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Photo of a man wearing a red hat on the left, a woman with grey hair wearing black framed glasses and a silver hat in the middle and a woman with curly brown hair and star shaped blue glasses on the right. Orange balloons are on the floor. There is one big orange balloon above the woman with curly hair and a pink balloon in between the man and the woman,

Celebrating 29 Years: Listen and Talk Celebrates Founder’s Day!

Multiple individuals sit on the floor in a circle in a playroom. A woman is at the center accepting flowers from a woman wearing an orange t-shirt.
Star accepts flowers from Executive Director Maura Bernsden during Story Time with Star at our Founder’s Day celebration.

Celebrating 29 Years: Listen and Talk’s Founder’s Day and Inaugural Walk, Run, Roll Fundraiser!

A great time was had by all as we gathered to celebrate Founder’s Day at Listen and Talk on a recent Sunday in October, a day made even more special by serving as the finish line for our very first Walk, Run, and Roll Fundraiser! We are gratified by the excitement, community spirit, and all of the smiles we have shared on this incredible journey over the past 29 years.

A Legacy of Listening and Spoken Language

A woman with curly brown hair wearing a read cardigan sweater smiles while holding a yellow balloon with a preschool aged boy. The boy is wearing a white t-shirt with a green crewneck. There is wood paneling in the background with children's art on the walls.
Listen and Talk’s Founder, Star Leonard-Fleckman, helps a child during a therapy session.

Twenty-nine years ago, a dream took root in the basement of teacher of the deaf/auditory verbal therapist Star Leonard-Fleckman’s home. Star had a dream to provide a place where children with hearing loss could learn to listen and talk, empowering them to thrive in a hearing world. From those early beginnings, Listen and Talk has blossomed into a beacon of hope for deaf and hard of hearing children and their families. Listen and Talk has become a leader in listening and spoken language education, providing services to over 200 families across Washington state in person and virtually. Services  have grown to include Outreach, our Birth to Three Program,  Therapy Services, Audiology and our Blended Classroom Program.

Photo of three women smiling. The woman on the left is wearing an orange t-shirt and blue jeans and has short grey hair and black-framed glasses. The woman in the middle is wearing a grey cowl necked sweater and blue jeans and has short curly brown hair. The woman on the right is tall and has grey hair pulled back. She is wearing a green and white checked button up shirt and black pants.
Executive Director Maura Berndsen (left), Founder Star Leonard-Fleckman and Birth to Three Specialist Kim Hamren enjoy some time together catching up at Founder’s Day.ssroom Programs and Therapy Services. 

Our goal is to provide each child with the skills needed to have meaningful relationships and learn by listening to the world around them. As a listening and spoken language service provider, we coach each family and work with each child so they can reason, think independently and communicate their thoughts with intelligible speech without the need for an interpreter. Self-advocacy is built into our learning. This helps us meet a goal that each child leaves Listen and Talk being able to communicate their needs in a variety of settings. 

We honor Star’s dream and the dedication of countless individuals who have contributed to our mission and vision. Our program, built on the foundation of auditory-verbal therapy, has transformed the lives of hundreds of children and their families, opening up a world of possibilities through the power of sound and communication. We were thrilled to have current families, alumni families and even an alumni student who is now a parent attend our Founder’s Day celebration! 

Listen and Talk’s Inaugural Walk-Run-and Roll Crosses the Finish Line!

Image of a white sneaker on the ground with jeans extending above it to the knee. The ground is cement and has multiple orange and beige maple leaves on the surface.
Listen and Talk crossed the finish line of our first ever Walk-Run-and-Roll!

Our first-ever Walk, Run, and Roll Fundraiser was an inspiring display of community support. Participants of all ages and abilities joined together, walking, running, and rolling towards a common goal: to raise vital funds for Listen and Talk’s programs. Thanks to you, we raised over $10,000 which was matched by our wonderful founder Star Leonard-Fleckman! We are now at over $26,00o and counting in the funds raised! The energy was infectious, and it was truly heartwarming to see so many people committed to helping children with hearing loss achieve their full potential. Walks took place in Edmonds, Woodinville, the Olympic Peninsula, and Green Lake to name a few. Participants ranged from ages 1-100! 

Every step, every roll, and every donation brings us closer to a future where every child has the opportunity to listen and talk through listening and spoken language education. Thank you again for your inspired participation. We can’t wait to do it again next year!

Story Time with Star: A Memory to Treasure

A woman with curly brown hair sits on the floor in the center of the room reading a book out loud to a child who is walking up to her. Other adults and children sit in a circle looking on.
Alumni student Katharine Wile (standing, left) watches as her child engages in story time with Star as parents, staff and friends of Listen and Talk look on.

A truly memorable story time with our founder Star mesmerized alumni students, children of alumni students and students alike. There is nothing like a read-aloud session to engage the little ones! Star’s reading highlights the progress of hearing technology combined with listening and spoken language learning. This event took place in the fabulous Discovery Room at our Kirkland campus.

Looking Ahead : Continuing Our Mission

Seven adults stand in a semi circle and smile as they visit with each other in a playroom with a climbing structure in the background.
Alumni parents and friends of Listen and Talk (including board member Deborah Masters in center with brown sweater) enjoy visiting with Star and each other at Founder’s Day.

As we reflect on 29 years of impact and celebrate the success of our inaugural fundraiser, we are filled with optimism for the future. Our mission is to teach children with hearing loss to communicate and learn through listening and spoken language. This goal is at the heart of everything we do. It is coming to life every day in classrooms, therapy settings and family homes.

We are proud to serve families who speak over thirty different languages. Our services provide the framework so that families can speak the language of their heart and home.

The funds raised will directly support our comprehensive listening and spoken language program, ensuring that we can continue to provide individualized therapy, parent education, outreach, preschool learning and cutting-edge resources to the families who need us most.

Thank you to everyone who participated, volunteered, donated, and celebrated with us. Your dedication makes a profound difference in the lives of the children we serve. Here’s to many more years of empowering children to listen and talk!

We invite you to learn more about Listen and Talk and how you can continue to support our mission:

Woman with long dark hair with blonde streaks wearing a grey jacket and black t-shirt stands to the left with two young girls in front of her. In the middle is a tall woman with grey hair pulled back with black framed glasses wearing a green and white checked button up shirt. On the right is a man wearing a black jacket and jeans. All people in the photo are smiling.
A Listen and Talk alumni family visits with Birth to Three Specialist Kim Hamren at Founder’s Day.

Donate Now

By supporting our social impact enterprise, you can help ensure that future generations of children with hearing loss have access to the same high-quality education and resources that helped shape the journey of countless families struggling with the impact of hearing loss. Your contribution will directly fund programs such as early intervention services, speech therapy, audiology testing, and parent education classes.

Thank you for contributing to the lives of deaf and hard of hearing children and their families to reach our vision that “no child is limited by hearing loss.”

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Kristin Hill

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