Lighthouse Guild Receives $100,000 Grant for Technology for the Visually Impaired

Posted in The Spirit

The generous donation from the Frances G. Scaife Foundation allows those with visual impairments to develop technological skills through Lighthouse Guild.

Lighthouse Guild said it had received a $100,000 grant to expand its programs to teach vital technological skills and provide training for visually impaired people. The donation unveiled on Feb. 5 comes from the Frances G. Scaife Foundation, a private foundation, now based out of Palm Beach, Florida, which has been a long-time donor to Lighthouse Guild.

“We’re fortunate that Ms. Scaife has been a donor for over twenty years,” said Jaine Schmidt, Chief Marketing Officer at Lighthouse Guild. The grant, alongside continued support from the New York State Commission for the Blind, and the Lavelle Fund for the Blind, allows for the launch of the Frannie Scaife Tech Training Initiative, Schmidt said. This initiative aims to put the proposals on the grant, received last month, into action.

“It will help make possible one-on-one work and group training sessions,” said Brian Dever, Chief Development Officer. Dever stressed that “independence, work, and education” are some of the most critical areas of Lighthouse Guild’s mission. Developing technological skills through accessibility is a great way to meet the goals.

One program at Lighthouse Guild, Tech Pals, features young people, ages 18-25, teaching older people how to use modern smartphone technology to access services like reading, navigation, even shopping. Both the young and old are visually impaired, creating a shared understanding. The young people get the teaching experience, the older people get the knowledge to use their technology. “It makes a big impact on our clients’ lives,” said Schmidt.

Another program to benefit from the grant is the Tech-In sessions at Lighthouse Guild. The next one on February 12 is on how to use Meta’s new Ray-Ban glasses. That session is overbooked, but a virtual workshop is scheduled for February 18.

Other volunteer programs include tax prep for those with visual impairments, as well as a team representing Lighthouse Guild in the upcoming TD Five Boro Bike Tour. For that, the team will consist of groups of “sighted and unsighted” bikers riding tandem. “There is so much going on,” laughed Dever.

The hope through all these programs is not only to provide better quality of to its clients, but also for Lighthouse Guild to share what it is learning with others. “Part of the goal,” said Schmidt, “is to get more training and accessibility in New York City, as well as all around the country.” She continues: “The more we collaborate as a group and as a team, the more we will accomplish, and the more people we can reach.”