Heartspring in the Community

The history of Heartspring is marked by our continuing drive to make a difference in the lives of children with special needs. In celebration of our 75th anniversary, we invited the community to join us in reaching out to families and individuals through support of our Heartspring in the Community Campaign. Heartspring in the Community projects celebrate our long history in Wichita and provide opportunities for children with disabilities to participate more fully in community life.

From our first years as the Department of Speech Sciences at the University of Wichita, children with cerebral palsy and communicative disorders from across the state of Kansas and surrounding areas sought our help. Out of one classroom on the fourth floor of Jardine Hall grew an organization that would see tens of thousands of children with disabilities achieve things most people thought impossible.

Heartspring founder Dr. Martin Palmer established 25 field centers across Kansas and as far away as New York and Maryland at the invitation of medical schools and universities, increasing the work done by Heartspring.

Collaborations expanded in the 1950s and 60s with international programs including the World Health Organization and Heartspring assisted in opening similar programs in India and Japan for children with communicative disorders.

Heartspring continues to give back to the community that has shown incredible generosity over the years, as well as reach out to communities around the world who seek assistance to make life better for children with special needs.

Heartspring in the Community encompasses a variety of initiatives that represent Heartspring’s core service areas. Through free hearing screenings, early literacy screenings in preschools, the Heartspring KidCheck developmental screening, special programs for children with autism, teacher exchange programs and more, we provide a variety of services to a global community.

The generous support of our community allows us to provide many of these services for minimal or no charge to participants. For fee-based services, community support allows us to offer financial assistance to those who otherwise could not afford to participate.

Dr. Palmer once said, “Mankind is our business. This is what we do, and the rest is unimportant.” As it was for Dr. Palmer so it is currently for our professional staff of therapists, teachers, paraeducators and specialists dedicated to providing services to children with special needs on a daily basis, creating a path to independence for every child.

Our goal was to raise $7,500 to support Heartspring in the Community initiatives by December 31, 2009. Thanks to the overwhelming generosity of Heartspring donors, a grand total of $17,345.70 was raised in support of this campaign.

Heartspring Pediatric Services In the Community

• Heartspring KidCheck
• Target Early Literacy Screenings
• Autism Waiver
• Physician Education
• Creative Movement for Children with Autism Workshops
• Social/sensory groups

Heartspring Hearing Center In the Community

• The Donor Hearing Aid Program
• Hearing Center Open Houses
• Community Partnerships

Heartspring CARE Program in the Community

• Camp SSTAR (Social Skills Technology Asperger Recreation Camp)
• SSTAR Scouts

Heartspring World Reach in the Community

• Teacher Exchange Program
• Heartspring Award for Innovation and Creativity in Special Education

Heartspring School in the Community

• Special Olympics
• Recreation and Leisure Program
• Heartspring School Special Projects

Additional Heartspring in the Community Programs

• Heartspring Conference Series and Practical Application Seminars
• Barnes and Noble storytime
• Special Needs Resource Fair