For more than 40 years, the Scottish Rite Masons have funded the RiteCare Clinics at the Munroe-Meyer Institute (MMI) at the University of Nebraska Medical Center, making it possible to assist thousands of children in overcoming speech and language disabilities without regard to a family’s ability to pay.
On June 23, the Scottish Rite Foundation hosts its annual WalkRite for RiteCare at 10:30 a.m. at Zorinsky Lake to raise funds for services at RiteCare Clinics and support its mission to increase the receptive and expressive communication abilities of preschool-age children. Community members are invited to participate, either as team members, team captains, or fundraisers.
"It’s an opportunity to raise funds and celebrate the partnership between the MMI Speech-Language Pathology Department and the Scottish Rite Masons of Nebraska, while enjoying a day of fun, games, and food with all of our families," said Amy Nordness, Ph.D., director of the department. "It is a chance to relax, have fun together, and show how much we care about our families and about sustaining the future of the RiteCare Clinics of Nebraska."
Karoly Mirnics, M.D., Ph.D., director of MMI, said the Scottish Rite Foundation operates clinics in four Nebraska cities – Omaha, Lincoln, Hastings and Kearney – with families receiving care at no cost.
"We can’t thank the Scottish Rite Foundation enough for its generous support. They are truly making a difference for families in need of speech and language services," Dr. Mirnics said. "We encourage others to join us at the walk. It’s an opportunity to meet the speech therapists at MMI and learn about the services they provide, while enjoying a fun walk and lunch."
In 2018, the event raised $8,500 for the RiteCare Speech and Language Clinic at MMI. Since its inception in 2009, the event has raised approximately $60,000 for the clinics. This funding has allowed approximately 350 children to receive services and provided nearly 600 hours of speech therapy for children who might otherwise have been unable to afford this care.
The event will feature characters from the Star Wars movies, as well as refreshments for walkers including hamburgers, hotdogs, chips and desserts. Raffle items have been donated by the RiteCare clinicians and RiteCare families.
Walkers can register on-site or in advance at http://walkrite2019.everydayhero.do/. To learn more, go to www.RiteCareNE.org.
The WalkRite for RiteCare will be held:
WHEN: 10:30 a.m. Sunday, June 23 (on-site registration begins at 9:30 a.m.)
WHERE: Zorinsky Lake, 156th and F streets, Omaha, at the picnic pavilion
NOTE: There is no cost to walk, but there are incentives awarded for reaching fundraising goals, including WalkRite T-shirts, water bottles and RiteCare bags.
The Munroe-Meyer Institute’s (MMI) mission is to be world leaders in transforming the lives of individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities, their families and communities through outreach, engagement, premier educational programs, innovative research and extraordinary patient care.
We are Nebraska Medicine and UNMC. Our mission is to lead the world in transforming lives to create a healthy future for all individuals and communities through premier educational programs, innovative research and extraordinary patient care.
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