OMAHA, Neb. -- Omaha will help ring in John Wayne's 100th birthday later this month with a film festival, and in return, The Duke will be helping children in the metro.The Omaha Hearing School will benefit from an idea of Bruce Crawford's. He organized a centennial tribute to Wayne and partnered with the school that survives on donations.
Organizers hope a screening of "Liberty Valance" and Duke-related raffles and activities will raise more than $15,000 for the school.
"Our organization has been around for 52 years," said the school's Amber Miller. "We teach the deaf and hard-of-hearing children to listen and talk."Many of the children here have cochlear implants or digital hearing aids. Teachers work with students ages 3 to third grade as they learn to turn new sounds into language.Crawford said the popularity of The Duke's movies should create a big draw and a big fundraiser."John Wayne is still the most revered movie star probably of all time. In this part of the country, he is No. 1," Crawford said."Fifteen thousand dollars will educate one child for a year in the Omaha Hearing School," Miller said.
Related link: http://www.omahafilmevent.com/
