Forty years ago, a renowned otolaryngologist asked his wife for help in raising the funds needed to help deaf children hear. That day, Dr. Simon Parisier and his wife, Elaine created The Children’s Hearing Institute with the shared goal of not only restoring hearing to deaf children, but teaching them how to interpret sound and to develop speech.

Elaine’s special ability to inspire friends and strangers in this mission was enhanced by her love of music. As an accomplished pianist, she often said her ambition was “so that one day…. all may hear the universal language of music.”

With the help of Jule Styne, the Parisiers held the first Children’s Hearing Institute (CHI) fundraising event in 1983 with a dinner and a performance of La Cage Au Folles. The following year it was another Broadway musical, Funny Girl, that raised a little more than the first. Then, year after year, decade after decade, there were larger events at NYC’s most famous venues including the Pierre Hotel, The Plaza, The Rainbow Room, Cipriani’s, Jazz at Lincoln Center, and even the United Nations. Some of the biggest stars of their time performed at these events including Stevie Wonder, Harry Connick Jr, Paul Anka, and Jon Bon Jovi – reminding all of the shared joy in “the universal language of music.”

But the most important people in attendance for these ever-popular events was undoubtedly, CHI’s Board of Directors and the loyal and generous donors who, year after year, believed in our work. Together we have changed the lives of countless children and their families, created educational programs for audiologists, speech therapists, and mainstream teachers, and funded grants to help advance technological and medical research.

It is somewhat bittersweet, but all of us at The Children’s Hearing Institute would like to announce that we have finished what we set out to accomplish. Children who are deaf and hard of hearing have access to more and more resources and technology and are now able to integrate into mainstream schools along with their hearing peers. While there is always still more to do we are confident that, as a whole, philanthropy and medical advancements will continue into the future and may even build upon the foundation and fundamentals of what The Children’s Hearing Institute has already built.

Melissa Willis, Executive Director, visited with Dr. and Mrs. Parisier this spring and said of that visit, “While we are sad that The Children’s Hearing Institute will not continue in its current form, we are immensely proud of what we have achieved over the last 40 years. Our appreciation for CHI’s Board of Directors and loyal donors who have supported us for decades, and the professionals who serve the hearing loss community and brought CHI’s work to life, knows no bounds. We thank you for supporting us along this fulfilling and successful journey.”

The closing of The Children’s Hearing Institute should not be viewed as a loss, but celebrated for all we have accomplished. We will be sending out our E-Echoes newsletter featuring the four pillars of our organization – our Board of Directors, donors, medical and educational partners, and the children and families who inspired us.

Today, we hope you will celebrate with us by clicking on this short video on how it all began.