Community Impact Grants 2026
Announcing Four GSHFoundation Community Impact Grant Recipients
We are delighted to announce the winners of the Community Impact Grants for 2026. These grants were awarded to experts in the field of speech-language pathology and audiology who, through innovation and application, promote community engagement of students and professional staff and facilitate high social impact to individuals with speech, language, cognitive, swallowing, or hearing disorders.
Check back in Winter 2026 for the next Community Impact Grant opportunity!
CONGRATS TO THE 2026 COMMUNITY IMPACT GRANT RECIPIENTS!
Afua Agyapong
Afua Agyapong
Healthy Voices for Augusta Performers
This project aims to improve vocal health in the Augusta community by offering free voice screenings and vocal hygiene therapy to community theatre participants and amateur singers. These performers rely heavily on their voices yet often lack access to professional support, placing them at risk for voice disorders that can cause chronic strain, pain, reduced vocal range, and even long-term damage. Our initiative will provide evidence-based screenings, individualized vocal hygiene education to reduce these risks and enhance vocal longevity. Funding this project will protect the voices of local performers, support the arts, and promote early identification of harmful vocal conditions.
Three Impacts:
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Early detection and prevention of voice disorders
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Increased knowledge and adoption of healthy vocal practices
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Strengthened community arts and cultural Engagement
"The Georgia Speech-Language Hearing Foundation grant provides an incredible opportunity to support the vocal health of Augusta’s vibrant performing arts community. Community theatre performers and amateur singers rely heavily on their voices, yet many do not have access to professional voice care or preventive services. Through this project, we are able to offer free voice screenings and vocal hygiene education that help performers recognize early warning signs of vocal strain and adopt healthier vocal practices. By promoting prevention, education, and early intervention, this initiative will not only protect the voices of local performers but also strengthen the arts community and raise awareness about the important role speech-language pathologists play in vocal health and wellness."
Alison Morrison
"Supporting a children with hearing-related needs begins by empowering the family with knowledge and confidence."
Alison Morrison
Project Sound
Project SOUND (Supporting Ongoing Use for New Devices) aims to equip families with the tools necessary to promote full-time use of hearing devices for infants and young children. Consistent
hearing aid use is critical for language development in children with hearing loss who are pursuing listening and spoken language. Through Project SOUND, children ages 0-3 years who are newly fit with hearing aids will receive a retention kit equipped with tools for promoting hearing aid retention and full-time use, encouraging parent-child listening and language activities, and supporting parent education.
Three Impacts:
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Support device retention to encourage full-time use of hearing devices through provision of pilot caps, hearing aid safety cords, and toupee tape.
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Facilitate parent-child listening and language activities through provision of items such as a board book and noisemaker.
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Provide simple, clear education for families to incorporate strategies for nurturing language development through everyday activities.
Angelica Gunn-Phipps
Angelica Gunn-Phipps
Empowering Educators for Early Language Success in Children of Refugees
The purpose of this project is to provide targeted educational opportunities to classroom teachers at Refugee Family Literacy (RFL). Teachers will gain additional skills in identifying early speech and language delays and implementing evidence-based classroom strategies that support communication development. The training will strengthen teachers' capacity to create language-rich environments that address developmental needs during this crucial early learning period.
Three Impacts:
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Enhance the learning environment within the Refugee Family Literacy (RFL) program.
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Purchase of early intervention tools, sensory materials, and supplemental learning toys that directly support school readiness for infants, toddlers, and preschool-aged children.
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Ability to seamlessly integrate education learned from training into the existing RFL schedule
“By empowering teachers, we strengthen the entire community—ensuring children develop the communication skills they need to thrive in school and beyond.”
Javed Anjum & Nicole Hines
"UGA SHC hopes to empower individuals with aphasia to improve language skills, practice communication, encourage social interactions, and promote confidence in a community."
Javed Anjum & Nicole Hines
Athens Aphasia Camp
Athens Aphasia Camp is a two-week, Intensive Comprehensive Aphasia Program (ICAP) for community-dwelling adults with aphasia in Athens-Clarke and surrounding counties. Grounded in the Life Participation Approach to Aphasia (LPAA), our program prioritizes real-life communication outcomes, including reconnecting with family and friends, rebuilding meaningful community roles, and resuming overall life participation through improved communicative confidence. Seven participants will receive 40-50 hours of evidence-based individual, group, and technology-supported interventions, integrated with interdisciplinary adjuvant therapies such as music therapy and mindfulness. Graduate student clinicians will gain supervised, immersive, community-engaged experience delivering high-impact speech-language pathology (SLP) services to people touched by aphasia.
Three Impacts:
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Expand equitable access to intensive, participant focused aphasia services in underserved communities in Athens-Clarke counties.
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Deliver interdisciplinary, evidence-based, Life Participation Approach to Aphasia (LPAA)-guided rehabilitation for people living with aphasia.
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Prepare future SLPs for serving people with aphasia through community engaged, Intensive Comprehensive Aphasia Program (ICAP) style training opportunities.
