Starkey Hearing Foundation's So the World May Hear Awards Gala 2009

Limos arrived and gala guests walked the red carpet in their best dress for an evening of fundraising and celebration at the RiverCentre in St. Paul Sunday. The star-studded gala raised more than $5 million.

It was all part of the Starkey Hearing Foundation's So the World May Hear Awards Gala 2009. The event brought in the support of such celebrities as retired astronaut Buzz Aldrin, "incredible hulk" Lou Ferrigno and golf legend Arnold Palmer, among many others. The gala featured the comedy of Master of Ceremonies Billy Crystal, a huge baseball fan who ended up taking home a baseball autographed by Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig.

The event also featured musical performances by Gladys Knight, Tony Bennett and an hourlong show by Sir Elton John — who wore his familiar red glasses performing hits including "Tiny Dancer" and "Rocket Man."

The Starkey Hearing Foundation was founded in 1984 by CEO Bill Austin of Minnesota-based hearing-instruments manufacturer Starkey Laboratories. Austin said he never gets tired of watching the children he helps hear for the first time. "It's like a drug," Austin said. "I'm addicted to helping people." Since 2000, his foundation has provided more than 340,000 hearing aids to people all over the world who would otherwise not be able to afford them.

A high-ticket auction included opportunities to accompany hearing-aid outfitting trips to locations such as Egypt, Turkey, Panama and Vietnam. The highest single bid, of $250,000, was for a trip to outfit 5,000 people with hearing aids in Kenya. An estimate at the end of the night put the amount raised at $5 million, allowing the foundation to provide the gift of hearing to an estimated 50,000 people.

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