How can I help?

We sincerely thank you for your consideration to address the needs of children who have hearing loss. A gift at any level will make such a difference to the children. Your contribution will change the lives of these children, and their families, by enabling them to learn to hear and speak.

Without intervention, hearing loss limits a child’s access to spoken language, resulting in delays in oral language development and related cognitive challenges. The impact of hearing loss on oral language development has a cascading effect on literacy skills, educational achievement, and the chances for gainful employment.

Baker Institute proceeds go directly to help children. Our only expenses are necessary medical expenses to professionals who assist the children in learning to hear and speak.

When a child steps from a world of deafness and silence into the hearing and speaking world, it is a transformative experience—for the child, for the family, and for the therapists, educators and doctors involved.

Thank you for joining us on this journey, as we continue to bring this opportunity of transformation around the world!

Ways to donate:

  • Click the “Donate Now” button below to donate via credit card, debit card, or PayPal
  • Write a check to “The Baker Institute for Children with Hearing Loss” and mail to:
    The Baker Institute for Children with Hearing Loss
    PO Box 60962
    Palo Alto, California 94306
  • Wire transfer: contact ltm@bakerinstituteforchildren.org for account number and transfer information

Contributions to The Baker Institute generally may be made from a donor-advised fund, as the Institute is a public charity under Section 501(c)(3). Please confirm with your individual fund and tax advisor.

Tax ID (EIN): 26-6385104

What your money can do

California & Hawaii Listen to Me! Conferences: The actual cost for attending Listen to Me™ is $10,000 per family. This cost includes a transformative and comprehensive training for the whole family, as well as housing and dining for the conference, attendance at the Reunion weekend the following year, and two follow-up consultations by an LTM administrator during the year after the conference.

We offer a sliding fee scale for families based on income level. They are requested to pay between $50 and $2000 per family, depending on their income bracket. Our fundraising efforts need to subsidize all remaining costs for each family to have the opportunity to attend.

Baker Scholars Program: This program costs about $14,000 per scholar, per year. This cost includes 60 minutes per week of listening and spoken language therapy by one of our specialized therapists, through direct service or tele-intervention (video conferencing into the family's home). Each scholar is eligible to receive these highly specialized weekly services for up to 3 years. This service is provided at no cost to the families.

Hear, Kenya!: It costs $27,000 total to provide one child in Kenya a cochlear implant (the latest model), plus a spare, the operation and hospitalization required to implant it, one year of audiological care, and one year of speech (listening & spoken language) therapy. This is vastly less expensive than in the U.S.  Our Hear, Kenya! program is transforming hearing healthcare in an unprecedented collaboration with partners, The University of Nairobi, Operation Ear Drop, Project CURE, MED-El Hearing Healthcare Alliance, and US AID.

The Baker Institute funds a limited number of children in the Listen to Me! Conference and Baker Scholars Program. We serve as a catalyst for change. This year we have expanded our fund raising efforts into the foundation community. These efforts—with positive results—will allow us to serve more children and where necessary, for longer periods of time. We are proud of the fact that over 90 percent of our funds go directly to services in the field. It is part of our philosophy to maximize the impact of your donations, helping improve the lives of families and children in the most cost effective way.