Letter: Horizons grateful for Lions Club generosity

Dear Editor:
I wanted to express a most sincere and public thank you to the Meeker Lions Club. The Lions Club members have always gone above and beyond to serve our community and provide amazing opportunities that would otherwise be out-of-reach in our rural setting.
Recently, the Lions Club made a significant donation to Horizons Child and Family Services toward the purchase and maintenance of a LENA (Language ENvironment Analysis) device. A LENA device is a small recorder that allows Horizons’ therapists to track how much language is used in a child’s home and then generate a report that can be shared with parents. The LENA device measures how many words are used, the number of turns taken while talking, the sounds used by the child, and other valuable information about the language environment in a home. This information is then used to help shape the type of therapy that a child receives and motivate parents to increase the amount and quality of language that a child hears.
During the Lions Club meeting, members Dale Smith and Joy Clymer also offered free internet to Horizons to help offset some of the costs associated with having a Horizons office in Meeker. Never did I imagine the amazing generosity that would be on display that evening!
Without the generous donation from the Meeker Lions, Horizons would not have been able to purchase this incredible tool. The LENA will have an enormous impact on children, their families and our community. Thank you again to the men and women of the Meeker Lions Club!
Natosha Clatterbaugh
Speech Language Pathologist
Horizons Child and Family Services