THE
RiteCare Reporter
COMMUNITY NEWSLETTER - SUMMER 2014
David’s Dispatch:
The future of RiteCare
RiteCare of Washington enables children to communicate through family-centered, child-focused speech and language therapy, provided at no cost to families. Our customized treatment, combined with our emphasis on parent education, has produced extraordinary results for countless children who could have otherwise continued to suffer in silence. Currently, RiteCare is only able to treat a small fraction of the thousands of children in the state who need us. Our board of directors and staff are committed to expanding our capacity and our ability to provide therapy to the thousands of children in our state who are going unserved. In 2012, the RiteCare board embarked on a guided strategic planning process that included conducting a funddevelopment study. As a result, we have increased our investment in our communications and development capabilities by hiring two leaders in these areas to propel us forward. Chris Baker, director of development and communications based in Seattle and Meagan Garrett, regional director of development and communications based in Spokane, joined the RiteCare team this April. Chris and Meagan will work statewide to elevate awareness and raise financial support, ensuring that more people throughout Washington will come to know about and support the life changing services we provide. I appreciate your support and welcome your feedback as we continue our efforts to move RiteCare forward. I would love to hear from you. I can be reached by email at dfagerlie@ritecarewa.org or by phone at (206) 324-6293.
TIPS AND TRICKS FOR BETTER SPEECH Rhyming is an easy and fun way to teach kids how to recognize individual sounds and sound patterns. Nursery rhymes and familiar songs are enjoyable to say or sing by themselves but they can also be effective at teaching rhyming skills when you mix it up with a little silliness. Try keeping the melody and rhythm frame the same but change a rhyming word to sharpen listening and develop sound pattern skills. Here are a few examples: Old Macdonald had an “arm.” Twinkle twinkle little “car/jar.” Humpty dumpty sat on a “ball.” It will be most fun when you and your child try to create new rhymes together! Since all kid’s love to hear words (and nonsense words) that rhyme with their name, that is a good place to start making up your own song! Happy rhyming!
Staff Profiles
CHRIS BAKER
MEAGAN GARRETT, MBA
Director of Development & Communications
Reg. Director, Development & Communications
Chris directs RiteCare of Washington’s fundraising and marketing efforts; focusing special attention on annual operating funds, major donors, and statewide communications. Chris attended Wittenberg University in Springfield, Ohio where he studied Russian Area Studies. He has over ten years of experience generating revenue and increasing support for nonprofit organizations. Chris has worked extensively on behalf of young people including executive roles with the Boy Scouts of America in three different states. Chris is an avid cyclist, a Mason, and a passionate advocate for providing young people and their families with the resources necessary to ensure their future success.
Meagan oversees marketing and fundraising initiatives for Eastern Washington, and leads the facilitation of statewide media engagement and communications. Meagan has ten years of experience in these areas and prior to joining RiteCare, served in a variety of marketing management roles within diverse industries including higher education, high-potential startups and financial services. She has also served as president of the National Association of Women MBAs and Marketing Director for Active4Youth. She holds an MBA from Arizona State University’s W. P. Carey School of Business. Meagan is a northwest enthusiast and enjoys hunting, camping, fishing and hiking.
Thank you for your support Empowering children to communicate is made possible through the generous contributions of people all over the state. This quarter, RCW had two major fundraising initiatives that successfully raised financial support for our mission from across the state. In Spokane, the 7th annual Beyond Words Breakfast event raised more than $40,000. In Seattle, RCW participated in the Seattle Foundation’s GiveBIG 2014, the annual largest one-day giving event in the state, and raised more $5,400. These funds will be “stretched” by the Foundation, to further increase the impact of these contributions. Your generous giving enables RCW to continue empowering children to speak!! We thank each and every individual, family and organization for the contributions made to these two fundraisers.
Save the Date
Join corporate and community leaders for the 4th annual Beyond Words Breakfast fundraisier featuring John Silverwood, shipwrech survivor and author of “Black Wave.” Choose and event on October 24th 7:30-9:00 am Seattle Scottish Rite Center 6:00- 8:00 pm Tacoma Scottish Rite Center Become a Breakfast Table Captain! Invite your community and business networks to attend and learn more about the amazing speech services that RiteCare provides. Each captain that fills a table with 8 or more guests will receive an autographed copy of John’s book. For more information on the breakfast, our speaker, or captaining a table please visit www.ritecarewa.org
Voices of the Valleys
News from RiteCare’s Sponsored Programs When I first met Shai, he was insurance didn’t cover it. Shai and almost three. I remember a busy his family worked tirelessly for over preschooler, with dark curly hair, two years on speech and language who came to our office with his skills and when graduated from mother and who used gestures more speech he was a different child. than words to communicate. Many At that time he was a confident of our speech therapy toys held his communicator and prepared attention for only a moment, until for kindergarten. He produced he came to a shape sorter. When all speech sounds correctly and he matched one of the shapes he he had an excellent knowledge looked up at me with proud blue of letters and sounds, ensuring eyes, which seemed to say, “I did he was ready to start reading in it!” Although Shai’s eyes spoke, his Kindergarten. Shai graduated with mouth remained silent. As I began age appropriate language skills working with Shai, I discovered he and only a very mild speech delay had a severe speech sound disorder instead of the severe speech sound which drastically impacted his disorder we encountered when he ability to communicate his most began treatment. RiteCare’s support basic needs and wants or to share made this change possible. Shai’s his thoughts and feelings. success will not only benefit him in Kindergarten, but throughout the I worked with Shai from March rest of his schooling and his life! of 2010 to August of 2012. The RiteCare program sponsored Shai’s Contributed by Staci Schmitt, MS, speech therapy because his health CCC-SLP
do you know a child like Shai?
When it comes to improving speech and language in children, early intervention is key. Children with speech and language delays often encounter social, emotional and academic delays; but with the proper treatment, offered at an early age, those delays can be overcome. If you know a child who may need the speech and language therapy that RiteCare provides please call 1-855-543-8255 to schedule an evaluation.
Word from the top In the early 1950s the Scottish Rite Masons determined helping children to communicate would be one of the fraternity’s major charitable efforts. In the nearly thirty years since our founding, RiteCare of Washington has served thousands of children between the ages of two and seven with severe speech and language delays. The results are astonishing! Children who could not speak at all, or who could merely utter unintelligible sounds, now converse. Literally, we made it possible for parents to communicate with their children and for these children to form friendships and succeed in school. As we head into our 30th anniversary year, I think back on how far RiteCare has come and where it is going, I cannot help but be excited for the future! At RiteCare, our core service is individual speech therapy for children ages two to seven, combined with parent education. However, we adapt our programs to the specific needs of the community, the child and the family: • In my hometown of Wenatchee we serve children from a large geographic area, many of whom have families who cannot afford to travel to therapy, so RiteCare provides support to help get these kids to their appointments. • In our Tacoma program –a collaboration with the
did you know that ?
Children’s Therapy Unit of Good Samaritan Hospital in Puyallup – RiteCare supports a “Hanen based” group therapy program for toddlers. These little kids, desperate to communicate, are helped by speech language pathologists while their parents receive classroom instruction on how to work with their children between sessions. In addition to providing the therapy RiteCare provides all class materials as well. • In Seattle and Spokane, where we have RiteCare ownedand-operated clinics, our speech language pathologists provide individualized, family-focused and play-centered therapy for children and parents who are often unable to access or afford the same quality of program elsewhere. These are just a few examples of how we help kids across the state of Washington. I encourage you to learn more about what we do by visiting http://ritecarewa.org/about/ videos/ to watch a short video introducing you to just a few of our programs and the families we have helped. Our mission is made possible through the generous support of individuals and organizations who give to keep our programs running. To all of you who support RiteCare – thank you from the bottom of my heart! To those of you who have not yet contributed, I hope you will consider making a donation. Every child deserves the chance to speak, and your support makes that possible. John Lunt, President, Board of Directors
Provided nearly 200 children with life-changing therapy at nine locations last year.
A Tale of Two Families Jill and Sean Cunningham are successful Seattle entrepreneurs with two children. Jon Copeland is a technology expert and CEO of a Spokane-based subsidiary that provides technology services in the medical imaging field. Jon and his wife Tanya have one daughter. The Cunningham and Copeland families have a lot in common. Both are successful in business. Both families have children that have battled speech and language delays. Both families, after disappointing experiences paying for speech therapy from other providers, found successful therapy for their children at RiteCare of Washington. About the time their son Will turned two Sean and Jill noted he was not yet expressing himself verbally; they wondered when Will would begin talking like other kids his age. Jill and Sean had heard some children were “late-bloomers” when it came to communication, but that folk-wisdom wasn’t comforting. Jill and Sean sought the advice of Will’s pediatrician who reinforced the wait-and-see approach and told them not to worry. Sean’s parents on the other hand had had ample
opportunities to observe Will through the lens of being experienced parents. Sean’s mother knew Will wasn’t developing normally in his speech and urged Jill and Sean to act. When Will was three, the Cunningham’s began researching speech therapy providers for Will. RiteCare of Washington was among the options their doctor suggested but there was a waiting list. The Cunningham’s contracted with an independent speech therapist who treated Will in their home once a week for an hour each session. “It was very expensive and after a year of treatment Will wasn’t showing the progress we had hoped for,” Jill lamented. By the time Lily was two years old a relative, who is a pediatrician, noticed that Lily was not developing normally in her speaking skills and she urged the Copeland’s to watch Lily’s development closely. Tanya and Jon first turned to speech therapy services offered through public schools. Lily was in group therapy once a week for six months with children that had a variety of physical and mental (continued on reverse)
Lily was then treated at a medical clinic, then by another (conti nued) problems. Ecological agency and finallyorchard at a rehabilitation hospital; with each
visit more disturbing to Lily than the next. “The hospital environment was institutional and Lily hated it,” noted Tanya. “At each organization there was a mountain of paperwork and, worst of all, Lily wasn’t getting any better.” A breakthrough finally came for Will Cunningham when he came to RiteCare for an evaluation. Jill and Sean were familiar with RiteCare’s successful reputation but were stunned when Jacqueline explained that all services of RiteCare were provided at no charge due to the generosity of individuals who gave yearly and remembered RiteCare in their wills. The value of the evaluation alone was hundreds of dollars but the Cunningham’s, like all other RiteCare families, would never receive a bill.
“Working with RiteCare was an enlightening experience. Jacqueline developed a plan for Will’s care. For the first time, we knew what to expect and when to expect it,” Sean said. Jill and Sean also received homework. “RiteCare’s reputation for parent involvement wasn’t just a statement on a brochure. We had things to do every week to help our son between sessions,” said Jill. The results were dramatic. “Will’s progress was amazing. For the first time we saw the progress that we knew would change Will’s life for the better,” Jill exclaimed!
Plan now to leave a legacy
A gift in your will or trust can create a lasting legacy for RiteCare. Your bequest costs you nothing now, yet gives you the satisfaction of knowing you have provided for the children we serve. For more information please contact David at 206-324-6293 or dfagerlie@ritecarewa.org.
Through word-of-mouth, Jon and Tanya Copeland heard about the RiteCare Clinic in Spokane, and met with the director who began treating Lily. Lily had significant difficulty in forming sounds, which contributed to her language delays. RiteCare addressed both delays, helping Lily to enunciate words, catch up on language development and fine tune her enunciation. Jon and Tanya were very eager to participate in Lily’s treatment and appreciated that parent involvement and education was a prominent feature of the RiteCare method. “RiteCare is free of the hindrances in policy that often get in the way of quality care. Staff had the freedom to design a program of care that met Lily’s specific needs,” said Jon. Intensive treatment and parent support yielded the desired results. Gradually, during her 2 ½ years of treatment, Lily became more and more outgoing, and her communication improved dramatically. Will Cunningham graduated from RiteCare in September 2011. “Today, Will is a very active and loving boy,” said Jill through a wide smile. “He absolutely loves football, especially the Seahawks, and he plays both baseball and soccer. He enjoys reading and doing research for his classes.” Will speaks freely now and shares his thoughts with friends and family. Will’s communication with his parents has been a profound experience for them. Jill noted that these days “Will talks to us about experiences he had when he three, four and five that he couldn’t express back then. It is as if he is making up for lost time!” Lily graduated from RiteCare when she was five and five years later was the featured speaker at RiteCare Spokane’s Beyond Words breakfast. Lily is now sixteen, attending Gonzaga Preparatory School. She earns outstanding grades, participates in track and serves on the student council. As her father Jon pointed out, “Lily’s first word was ‘go’ and she has been ‘going’ ever since!” Jill and Sean Cunningham, and Tanya and Jon Copeland, are leadership donors to RiteCare. Sean was recently appointed to the RiteCare of Washington Board of Directors. “I am looking forward to working with other board members to help RiteCare grow its funding base, expand its reach and ultimately help more kids,” said Sean. Years ago Jon served a term on the RiteCare Spokane volunteer board. Currently, he is helping RiteCare to build its fundraising program. “RiteCare services are important and amazingly effective. I will do whatever I can to bring RiteCare of Washington to more families in need,” Jon promised!
Our kids need you!
To volunteer your time or make a gift please call 855-543-8255, or go to www.ritecarewa.org 1207 North 152nd., Ste A Shoreline, WA 98133