Ray Charles

BIOGRAPHY

Ray Charles was equipped with a keen sensibility to the needs of others. It was this selfless generosity that motivated him when he founded The Robinson Foundation for Hearing Disorders, Inc. in 1986. The mission and purpose of the foundation is to provide financial support in the area of hearing disorders as well as to support education. Charles thought, “The inability to hear was a handicap, not the inability to see,” said Valerie Ervin. In 2006, the official name of the foundation became The Ray Charles Foundation in order to bring awareness to his name, but the mission remained the same. Ray Charles often made contributions anonymously to help fund cochlear implants for those who could not afford the operation, and shortly thereafter, started supporting educational institutions for those who could not afford an education.