Vision of Children Foundation Partners with Blind Children’s Learning Center to Provide Much Needed Low Vision Equipment to Children in Orange County

SAN DIEGO, CA (February 4, 2013)— The Vision of Children Foundation, through its “Project Vision Aid” program, is pleased to announce it will be donating 14 handheld video magnifiers to the Blind Children’s Learning Center in Santa Ana, CA. Representatives from the Foundation will present the magnifiers to the Center and the children who will be using them on Wed., February 6th at 10:30 a.m. at the Center (18542-B Vanderlip Avenue, Santa Ana, CA 92705).  

In line with part of its mission to improve the lives of visually impaired individuals and their families, The Vision of Children has been providing low vision equipment to schools at no cost. Vision of Children’s Executive Director, Andria Kinnear, believes students with low vision are at a disadvantage without assistive devices to help them read their course materials and what is on the board; “Being able to utilize this small device in all settings will even the playing field with other students.” With this portable device, students have the ability to see more clearly as they move from classroom to classroom and in other aspects of their lives.

Vision of Children’s purchase of the magnifiers is made possible by grants received from different foundations. This donation to Blind Children’s Learning Center was made possible by a grant from The Allergan Foundation, which specified that the grant benefit children located in Orange County. Blind Children’s Learning Center’s President and Executive Director, Kathy Buehler, was ecstatic when informed they were selected as the partner and would be able to award their students the devices. “These magnifiers will help our low vision children in our preschool to identify letters and numbers. They will be instrumental to the children we serve in the school districts with their reading and math. We are extremely thankful to The Vision of Children for this donation,” said Ms. Buehler.

Children with vision impairments have the same potential as students with full sight. It’s The Vision of Children’s hope that having portable equipment at their fingertips will help to improve these students lives. One San Diego middle-school teacher had this to say in response to the benefit her students are getting from the device: “This is awesome - it helps with the students’ mobility and independence, which hasn’t been possible with other technologies prior to this.” 

For more information about The Vision of Children Foundation and the “Project Vision Aid” program, visit www.visionofchildren.org.

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About The Vision of Children Foundation (VOC)
VOC is a non-profit charity established in 1991 in San Diego, CA, and is doing work worldwide. The VOC mission is to find a cure for hereditary blindness, and to improve the quality of life for visually impaired children and their families. In support of their mission, VOC is working toward eradicating hereditary childhood blindness and vision disorders through scientific research.  Additionally, they provide a support network to families whose children have been diagnosed with hereditary vision disorders and provide low vision equipment to schools.

About Blind Children’s Learning Center
Blind Children’s Learning Center, a non-profit agency, was founded in 1962 by six blind adults originally called “Services for the Blind Orange County” to provide support for blind individuals. The founders quickly discovered the key to helping visually impaired children was to start working with them at a very early age. Today the agency serves children and their families through their Early Childhood Center (onsite preschool) and Outreach Services with the mission to provide early intervention, education and services for blind, visually impaired or deaf-blind children and their families to empower independence. For more information please visit www.blindkids.org.  

Contact:
Megan Powers
The Vision of Children, Dir. of Development & Communications
mpowers@visionofchildren.org
(858) 314-7916

Contact Information

Megan Powers

Director of Development & Communications

The Vision of Children Foundaiton

(1) (858)314-7916

mpowers@visionofchildren.org