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On Thursday, February 13th, Society for the Blind was joined by more than 130 guests, including Vice Mayor Jeff Harris, Councilmember Steve Hansen and Director of the California Department of Rehabilitation, Joe Xavier, as we unveiled our new first floor Annex. Nearly one year ago I shared in this blog that we were getting close […]

2019 was a remarkable year, and we are so grateful for our community’s support! Most significantly, we completed the build-out of our new first-floor annex in October. We now have 5,000 more square feet of multi-purpose training and meeting space, a dedicated music room and a new teaching kitchen for our Senior IMPACT Project. Our […]

As we wrap up our 65th anniversary year stronger than ever, we are grateful to you for being such an important part of our community. We look forward to sharing the hope and joy of a new year and decade. The halls at Society for the Blind are getting decked out in holiday style and […]

As we make our way toward Thanksgiving, it’s a good time to pause and reflect on our gratitude for the generosity of you – our donors, volunteers and friends – over the past year.  We strive to be good stewards of your generosity and to put your gifts to work – and this year, we […]

Anyone who thinks getting older isn’t fun should come by Society for the Blind during one of our eight-day Senior IMPACT Project immersion retreats. Each month we have a boisterous group of older adults who come together with mentors and staff to learn how to age actively with vision loss. Laughter abounds as the participants […]

We dedicate this issue of our e-newsletter in loving memory of Doris Flint, who passed away on August 22, 2019. Doris was a leader, a devoted mother and wife, and a passionate community volunteer. She served as national president for the Delta Gamma (DGs) fraternity, which is committed to doing philanthropic work for people living […]

Summer has gone by quickly and already kids are headed back to school. Society for the Blind’s CareersPLUS program is ready for the new academic year. Our After-School Academy, weekend youth workshops and “Family Fun” events will get underway on August 30th. Our After-School Academy is offered Mondays through Thursdays from 3:00pm-5:00pm for children in […]

A record number of people are expected to be traveling over the 4th of July holiday, be it by car, plane or rail. Maybe that trip is just across town or maybe it’s across the country, but having the freedom to travel when and where we want is something to be treasured. For people with […]

There is nothing like the sound of jack hammers on concrete to let you know progress is underway. As with any construction project, it’s a bit noisier and dustier at Society for the Blind these days – and that is just fine by us! Preliminary work has begun on our build-out, including the demolition of […]

YOU did it! Thanks to our generous friends, Society for the Blind had a very successful Big Day of Giving 2019. We raised $19,000 for our Music Support Program – $4,000 over our goal. Thank you! Music truly does transform lives, and it’s a great way for our students to make new friends while honing […]

By Aser Tolentino, Assistive Technology Instructor Mindful of the fact that Cyber Week is behind us, many of the staff at Society for the Blind are still Googling away – on our breaks of course – for the right gifts to surprise friends and loved ones. And of course, we’re all hoping to find something […]

By Aser Tolentino, Assistive Technology Instructor The speed with which technology evolves can really boggle the mind. Even now, scientists are struggling to understand the way in which the shift in how we access information may alter the workings of the human brain. In the space of a lifetime, making a phone call went from […]

By Aser Tolentino, Assistive Technology Instructor When working in the accessibility field, there’s nothing truly as fulfilling as seeing something just work the way it’s supposed to for people who never thought they’d be able to do something that was once very fundamental to their identity. Sometimes, all of the tools to make that happen […]

By Aser Tolentino, Assistive Technology Instructor The predominant image most people probably have of Braille is something completely static: a set of raised dots on an elevator control panel, or on plaques with room numbers in the halls of public buildings. Some people might think of Braille books – voluminous, hard-shelled tomes that when closed […]

By Aser Tolentino, Assistive Technology Instructor As summer draws to a close and students of all ages return to the classroom, checkout lines – both virtual and real – fill up with shoppers on the hunt for tools to make the coming school year a success. This is no different in the world of assistive […]

By Aser Tolentino, Assistive Technology Instructor Many years ago, stakeholders in the assistive technology industry began to gather at an annual conference hosted by California State University Northridge. Though the gathering has since far outgrown its humble beginnings, the conference is still hosted by the Center on Disabilities at CSUN, in downtown San Diego. There, […]

By Aser Tolentino, Assistive Technology Instructor When living with a visual impairment, the choice of technology has a profound impact on how you interact with the world around you. Here at Society for the Blind, our staff use a variety of tools to do their jobs and live life to the fullest. Working with Access […]

By Aser Tolentino, Assistive Technology Instructor This summer, Microsoft released an app called Seeing AI. It did so with relatively little fanfare when you consider just what the app represents. The app, currently available on iOS with an Android version to follow, provides access to powerful algorithms that recognize not only text, but barcodes, faces […]

By Aser Tolentino, Assistive Technology Instructor Every summer, members of the two national blindness organizations gather at conventions that are part professional conference, part social gathering, and complete pandemonium. The National Federation of the Blind traditionally holds its convention in Orlando, Florida while the American Council for the Blind rotates their venue around the country. […]