Graphic of Society for the Blind logo
Dr. O_Hara with pediatric patient
Low Vision Clinic patient, Mario, looking at eyeglasses.
Two SIP clients enjoying a day out at the farm.




June 2016

Richard Hunter smiles wearing a dark blue shirt outside a coffee shop in Folsom.
Meet Richard: Low Vision Athlete and Dad Extraordinaire 

Happy Father's Day! We thought you would like to meet Richard Hunter . He was devastated when he lost two careers due to vision loss, but this dad wanted to show his daughters that you can still set ambitious goals in the face of adversity. Not only has he run the California International Marathon and Boston Marathon, he brokered a deal to bring the U.S. Association of Blind Athletes National Marathon Championships to the California International Marathon. Last year's marathon featured 45 visually impaired runners!
   
 
Photo of the word Dad spelled out on red hearts on a light blue wall.
Make a Donation in Honor or Memory of a Dad 
 
Is there a father in your life that you want to honor or memorialize? If so, please consider making a donation to Society for the Blind for Father's Day! We would be happy to help you honor a loved one by making sure all people with low vision are empowered to discover, develop and achieve their full potential.

 
Society for the Blind executive director Shari Roeseler teaches a man how to protect himself using cane-fu, self-defense with his cane.
Photo by Sammy Caiola, Sacramento Bee
Cane-Fu Featured in the Sacramento Bee 
 
We were honored to have the Sacramento Bee's Sammy Caiola drop by our Senior IMPACT Project No Limits workshop to watch our seniors learn "Cane-Fu" - self defense using their cane. Sammy took some great photos and wrote a fantastic article that included tips on how people with low vision can stay safe even if they did not attend the class.

 
Photo of the brown and black plaque Society for the Blind received after being named the 2016 Rehabilitation Organization of the Year by the Northern California Association for Education and Rehabilitation of the Blind and Visually Impaired.
We Won 2016 Rehabilitation Organization of the Year 
 
Society for the Blind was recently named the Rehabilitation Organization of the Year by the Association for the Education and Rehabilitation of the Blind and Visually Impaired.

Richard Rueda, President of the Northern California chapter had this to say about Society for the Blind: "While there are so many strong organizations in this region, we find Society's expansion of services through the development of partnerships over the past few years to be an exemplary model of the s tandard all such organizations should follow."

A heartfelt thank you to Association for the Education and Rehabilitation of the Blind and Visually Impaired for this outstanding honor!

  Old black and white photo of Helen Keller smelling a rose.
Happy Birthday to Helen Keller 
 
A shoutout to the world-famous Helen Keller who would have been 136 years old on June 27. Most people don't know her connection to Society for the Blind. At the Lions Clubs International Convention in 1925, Helen Keller challenged the Lions Club to be "knights of the blind in the crusade against darkness." Lions Clubs across the country began forming groups to support people with low vision, and one of them grew into Society for the Blind, now an independent nonprofit serving 26 counties across Northern California. 

Learn more about Helen Keller and Lions Clubs International!

Society for the Blind client and board member Ramona Herriford
Society for the Blind: More Than What You See

For 60 years, Society for the Blind has created innovative ways to empower people living with low vision or blindness to discover, develop and achieve their full potential. Society for the Blind now serves 6,000 youth, adults and seniors, and is a nationally recognized agency and the only rehabilitative teaching center for the 26-county region of Northern California.