Sertoma Club of Hattiesburg Makes $18,000 Donation to DuBard School

The Sertoma Club of Hattiesburg made its largest philanthropic contribution to date by presenting the DuBard School for Language Disorders with a check for $18,000 on Thursday, Aug. 12.

The 34-member club raised the money through its annual “drawdown” event held this past May. Since 2001, the club has donated a total of $121,700 to the DuBard School, located on the campus of The University of Southern Mississippi.

“Their consistent involvement with the DuBard School over the years has truly helped in transforming the lives of many, many children,” said Dr. Maureen Martin, DuBard School director. “And that type of consistency is not only impressive from a financial standpoint, but also sets a wonderful example for other civic organizations. This contribution represents their largest donation to our school thus far, and we are extremely grateful to everyone who worked so hard to make this possible.”

Pendleton Stovall, who serves as the Hattiesburg Sertoma Club president, points out that speech and hearing remain the primary beneficiary of the national Sertoma Club's fundraising goals.

“We just have a bunch of hard-working folks in this club who care about giving back to our community,” said Stovall. “I have three kids myself and the work they do here at DuBard is very important and certainly a worthwhile cause.”

The DuBard School for Language Disorders was established in 1962 and is a clinical division of the Southern Miss Department of Speech and Hearing Sciences. The school serves children with severe language/speech disorders and/or hearing impairments and provides guidance and counseling for parents and families of the children. The school is a practicum site for university students majoring in speech-language pathology, audiology, or deaf education. For more information visit www.usm.edu/dubard/