The Friday Finish - Everyone Deserves Hearing - Have they helped? - Septic, Pleasant? - Walk-in Help - A Miracle! - Honesty Overshadows
- Tim Crawford
- 5 days ago
- 8 min read
March 20, 2026
“Everyone deserves hearing care.”
Old Man Winter threw another round of snow and cold on Monday, but there was plenty of warmth spread throughout Red Bird Mission Community Outreach on Monday and Tuesday. Eight (8) audiology student volunteers from the University of Louisville (U of L) School of Medicine welcomed 72 community residents to assess hearing and provide critical maintenance on hearing devices. Twenty (20) received new hearing aid fits! They worked under the direction and supervision of two faculty audiologists, Dr. Lauren Pollock and Dr. Bailey LaPaugh as part of the U of L Health rural outreach to serve isolated, rural people.
Only one in the group of ten had been to Red Bird previously, Dr. Pollock. She explained why audiology groups continue to come,
“It is so nice to be able to help out, and this feels like it is still part of our community.
I have patients who come and see me from near and far so it's nice to come into the community of the people who can't get to me and be able to help.”
Clients served at Humanitarian Health Clinics pay nothing for diagnostic services, supplies, or even hearing aids. The U of L students solicited manufacturers and businesses for equipment and supplies needed to perform maintenance and “stock the closet” to carry through until the next team comes. Dr. Pollock said that students immerse themselves in fundraising events like a walk for hearing sponsored by their student organization, Student Academy of Audiology, and the Hearing Loss Association of America. Those funds are tapped for outreach and helps to fund some of the expenses for the trips to Red Bird.
The students come from varied backgrounds and life experiences. Ashley, a second year student, has family in eastern Kentucky and Jordan, a third year student, came to U of L from St. Louis, Missouri.
Speaking of her experience at Red Bird, Ashley said, “I have a lot of family out in
eastern Kentucky so it kind of feels like a little bit like home.
I'm giving my time and
it feels more personal to me
because I have family where things aren't as accessible, so
I'm happy to give back.”
Jordan’s experience at Red Bird may have contributed to her future plans. She shared,
“It's just a different population than I've ever worked with, and
everyone is just so sweet and kind. And, they're appreciative of us as well as we're appreciative of them
for coming and making the trip and getting their hearing care taken care of.
“I do have a soft spot for the rural population and helping, or others that don't have. I start my externship in June at a private practice in Indiana, and then after that, may be opening a private practice in a rural area.”
Jordan shared the heart of why the audiology teams put forth the effort and expense to impact the lives of over 600 people living in the Red Bird Mission service area saying,
“Rural, urban, city, mountain life. It doesn't matter. Everyone deserves hearing care.”
“Have they helped you?”
Following are a few client testimonials from this week’s Humanitarian Hearing Clinic.
“I LOVE my hearing aids! I can hear my husband and watch TV and listen to audiobooks without disturbing everyone
with the volume up so loud anymore.”
“You [RBM Community Health] are a blessing to my son!
He received hearing services through the Kentucky Commission on the Deaf and Hard of Hearing until he turned 21, now he has aged out and one of his devices quit working. Red Bird Mission is able to provide a free hearing screening and audiogram for him to apply to Vocational Rehabilitation to receive free new hearing devices because
he is currently employed at McDonalds and couldn’t have afforded the devices any other way.”
“You can’t come over here [RBM Community Outreach] without getting help!”
Septic Pump Out – A Pleasant Experience?
After a successful work career, Lois Smith could be sitting at home during her retirement, but she’s often at Red Bird volunteering to help her community. Lois represents the Kentucky Waterways Alliance (KWA) and on Tuesday, Lois was at the Schaeffer Building on Red Bird Mission’s Queendale Campus connecting homeowners needing septic tanks pumped with grant assistance to pay for the service.
Her engaging and joyful personality draws people into a conversation that some might consider private and nobody else’s business. She builds trust introducing the idea of the project with people she’s never met before and walks them through an application that most today wouldn’t finish due to the information needed to send a driver up their drive to keep their septic functioning and the home place healthy. By the end of the day, 15 households were signed up for pump outs that saves each one several hundred dollars that those families didn’t have to spare.
Shoes and Insurance, Too!
Walk-in Gets Help
Winter road conditions on Tuesday forced the AppalReD Legal Aid staff to reschedule their Pro Bono Legal Clinic to Thursday, but weather conditions were much improved. A couple of the appointments were rescheduled for the next free clinic on April 20th, but the staff had worked with four people by early afternoon on cases relating to custody, divorce and expungement. One of those was a walk-in that was inquiring about assistance that is scheduled for a follow up in April.
Pauline Burkett, AppalReD Clinic Coordinator, said that being present on monthly basis is building a relationship in the Red Bird community that creates awareness and trust that there is a free legal resource available for individuals with limited, low income.
“A Miracle!”
Her face lit up with emotion this week when Chasley Collett, Red Bird Christian School (RBCS) Kindergarten-1st Grade Teacher, heard that a Red Bird Mission Board Member pledged $2,000 towards the replacement of a Kindergarten air handler room unit. The joy kept flowing as she expressed how excited she was when the news had been shared that the school is getting a new chiller this spring, calling it “a miracle!”
Chasley, her colleagues and the students at RBCS have endured the heat because they believe RBCS is the where they learn and grow spiritually as a community. Chasley is committing to contact churches and individuals that support her Kindergarten class seeking support to complete the $10,000 cost for a Kindergarten room unit. Any amount of gift is needed for the classroom units, but churches, groups or individuals giving at least $1,000 can have their name listed on plaque as a unit sponsor. Donors interested in sponsoring a classroom unit for a particular teacher, grade or subject can access the list online from our website, or request the list via email or USPS mail.
Donations can be made online, or mailed to Red Bird Mission, 70 Queendale Ctr, Beverly, KY 40913-9607 designated “Cool the School.” If you’d like to designate your gift to a particular classroom, add “Cool the …” to the comment box when making your online gift, or add it in the memo line of your check, e.g., “Cool the Kindergarten”, “Cool the Music Room”, “Cool 4th/5th”, etc.
Honesty Overshadows Friday the 13th Luck
Folks say Friday the 13th is bad luck, but that wasn't the story in our little gym. For our Red Bird archery team, this "unlucky" day turned into a night full of steady hands, focused minds, smiles and kids doing something good for somebody else.
Red Bird Christian School hosted our second archery tournament, the Friday the 13th Bullseye Bash 10-Meter Invitational. Student archers from Red Bird and Leslie County High School packed into our little gym, not just to see how many tens they could stack, but to do something good together. By the end of the night, these kids had raised over $280 for St. Jude Children’s Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee.
Archery has a way of turning competitors into friends. The Leslie County team, led by Coach Martha Couch, showed that from the first whistle to the last arrow. Every kid on that line was fighting for their personal best, watching every point, and the scores stayed tight all the way through. But instead of feeling like “us vs. them,” it felt like two mountain schools cheering each other on. Like us, Leslie County Archery is fighting to make a name for their sport. In a school where football and basketball usually has the spotlight, they're out here carving out their own lane and changing the game for their talented kids, just like we're trying to do at Red Bird.
One moment that really stuck with me happened when Coach Martha stepped in to help one of our Red Bird archers who had marked their score lower than what they’d actually shot. In a sport where honesty matters, she made sure that kid got the score they had earned. Watching a visiting coach take the time to protect a Red Bird kid’s hard work is the kind of thing I won’t forget. That’s what real sportsmanship looks like. Standing on the line with them Friday night, we realized quickly they are a lot like us. Calm and focused, a little bit silly between ends, and most importantly, honest. They went out of their way to make sure every score was fair.
This tournament also gave us a chance to honor our 8th graders, Braxton “Bullseye” Asher and Lily Ratliff, who took their final home shots as middle school archers. Braxton has leveled up in a big way this year, and Lily has been my right-hand “boss lady” on the line, helping keep our crew steady and focused. Watching them lead, encourage the younger kids, and then step off our middle school range for the last time was bittersweet. They’ve left their mark on Red Bird archery, and I can’t wait to see what they do at the high school level.
As we wrap up the season and look toward regionals, with a shot at qualifying for state, I can’t help but look back over the whole year. These archers have grown so much—not just in their scores, but in the way they carry themselves, encourage each other and represent Red Bird Christian School every time they step on the line.
The Friday the 13th Bullseye Bash was a “spooktacular” ending to an amazing season with talented kids who are very special to me. It was a reminder that archery, especially in little mountain schools like ours, is about perseverance, teamwork, and community. I’m thankful I get to stand on that line with these kids, and I’m excited to see where their next round of arrows takes them.
- Kayla Smith – Development Gifts and Media
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