RiteCare Clinic of Elk River
Elk River, Minnesota
763-633-5437

Scottish Rite Language Clinic
Duluth, Minnesota
218-720-3911

The Scottish Rite Language Clinics of Minnesota Board has begun a fund raising campaign to fund the Elk River RiteCare Clinic and other RiteCare Clinics in Minnesota. 

The following are some of the questions and corresponding answers that Masons may have regarding our capital campaign to help children with speech and language disorders. 

These are not intended to be all-inclusive, as we cannot anticipate every question.  No question is a bad one, so if your question is not addressed here, or is not answered satisfactorily, please contact RiteCare Clinic Fund Raising Campaign Chair, Dave Kampf, at 952-238-0866, or by email at davek@windridgesystems.com .  Thank-you for your interest!

1. Why does the Scottish Rite wish to sponsor this clinic?
    The Scottish Rite Childhood Language Clinics bring Masons together in support of a common cause.  The clinic is a place where speech & language pathologists will focus their skills and compassion to help children learn to understand and use language.  Education and concern for children have always been among the fundamental tenets of the Masonic fraternity.  Helping children with speech and language disorders is a mission of the Scottish Rite of Freemasonry.

2. What is the connection between the RiteCare Clinics and the Scottish Rite?
    In the early 1950’s in Colorado, the Scottish Rite initiated a program to help children with speech and language disorders.  The results obtained from this program led to the establishment of Scottish Rite Childhood Language Clinics to provide diagnostic evaluation and treatment of speech and language disorders, as well as learning disabilities.  Today there are over 170 clinics in the United States, with two in Minnesota, serving more than 28,000 children each year

3. Where is the clinic located?
    The clinic is located in the Pines South office complex in Elk River, Minnesota near Highway 169 and Main Street.

4. When will the clinic begin operations?
    Thanks to the generous support of Masons in Minnesota, the clinic has already begun helping its first patients.

5. How many children will be served each year?
    The clinic would like to serve 50 children in its first full year of operation, and more each year thereafter.  There is currently a waiting list of 45 children hoping to receive therapy and treatment at the new Elk River Clinic.  The RiteCare Clinic will focus on helping children from 9 months to 9 years of age.

6. Aren’t these services provided by the public schools?
    Unfortunately, the public schools can only service children who meet strict qualifying criteria as mandated by state and federal law. Many children with needs just miss the qualifying criteria and thus receive no service. In addition, school speech therapists have very large caseloads, which makes it difficult to provide enough time for servicing each individual child. RiteCare Clinics are able to provide these needed services when gaps occur. Without this help, children may not acquire the skills they need to become successful learners and communicators.

7. Will these services involve any cost to the families?
    All services at the RiteCare Clinics are provided without charge to parents or guardians.  The Clinic is sponsored by Scottish Rite Masons and is supported by voluntary contributions from its members, friends, private foundations, businesses and other dedicated persons and organizations.

8. How will the Scottish Rite raise the funds necessary to support the RiteCare Language Clinic?
    The Scottish Rite of Minnesota will conduct a capital campaign to raise the funds needed to operate the Elk River RiteCare Clinic and begin the planning for more clinics in Minnesota.  The capital campaign will last three years and will also feature a three-year pledge period.

9. How will the proceeds of the capital campaign be spent?
    The clinic needs professional staff, test equipment, assessment materials, teaching aids, toys, office equipment and supplies, computers, televisions and audio/visual recording equipment.

10. Is this a good time to conduct a campaign?
     Compared to the last few years, this is a wonderful time to conduct a capital campaign.  The economy is growing, consumer confidence is up and personal income is increasing.

11. What giving options will be available?
     Multiple options are available.  Donors may choose a planned gift, a three-year pledge, a one-time gift, a renewable annual gift, or even monthly and weekly gifts.

12. Is this a one-time-only appeal?
     Support for the clinic will be needed during every year of operation.  Donors to the capital campaign will be encouraged to become generous annual donors.

13. Will this campaign be announced in the media?
     The initial phase of the campaign will not involve the media.  This "silent phase" will be limited to the members of the Scottish Rite Orient of Minnesota and other Masonic bodies.  When the appropriate percentage of the goal is achieved, media announcements will be made and the public will be invited to participate.

14. How can I volunteer?
     To volunteer your time and services in the fund raising campaign, please call the RiteCare Clinic Fund Raising Campaign Chair, Greg Arnott, at 952-893-5470, or by email at gba7625@aol.com .

      Since we opened our doors in June of 2004, our focus has been to provide therapy to children, ages 9 months through 9 years of age, with language-based disorders or delays.  We are working with children with a variety of issues which may produce language delays or disorders, including Developmental Apraxia of Speech, Autism and other Pervasive Developmental Disorders, Phonological Processing Disorders, Cerebral Palsy and Fragile X Syndrome to name a few.  Our student’s successes are due to the close communication between our Speech-Language Pathologists and families, as well as collaboration with other agencies including schools and private clinics.
      Our clinic features state-of-the-art technology, such as a computer therapy room for student usage, therapy rooms with video and audio technology and a parent observation room.  Clinic amenities include an indoor play area, a full kitchen for cooking and therapy activities, and a conference room for parent meetings.
      A total of 200 families have contacted the clinic regarding our services, and information packets have been sent to them.  As of May 31, 2006, 168 assessments have been completed.  We are currently providing direct therapy to 42 children and their families.  There are 41 children on our waiting list. We are currently looking to hire another part-time speech clinician to decrease the numbers of children waiting for service.
      We continue to look for creative ways to service children on the waiting list and have found that our phonology group therapy sessions have been very successful.  Fall phonology groups are underway and discussion an planning sessions are beginning for our summer groups.
      We continue to focus on building community contacts. During outreach weeks, we have met with Speech Clinicians in the hospital setting, private practice and in the schools, so that we might coordinate services with the students we share. We also meet with other care providers that our students might see including Occupational Therapists, Physical Therapists and Special Education Teachers to name a few.
      As you can see, teamwork has allowed us to accomplish much in one short year. Unfortunately the need is great. The sooner we can diagnose and treat children with communication disorders, the less likely they will be to experience severe impairments in the future. Without continued volunteer and financial support we will not be able to provide the superior therapy that we are currently providing. Together we are doing great things for children who otherwise may not be able to communicate effectively with the world around them. All of our successes wouldn’t be possible if it wasn’t for caring and dedicated Scottish Rite members, RiteCare Language Clinic Board members, clinic staff, volunteers, students and their parents.
      In addition, we wish to acknowledge the generosity of our other supporters including: the Otto Bremer Foundation, the Bush Foundation, Cargill, Inc., the Fort Snelling Memorial Chapel Foundation, the Kentron Foundation, the Carl and Verna Schmidt Foundation, the Scottish Rite Foundation of Minneapolis, the TCF Foundation, Wal Mart of Elk River, ECM Publishers, Home Depot of Elk River, Target Corporation, Twin City Co-ops FCU, Washburn-McReavy Funeral Chapels and the Xcel Energy Foundation.
      All of the staff at the clinic has to agree with this mother when she states, “Thank you to the Scottish Rite, affiliated organizations and the individuals who donated the money, time and energy to build this top-notch clinic!”