In 2024, Valerie helped establish the Lions Listen Up! Preschool Hearing Health Outreach Program, connecting the Lions Clubs of Virginia and the Virginia School for the Deaf and the Blind on project aimed at improving access to objective hearing health screening with otoacoustic emissions (OAE.) Following a successful fundraising effort and series of training events in Southwestern Virginia, the Lions purchased 12 OAE units and trained more than 100 volunteers. The Lions Preschool Hearing Health Outreach Program will officially launch in 2025, inviting daycares, preschools and other cohorts of children ages 2-5 years old.

For more information, visit https://www.vsdb.k12.va.us/page/listenup