In September last year, START sent out an appeal letter with the goal of raising $7,200 to help 10 Kiwi kids access treatment for stuttering. In response to this, Mike Pollok, CEO of Ricoh, and former START Board Member, reached out to us and generously offered to contribute 50% towards our goal. We are very grateful for this considerable contribution. We are delighted to share with you the story Ricoh published in their internal staff newsletter – The Ricoh Review.
In September 2018, the Stuttering Treatment and Research Trust (START) approached its supporter database with the goal to raise $7200 to provide specialist speech language therapy to ten Kiwi kids who stutter.
START was established in 1995 by a group of people who had experienced stuttering first-hand—either themselves or as parents of children who stuttered. Based in Auckland, with an office in Greenlane and a satellite clinic at Massey University in Albany, START is a registered charitable trust and the only organisation in New Zealand that specialises in the treatment of stuttering.
START changes lives by providing specialist treatment and support to
people who stutter and their parents, families and whanau. A team of specialist speech language therapists provides both one-to-one treatment sessions and a range of group treatment options. START also offers a mentoring programme for adults who stutter, as well as hosting a range of social events for people of all ages.
“Half way through our campaign, we were approached by Mike Pollok, wanting to make a meaningful contribution towards our appeal,” says START Executive Director, Janelle Irvine.
“On behalf of Ricoh, Mike generously offered to contribute 50 per cent towards our target of $7200.”
“Having been involved with START for many years as a trustee, I witnessed first-hand the transformation in young peoples’ lives when they were able to speak fluently for the first time,” says Mike.
“Ricoh is a communications company, albeit a business one, but what is more intrinsic to human communication than the ability to speak fluently—something so many of us simply take for granted.”
“With the addition of the $3600 donation from Ricoh, START raised a total of $8695, which means we are now in the position to help over 10 Kiwi Kids who stutter. We are extremely thankful to Mike and Ricoh for helping us exceed our target,” says Janelle.
Ricoh’s donation, along with the other funds raised, will go a long way to helping other children who access START’s services, such as Addison, as well as their families.
“When our son, Addison was three-and-a-half, we noticed him having problems with his speech. Over a matter of weeks, his speech deteriorated to the point where he was struggling with almost every sentence and was trying to force words out,” says Leighton Duke.
“As parents it was hugely painful watching our young son struggle in this way and we felt hopeless not knowing how to cope with the challenges he faced. Eighteen months down the track, Addison is a confident speaker thanks to the support START has provided and we are now armed with the tools to help our son. We can’t begin to thank the START team enough; to again see smiles and hear our little boy express himself and his big thoughts freely!”
“As well as the generous financial contribution, Ricoh has a long-standing history of supporting START by providing a printer/photocopier/scanner at no charge, which is a hugely generous donation and a much-appreciated support to our organisation,” says Janelle.