Vision Forward – Increasing Capacity to meet Tomorrow’s Needs
On behalf of the board and staff of Society for the Blind, I want to wish you a very Happy New Year! We closed out 2024 with a wonderful celebration for Society’s 70th anniversary. It was a time to remember the accomplishments of the past and a time to look ahead to the future.
Year over year, more clients are finding their way to Society for the Blind. We want to ensure our wait lists are kept to a minimum with no one waiting more than three weeks for their initial visit. To that end, we announced the launch of our Vision Forward Initiative at our 70th Anniversary event.
The Vision Forward Initiative will provide $1 million to expand our capacity to serve more clients and to adapt our services to meet the unique needs of the people we serve. Clients often have other health or developmental challenges that require longer teaching time and adaptations to our curriculum so they can achieve their learning goals. Assistive technology continues to evolve, and we need to offer our clients the latest in these resources so they can be successful in school, at work and in life.
Our clients learn a lot in their classes and workshops. But they want more opportunities to practice and apply their new-found skills. We are re-imagining our space to create a Learning and Resource Center for clients. Here they can try out technology, engage in small group learning and get more hands-on experience to prepare for employment.
There is a need for us to expand our programming and clinical services for our youngest clients and patients. We want to ensure that children have access to vision care, assistive devices and braille classes so they can learn to read, write and engage at school, at home and in the community.
The Vision Forward Initiative will help us meet tomorrow’s needs. Funds raised will be invested in these areas:
$250,000 will create a new Learning and Resource Center on our second floor.
$500,000 will be invested to build our capacity to serve more people, reduce wait time and offer the latest assistive technologies.
$250,000 will be dedicated to growing The Dr. Paul and Alice Peterson Endowment so we are able to respond and adapt to meet the ongoing needs of Society’s clients and patients.
We will continue to share exciting updates from the Vision Forward Initiative in the coming months. We look forward to partnering with you so the children, adults and seniors we serve can discover, develop and achieve their full potential.