Holland-Zeeland Loop Initiative — Letters of Invitation

We sent invitation letters to:

• Audiologists and hearing aid dispensers
  • These were the first letters sent to alert them to the initiative.
  • They were encouraged to include T-coils in future hearing aids sold, with expectation of their usefulness.
  • A follow-up letter two weeks before the informational meeting gave updated information on the letter campaign, the to-be-announced grants, the media publicity, and welcomed them to invite their patients.
• Local churches
  • Each letter of invitation to our informational meeting was addressed personally to the pastor or priest of the church.
  • The letters included
    • a description of the induction system and its benefits
    • a promise of to-be-announced grant support.
  • Each letter included the article "Hearing the Word" by David Myers, published in the Church Herald.
  • After the meeting, each pastor or priest—whether having attended or not—received a follow-up letter summarizing the excellent response and giving specifics of grant support and installation.
• Schools
  • The letters were addressed personally to the district superintendent of each district in the Holland-Zeeland area.
  • Copies of the letters were sent to every principal in every middle and high school in every district.
  • Copies of the letters were also sent to every special education teacher in every middle and high school in every district.
  • The letters explained the technology and highlighted the potential benefit to the visiting public and the students of the school system if used in a large auditorium.
  • A promise of to-be-announced grant support was included in the letter.
• Retirement/nursing homes
  • The letters were addressed personally to each manager of all retirement/nursing homes in the Holland-Zeeland area.
  • The letters stressed the advantages of having the loop system in auditoriums and TV rooms.
  • A promise of to-be-announced grant support was included in the letter.
• Banks and fast food restaurants
  • The letters were addressed personally to each manager of all the banks and fast food restaurants in the area.
  • The letters stressed the advantages of the hearing loop system in the drive-through stations at their businesses.
• Grant seeking letters
  • Additional points to be made in soliciting grant funds from corporations, family foundations, or community foundation:
    • Cost-effective: will help increasing numbers of people (as more and more hard of hearing get T-coils) for modest cost per institution.
    • A one-time effort: Once it's done it's done; no follow-up or annual requests.
    • No organization is being created, no bureaucracy, no staff overhead--100 percent of monies go toward equipment and installation.
    • Compared to those with impaired mobility of vision--who also have important needs--the hard of hearing are a larger, faster growing, and largely invisible minority.
• Similar letters were sent to
  • courtrooms
  • theaters
  • banquet facilities
  • libraries
  • major corporations (that had large meeting rooms with PA systems)
  • city halls

All of the letters included a two-page essay describing the induction loop system and requested that an enclosed pre-paid reply card be returned stating whether their organization would be attending the meeting and how many representatives would be coming.

Sample invitation letter.