Lighthouse Guild Volunteers Shine in Reading Program for Visually Impaired

Posted by NY1

It’s a weekly meeting between William “Billy” Robinson and Nimra Sarwar.

Sarwar, an aspiring optometrist, is reading mail and email to Robinson, who has been legally blind since birth due to congenital glaucoma. Sarwar does it as part of the Lighthouse Guild’s Reading Service Program, the signature volunteer program for the organization with the mission to inspire the visually impaired to achieve their goals.

What You Need To Know

• The Lighthouse Guild has been inspiring the visually impaired to achieve their goals for more than a century
• The signature volunteer program is the Reading Service Program, where volunteers read mail and email to blind and visually impaired New Yorkers 
•  Last year, 295 volunteers helped in various programs at the Lighthouse Guild

“It gives a person with vision impairment dignity. They don’t always have to rely on their family and friends, they have this one person that they don’t feel that they are imposing on,” said Cheryl A. Pemberton-Graves, the chief volunteer officer at the Stephen T. Pearlman Volunteer Center at Lighthouse Guild. “It allows them to maintain their independence and continue to live their lives independently.”

The service has been a big help to the very busy Robinson, who sings lead in the Total Soul band, runs a recording studio, and was once singer for the hit-making group BT Express. Robinson has been utilizing Lighthouse Guild services for more than two decades.

The reading services are even more vital to him after the death of his wife of 44 years in 2018.  

“I keep all of my mail coming as far as my bills, where they will send that in braille, but everything else is print. And so I need a reader like Miss Nimra here, to do what we are doing. We get like 500 or 1,000 emails taken care of in one sitting, along with regular mail,” said Robinson.

Lighthouse Guild volunteers are a big part of the organization accomplishing its mission. In 2023 interns and volunteers provided more than 14 thousand hours of service. There is the human component, too. Many of these pairs have been together for years. For Sarwar, it’s a chance to look to the future working with the visually impaired.

“I didn’t want to just see as the opticianry part of it or the doctor visit, I wanted to really get to know the community that I would help out,” said Sarwar. 

Robinson hopes that other visually impaired New Yorkers will take advantage of the program, too.

“This program will be good for many people, especially blind people, but sighted people because it is going to open their eyes in a different way,” said Robinson. 

Jamie Stelter: The Lighthouse Guild has been providing services and health care to the visually impaired for more than a century. Among the wide variety of services offered volunteers meet weekly with blind and visually impaired New Yorkers to assist them in reading their mail and email. Roger Clark sat in on a session and joins us from the Upper West Side. Roger, they do such lovely work there, and for years, 

Roger Clark: Oh, and for years, Jamie, that’s right. And what’s really cool, is to be kind of a fly on the wall during one of the sessions and really see how it works. But joining us now are Cheryl Pemberton-Graves, Chief Volunteer Officer of the Steven T. Perlman Volunteer Center at Lighthouse Guild. Mr. Perlman himself was a volunteer who was part of this program in which is called the Reading Services.

Cheryl Pemberton-Graves: Absolutely. Yes. The Reading Services Program is one of our signature volunteers executed programs, and Steve was one of our faithful volunteers. Over the years he served in that capacity and many other capacities.

Roger Clark: So, I got to sit in on the session the other day and it was really cool because Billy, who is a singer, and he was with B.T. Express who we both remember from back in the 70’s, but he needs help. He needs help, you know, he needs help with reading his mail, reading his e-mail, and his has a great and volunteer from the organization.

Cheryl Pemberton-Graves: Absolutely, and what Billy shows us is that even though you have a lot of technology, that human interaction is still necessary to make it an optimal experience. So, we’re excited to have people like Nimra who come in and give their time once a week for 2 hours to help our clients maintain their independence and achieve their goals.

Roger Clark: And it’s, you know, we were talking. So, it’s, we take that for granted as a society, like reading mail reading e-mail., but even more, you have people who are helping folks get their master’s degrees and fill out important forms that aren’t necessarily accessible. Things for housing, all kinds of things.

Cheryl Pemberton-Graves: No, absolutely. And when we think of reading, we have to think more broadly, and we have a team of volunteers who are actually reading now to help people get their GED’s, because the test on accessible. So, reading GED’s, filling out housing applications, health forms, all of those things that we get in the mail that may not be able to be accessible by people who are blind and visually impaired. Our readers will come in and help them with those things.

Roger Clark: Last year you had almost 300 volunteers, thousands, and thousands of internal volunteer hours to help the organization reach its goals. But you can always use a few more helpers. Especially out in the boroughs too, right? Because I know the offices are here, but you have folks all over town. 

Chery Pemberton-Graves; Absolutely. We have reading clients in all five boroughs and one of our challenges is trying to get enough volunteers in the Bronx and Brooklyn who want to help people at homes, Queens, who want to help people at home or where they work or in a public location in the outer boroughs. Sometimes, Staten Island, as well. So, we’re always looking for more volunteers who are willing to come in and sign up and work out in their communities with people who are visually impaired.

Roger Clark: Let’s throw Queens and their as well since we’re both from Queens. 

Cheryl Pemberton-Graves: Absolutely. Absolutely.

Roger Clark: Alright. Cheryl, thank you so much. Such great work they do here, Jamie. So, what a great opportunity to sit in on the session. And what Billy told me was they do have the technology on his computer where, you know, it could read back to you, but he’d much rather have a real person there for 2 hours helping him and guiding him through everything in his life, basically, in a nutshell.

Jamie Steller: Nothing like actual human interaction. Roger, thank you.

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