Losing someone we’ve cherished is one of life’s most difficult experiences. Even long afterward, our emotions can be triggered by events or dates—a birthday, a holiday, a reminder of a particularly pleasant activity enjoyed together.
One way to honor the memory of a departed loved one is by making a gift to an organization that was meaningful to them. The Council welcomes such gifts, large or small. They help us continue our work serving people with vision loss through vision services, education and advocacy.
The services the Council provides are tailored to the specific needs of each person who comes to us for support. We make every effort to meet those needs with knowledge and compassion.
Valerie Mroczynski recently passed away at age 98. Several decades earlier, she started to lose her vision due to macular degeneration.
Valerie had always been a voracious reader and tried to continue using a standard magnifying glass, but it wasn’t strong enough. Her son Jim went online to look for solutions for his mom. That’s how he discovered the Council.
A member of the Council’s Vision Services staff visited Valerie at her home and set her up with a desktop magnifier. Suddenly, Valerie could read again. “The Council was so kind to my mom,” Jim says. “She was blown away. I was, too.”
“The machine allowed her to live independently until the day she died,” Jim continued. The family also visited the Sharper Vision store and found many other helpful items, such as a talking clock and bump dots. “I can’t tell you how many times I was in that store. The vast majority of people in her senior living apartment building never knew she was blind.”
After Valerie passed away, the family donated a newer desktop magnifier to the Council along with a monetary gift.
If you would like to honor someone you have lost with a gift to the Council, you can do so online at WCBlind.org/donate, or send a check payable to the Wisconsin Council of the Blind & Visually Impaired to 754 Williamson St., Madison, WI 53703. If you mail a check, please include a note letting us know in whose memory you are making the gift.
If you have questions about memorial gifts, contact Fund Development Director Lori Werbeckes at 608-237-8114 or LWerbeckes@WCBlind.org.
