Big Changes in Life Resulted in One SLP Creating ‘Small Steps in Speech’

February 12 is a day anyone who was privileged to know Marc Small will never forget. On that day in 2009, Marc—then my fiancé—lost his life in Afghanistan serving our nation as an Army Special Forces medical sergeant. Instead of planning our wedding, I launched a nonprofit in his memory called Small Steps in Speech. I shared the story of launching the organization in a Leader article, which also explains how Marc thought of the name originally for my future private practice. Jumping forward 10 years…. the legacy of Marc Small has changed the lives of children and their families across the country. Small Steps in Speech assists children with speech and language disorders by funding supplemental treatments not covered by insurance. Our goal is to help children better express themselves in our world. Since 2009, we awarded more than $1.3 million in grants to more than 900 families across the country. Volunteers perform the vast majority of the work, so nearly all of the donations go to recipients. Private donors, fundraisers and partnerships with like-minded organizations, such as the Prompt Institute, provide the majority of our revenue. Lessons learned I started this organization not knowing anything about how nonprofits work purely motivated by keeping Marc’s legacy alive. I learned to lean on others for help over the past decade…and the help is out there! Delegating my ideas and turning them into action for others is still tough but Small Steps in Speech would...
Source: American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) Press Releases - Category: Speech-Language Pathology Authors: Tags: Audiology Health Care Slider Speech-Language Pathology Speech Disorders Source Type: blogs