Hermanowski Family Foundation Initial Request Form

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Organization Name: Clarke Schools for Hearing and Speech
Legal Name (if Different): Clarke School for the Deaf
Also Known As:
Mailing Address: 45 Round Hill Road
City: Northampton
State: MA
Postal Code: 01060
Main Phone: 4135821150
Main Fax:
Organization Website: www.clarkeschools.org
Employer ID Number: 04-2104008
Organization Tax Status: 501(c)3

Proposal Information

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Today’s Date: March 6, 2024
Requested Amount: $10,000

Project Title: Clarke Schools Listening and Spoken Language Services
Project Description:

In the United States today, hearing loss in children is a low-incidence disability affecting approximately 4,000 (or 3 in every 1,000) newborns. With access to sound through cochlear implants—or highly powerful hearing aids and other assistive devices—children born with hearing loss today can access sound earlier than ever before. But because these devices do not fully replicate natural hearing, children who are deaf or hard of hearing are in urgent need of specialized early intervention services to rehabilitate the auditory and linguistic system in the brain, and thereby mitigate the considerable risk of listening, language and speech delays. Clarke’s role is to equip children with the tools and skills to access sound and language in their earliest years, when the brain is most malleable, and to also support children and their families from early childhood through their high school years, as needed, in mainstream settings.

Your grant will support Clarke’s Listening and Spoken Language (LSL) services, which annually reach more than 1,000 children who are deaf or hard of hearing and their families. LSL is an approach by which children with hearing loss, guided by skilled professionals, learn to access sound using hearing assistive technology (such as aids or cochlear implants) to develop spoken language. In partnership with parents and other caregivers, Clarke’s specially trained, interdisciplinary team of teachers of the deaf, speech-language pathologists and audiologists work together to identify developmental capacity and prepare children to transition successfully to a mainstream school when they complete our programs—usually by or before kindergarten.

If children who are deaf or hard of hearing receive LSL intervention services early and often, it then becomes certain that no barriers—academic, social or professional—will stand in their way. We hope you’ll join us in ensuring a future for Clarke children filled with limitless possibilities.

Total Project Budget: 14,377,218

Other Funding
Sources For The Project (Committed & Potential): Major foundation donors include the Johnson Scholarship Foundation, the Hamilton & Mildred Kellogg Charitable Trust, the Hearst Foundations, the Seth Sprague Educational & Charitable Foundation, the Jephson Educational Trust #2, and the Emily Grousbeck Fund. Clarke also receives support from individuals, special events, sponsorships and bequests.

Project Duration: 12 months
Geographical Area Served: Boston, Jacksonville, New York City, Northampton (MA) and Philadelphia
Age Group To Be Served: 0-21

Contact Information

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Contact Prefix (Mr,Mrs etc.): Ms.
Contact First Name: Caroline
Contact Last Name: Oberweger
Contact Title: Director, Foundation Relations
Contact Phone: 917-741-0635
Contact Email: coberweger@clarkeschools.org