Sertoma Club and ESD 113 Partner to Support Lewis County Students
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For more than four decades, the Twin Cities Sertoma Club, based in Chehalis and Centralia, has funded speech and hearing services for Lewis County students. ESD 113’s Special Education Cooperative is one of three local programs that receive those grants, alongside the Centralia and Chehalis school districts.
A Partnership Built on Shared Purpose
Each fall, Sertoma committee chair Steve Richert reaches out to all three programs to announce available grant funding. Schools choose how to spend it, with one condition: the money must target speech and hearing needs.
“You guys make the decision for your needs,” Richert said. “We want it aimed at speech and hearing.”
What the Grants Have Funded
Over the years, grants have supported hearing testing equipment, audiometers, digital tablets, batteries, hearing aid molds, teaching materials, and fees for summer camps and teacher seminars in Lewis County.
The most recent grant to ESD 113, totaling $2,520, funded two augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) tools and training. AAC tools allow students who cannot communicate verbally to express themselves using a device. Past grants have also funded classroom amplification systems, which help students who are hard of hearing fully access instruction.
“We’ve begun implementing these tools with both staff and students,” said ESD 113 Senior Special Education Director Katie Kent. “This work is already laying the foundation for stronger language acquisition, improved communication skills, and greater access to learning for students.”
A Quarter Million Dollars—and Counting
This partnership has directed well over $250,000 toward speech and hearing services in Lewis County. Annual grants currently range from $1,500 to $3,000 per affiliate. Richert hopes to offer $3,000 grants for the 2026–27 school year.