A Generous Restaurant and a Kind Community Give the Gift of Hearing to a Little Girl

Ellen's Good News

The B&B Café in Castle Rock, CO had their busiest dinner rush ever this past weekend, despite the fact that they're only open for breakfast and lunch. The diner opened its doors Friday and Saturday night and served free meals to patrons, and it was all to benefit an 11-month-old girl in need.

Little Jenimae Michener was born with Treachers Collins Syndrome, which causes facial deformities. She has a mild case, but lost 90 percent of her hearing. Her parents, Amber and Joshua Michener, needed to get her BAHA hearing aids, which cost over $4,000 each, but were already struggling to afford their daughter's medical costs on their limited budget.

Amber and Joshua told family and friends about Jenimae, and they quickly got the word out in their community. Kristin Arabally, who had only recently met the Michener family, visited several local restaurants and businesses asking if they would consider donating 10 percent of one day's profits to help fund the baby's hearing aids. Her requests were rejected, until she approached Chris Vigil at the B&B Café.

Vigil, who had been working at the diner for six months, told Arabally he would give more than 10 percent. He offered to open the café for two nights and cook and serve meals for free, with 100 percent of donations from patrons going to Jenimae.

The benefit dinners were a success. Vigil served delicious Mexican dishes, and everyone got to meet and spend time with the Micheners and Jenimae. They raised over $8,000, not including the amount from a silent auction that has yet to be totaled.

"It was so much fun, it was really great meeting everybody," Amber tells the Good News about the benefit. "Chris was awesome for doing this. He's truly a wonderful guy."

"Their child's gonna have what she needs," Vigil says. "I did what people should do."

Thanks to so many people's kindness and generosity, the Micheners will be able to afford both hearing aids for Jenimae, so she'll be able to hear speech and learn to talk. With her first birthday approaching on March 21, we couldn't think of a better gift.

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