Language, learning, and love—that’s what you will find at the Childhood Language Center in Charleston. Committed to children with speech and language issues, this non-profit provides all services free of charge to the families that it serves. It is a growing need in many communities. Executive director Holly Martin points out, “Once you start talking to people you realize everybody has a story. It touches a lot of people, whether it’s a speech impediment or whether it is something as severe as a child who has autism or Down’s Syndrome or Cerebral Palsy.”
Company Story
A year ago, Martin met with Jamie Summers-Brown for a look at the CLC’s website. As they discussed the organization’s branding needs, Jamie seemed to immediately connect with its work in helping children. That night, he came up with the group’s tag line (Language, Learning, and Love). “And he said the Frank Brown Partnership Program would be perfect for this type of organization,” Martin shared.
Named after Jamie’s grandfather, the Frank Brown Community Partnership is a chance for Bricks Without Straw to give back to the community. Jamie believes that helping a charitable organization (whose funds are often limited) with their technology needs frees that group to better serve fellow West Virginians. Martin agrees. “For Jamie’s firm to come in and help us out with marketing was a huge blessing. We try to keep our overhead extremely low and to be really responsible with the money that we receive; it was a huge help to us to help show people what we’re all about.”
Communicating The CLC’s Message
According to Martin, Jamie and his team created a new website that, “. . .communicated the joy and the happiness and excitement we see when children are able to make progress.” Working with Rick Lee Photography, Martin gave BWS photos of 5 different families from the center. Using the photos and family stories, Jamie and his staff put together an engaging site that captures the Childhood Language Center’s true essence--a fun, joyful place that meets the needs of children.
“The families whose children are featured on the website are thrilled; the kids feel like they’re famous,” Martin shared. The staff of the Center appreciates the website, too. “I think for them it’s a point of pride. They know they’ve been doing good work for a really long time but the website really reflects that. It reflects the fact that this is a place where we have clinical excellence and we have happy families that really appreciate coming here.”
“It’s actually helped us to communicate with people in our community, too. They’ve recognized some of the kids and say things like, ‘I know her!’ We’ve even received donations as a result of that.”
Getting the Word Out
That exposure is essential to the Center. The CLC is one of several clinics started nationwide by the Scottish Rite Masons. Focusing on speech and language pathology, the group began opening Rite Care clinics in the 1950’s. The Charleston clinic opened in 1990. The CLC strives to keep its overhead operating costs low, but in the past few years has recognized its need for outside financial help. “That’s where Bricks Without Straw really came in and helped in terms of getting our name out there,” Martin expressed.
Besides the website, Jamie helped the CLC connect to other social media outlets. “He’s really good at looking at how to integrate technology in order to communicate our mission. Especially the photos on Flickr. . .that was a really good step for us. We need people to be able to see the kids and tell our stories visually.”
Helping companies utilize technology is just one of Jamie’s strengths, according to Martin. “He has a really sharp eye for branding. He’s really quick at getting a feel for an organization and knowing how to capture that, whether it be in a tag line or a visual identity, and pulling all those pieces together visually. And he is really quick with communication; you always know where you’re at.”
Martin is grateful that Jamie chose to use those strengths to help the Childhood Language Center. “We’re really thankful to be a recipient of the Frank Brown Community Partnership. For a small organization like us it’s made such a tremendous difference in how we’re able to stretch our resources and be responsible with the donations we receive. It allows us to put more dollars toward treating children.”
