Desert Friends
Marge Perkins, President
Palm Desert, California
Founded 1978
Though its fundraising activities, community awareness campaigns, and its ambitious hearing screening program in the Coachella Valley, Desert Friends demonstrates a strong commitment to families of children with hearing loss.
Desert Friends of John Tracy Clinic was founded by a group of local women to educate the desert community about the availability of Clinic services for preschool children with hearing impairments. That year, the volunteer group organized the first of many annual fundraisers to attract support for the Clinic.
In 1987, Desert Friends established its major fundraiser centering on the members’ love of sports – namely, golf and tennis. Mr. Chas “Buddy” Rogers served as Honorary Chairman for the first event and the golfers competed for the Mary Pickford Perpetual Trophy. The event became known as the Desert Friends Classic.
Each year the Desert Friends hosts special fundraisers in support of John Tracy Clinic, upon suggestions received from its members, including Gourmet Wine Dinner, Tea Party and a Mah-jongg Tournament.
Seeking to make a direct impact on its community, Desert Friends established a program of annual hearing screenings for Coachella Valley preschoolers in 1979. The program received a boost in 1984, when Mrs. LeRoy Craton was tapped for Desert Friends. Mrs. Craton’s nursing background laid the foundation for what has become the most extensive, free service of its kind in the region. Today, Desert Friends has 16 certified volunteer audiometrists and more than 25 other members who are trained as assistants. In a program that has grown every year since it began, the Guild gives hundreds of children in Coachella Valley daycare centers and preschools free hearing screenings every year.
Desert Friends takes a strong interest in raising awareness of early intervention in the acquisition of spoken language among children with a hearing loss. The volunteer organization regularly arranges guest speakers, conducts field trips and hosts other events to promote the work of John Tracy Clinic.