park family is turning to the community for help raise support for their daughter, and others like her, who suffer from hearing loss. 

Rachael Kern, a former teacher at RJO Intermediate School in Kings Park, is mother to three-year-old Lily Rae, Microtia Atresia, a congenital deformity of the ear that has resulted in hearing impairment.

The Kern family will be taking park in the Walk4Hearing on Sept. 29, a fundraiser hosted by the Hearing Loss Association of America, at River Side Park in New York City. It is their fourth year participating. 

"This walk will help my daughter as well as many other individuals with hearing impairments," Rachael said. "Did you know that one in ten persons in the United States has a hearing loss? The goal of the Walk4Hearing is to increase awareness about the causes and consequences of hearing loss and to raise funds to provide information and support for people with hearing loss."

The Kern family, under the name Team Lily Rae, has set an ambitious fundraising goal of $2,000. Some of the total raised will come back to the local community. 

According to Rachael, 45 percent of the funds Team Lily Rae raises can be given to a charity of their choice, relating to hearing loss and advocacy. The Kern family has selected to donate to Commack Speech and Language. 

Donations can me  made by visiting Team Lily Rae's page under Walk4Hearing up through Sept. 28. 


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