“A pre-Kindergarten child living in poverty with a communication disorder needs every advantage available to reach his or her full academic potential. Early intervention with speech/hearing assistance is necessary to equip these children for success before entering the school system. The support from the Foundation will positively impact numerous lives in our community,” states Bill McQuilkin, Executive Director of JSHC.
“It is an honor for The Chartrand Family Fund to provide support towards the Jacksonville Speech & Hearing Center in alignment with our advocacy for early childhood development and quality education for preschool children in Duval County,” states Meredith Chartrand Frisch.
For the past 63 years, the Jacksonville Speech & Hearing Center has provided professional, compassionate audiology and speech/language services to literally thousands of children and adults in our community. Today, the Center continues to provide these services to approximately 4,000 children, adults and seniors annually. JSHC’s vision for the next ten years is for every pre-Kindergarten child in the First Coast region who is at risk of failure in school and life due to unaddressed early childhood speech or language needs, will be identified, diagnosed and treated.
