When Sara Guggenheim lost most of her vision over the course of two short months, her ophthalmologist wasn’t able to provide her much support. Sara even found herself getting lost in her doctor’s office. So she decided to find other resources to help her adjust and live the life she wanted. That’s when she found the Council and reached out for help.
Council staff provided services to Sara to help her be the parent she was before losing her vision, teaching her not just how to move around her home safely, but how to cook, clean, do laundry, and everything else she used to do as a mom to young children. The Council even got her connected with government staff to have a cautionary road sign placed near her home so she could safely walk her kids to the bus every day. “When you lose your eyesight, you still want to be a good parent,” Sara says. “Being able to quickly turn around and do all the things a good parent does again is invaluable.”
Those services would not be possible without the generosity of everyone who has contributed to the Council, whether they’ve made financial gifts or have volunteered their time to support our mission.
Thanksgiving is a time of gratitude, and we are forever grateful to everyone who has made financial gifts to the Council. While people who have the resources to pay for the services they receive do so, we also recognize that many of our clients are unable to afford the services they need to continue to live independently. Thanks to our donors, the Council does not turn anyone away and is able to provide critical vision services to anyone who needs them.
“People who are adjusting to vision loss are often faced with financial challenges related to finding or keeping a job and the cost of transportation,” says Fund Development Director Lori Werbeckes. “We can offer vital life skills to help them secure employment so they can support themselves. That’s what donor gifts are able to do!”
While many give monetary donations to the Council, others give their time by volunteering. One such volunteer is Peter Kaufman, who not only records audio versions of our weekly newsletter, but has applied braille and audio recorded tags in the Sharper Vision Store, assisted in troubleshooting technical issues, updated store listings, organized program statistics in Excel, and so much more.
“Peter’s dedication and hard work have been a tremendous asset to the Council,” says Operations Manager Mitch Brey. “We are incredibly grateful to have someone so capable that we can rely on.”
We express our heartfelt thanks to all the volunteers and donors who help us achieve our mission of promoting the dignity and empowerment of people with vision loss throughout Wisconsin. You can donate to the Council via our website at WCBlind.org/Donate or contact Fund Development Director Lori Werbeckes at 608-237-8114 or at LWerbeckes@WCBlind.org.
