On Sept. 22, nearly 300 North Texas Giving Day donors contributed over $180,000 to support University of Texas at Dallas programs that benefit children, families and students.
The Callier Center for Communication Disorders received nearly $103,000 from over 100 individuals for its evergreen fund, a critical resource that enables clinical care for children with communication disorders. Gifts will help cover the cost of treatment for children with autism, hearing loss, speech-language disorders and other communication disorders.
A $15,000 challenge gift from ChandlerSpeaks encouraged support for the Callier Center. ChandlerSpeaks, a nonprofit founded by Bryce and Sara Moen, is dedicated to helping children in need access speech-language pathology services. The organization is named for their daughter, Chandler, who was diagnosed with childhood apraxia of speech, a disorder in which the brain struggles to coordinate the complex oral movements needed to create sounds to form words.
Chandler received speech therapy from Molly Augustine MS’07, a speech-language pathologist at Holland Speech & Consulting. When the family began looking for local organizations to support through ChandlerSpeaks, Augustine directed them to the Callier Center.
“Other than Chandler’s individual experience, we didn’t know much about speech pathology, so we focused on finding a place to donate the money where they could provide services,” Bryce Moen said. “I called Molly and asked her who I should work with in Dallas that has a good reputation, and she said, ‘Callier is the best in the country.’”
To date, ChandlerSpeaks has donated over $70,000 to the Callier Center.
During this year’s North Texas Giving Day, UT Dallas’ Center for BrainHealth (CBH) raised nearly $57,000 from donors to help students and teachers in under-resourced communities learn brain-healthy skills and strategies to cope with stressful environments.
Learn how to contribute to New Dimensions: The Campaign for UT Dallas, which aims to help meet the needs of students, expand the impact of research and create a new destination for cultural dialogue in North Texas.
“We have the opportunity to empower young people to realize the immense potential of their brains by equipping them with meaningful brain-healthy strategies,” said Dr. Lori Cook, director of clinical research at CBH and head of research for The BrainHealth Project. “When people thrive across academic, home and work contexts, this ignites entire brain-healthy communities.”
Thanks to a gift from Garry Weber, former Dallas County judge, former Dallas City Council member and founder of Weber Financial Inc., and from an anonymous benefactor, donations to the CBH received a dollar-for-dollar match up to $10,000.
“We have a responsibility to equip young generations with the best knowledge, tools and tactics to improve their brain health,” Weber said. “I was happy to provide a challenge matching gift to expand BrainHealth’s solutions for North Texas youth that will better prepare our children for the future.”
Other UT Dallas causes also benefited from community donations this year. More than $21,000 was raised for scholarships and student support, including for the Comet Cupboard, First-Generation Student Programs and athletics. On campus, students celebrated the fundraising drive outside the Davidson-Gundy Alumni Center with ice cream and wrote thank-you notes to donors.
North Texas Giving Day donors contributed over $62.6 million to more than 3,300 local nonprofits. Organized by Communities Foundation of Texas, the regional effort is the largest community giving event in the U.S.