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Miami Lighthouse Opens New Low Vision Center and Solutions Store
Miami Lighthouse for the Blind and Visually Impaired is delighted to
announce the opening of the new Low Vision Center and Solutions Store on
the first floor of the building. To learn more about low vision please
click here.
To learn more about products available at the Solutions Store, please
click here.
Interdisciplinary Approaches to Low Vision Seminar
at Miami Lighthouse on November 6
Click here for complete seminar program
and registration form.
An Incredible True Story with Four
Powerful Lessons
for Finding Greater Personal and Professional Satisfaction
To order your copy, please visit
www.TheBlindVisionary.com
Click here
to read an article by Doug Eadie and Virginia Jacko featured in
the February 2010 edition of Associations Now magazine.
The Blind Visionary was named one of only four Finalists
nationally in the Motivational
Category by the 2010 Next Generation Indie Book Awards, and was featured
at BookExpo
America, the largest publishing event in North America. Finalists were
recognized at a reception
at the Plaza Hotel in New York City the day before the opening of BookExpo.
Miami Lighthouse CEO Virginia Jacko held a book signing
for The Blind Visionary at the Books & Books in Coral Gables on
Wednesday evening, March 22, 2010. The event was attended by over 50
interested readers. On April 21, 2010 CEO Jacko was the guest speaker at
the Florida Women's Legislative Caucus Luncheon where she spoke about
The Blind Visionary and held a book signing.
The Blind Visionary tells the story of how Virginia
lost her sight and in the process found a new vision for her life.
Virginia turned a potentially devastating condition into an opportunity,
going from client to President and CEO of the Lighthouse in just four
years. In The Blind Visionary, Virginia shares four key lessons she
learned through this journey.
To order a copy of The Blind Visionary, please
visit
www.TheBlindVisionary.com, call (800)
209-7652, or e-mail
info@TheBlindVisionary.com. The book is
available in hard cover, soft cover, and as an eBook, and will be
available as an audio book. All of Virginia’s royalties will be donated to
the Miami Lighthouse for the Blind.
Click here to view Virginia Jacko, The
Blind Visionary speak to the students at Hillsborough High School.
Click here to view Virginia Jacko, The
Blind Visionary speak at the Braille Challenge at Lions Institute, Tampa,
FL, Spring 2010.
22nd Annual In the Company of Women
Awards Ceremony
Congratulations to Board Director State Representative
Yolly Roberson who is the recipient of the Miami-Dade County In the
Company of Women Award in the category of Outstanding Woman in
Government and Law. These awards recognize local women from various
disciplines for their outstanding achievements and contributions to the
citizens of Miami-Dade County. The award was presented at the 22nd Annual
In the Company of Women Awards Ceremony on March 18th.
Superintendent Alberto Carvalho and President and CEO
Virginia Jacko
with Miami Lighthouse Music Program students
Superintendent of Miami-Dade County Public Schools, Alberto M. Carvalho,
visited the Miami Lighthouse on July 26. He began his tour by visiting one
of the three Heiken Children’s Vision Program mobile eye care units that
have provided eye exams and glasses to over 40,000 low-income students in
Miami-Dade County. Carvalho met with the Transition program students ages
14 to 22 as they introduced themselves and spoke about the schools they
attend. He related to the students as he spoke about their Miami-Dade
County School experiences, as he had once been principal or vice principal
at several of the children’s schools.
He admired many of the ceramic art pieces created by Miami Lighthouse
clients in the Social Group Activities (SGA) program. Virginia Jacko and
Nelba Gonzalez presented a ceramic lighthouse business card holder, which
he gratefully accepted.
Miami Lighthouse Music Program students performed two songs for the
Superintendent, one being the students’ favorite song, “I’m Yours” by
Jason Mraz, and the other “Proud to be an American” by Lee Greenwood. The
tour concluded with President and CEO Virginia Jacko demonstrating how the
blind and visually impaired learn to navigate a computer at Miami
Lighthouse.
U.S. Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen Visits Miami
Lighthouse for “Color of Justice” Program
On July 12, U.S. Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, joined by Mr. Benjamin
Leon and members of the National Association of Women Judges, gathered at
the Miami Lighthouse for the Blind and Visually Impaired to give a
hands-on lesson in criminal justice and law careers to twenty-five
students in the Miami Lighthouse Transition program. Ros-Lehtinen, along
with Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Nushin Sayfie; Miami-Dade County Court
Judges Myriam Lehr, Linda Singer Stein and Lisa S. Walsh; Greenberg
Traurig shareholder Ronnie Fernandez; Yara Lorenzo, law clerk to Senior
U.S. District Judge James Lawrence King; and Nneka Utti, a second-year law
student at the University of Miami, all served as prosecutors and defense
attorneys in the mock trial meant to encourage minority high school
students to pursue careers in law.
The National Association of Women Judges “Color of Justice” program had
students acting as the jury in the case of Goldilocks and the Three Bears,
listening to trial proceedings and then deliberating on the case with
their peers to reach a verdict. Association district director Judge Lisa
S. Walsh, coordinator of the “Color of Justice” event at Miami Lighthouse
stated that the organization encourages students with proficient Braille
and computer skills to consider pursuing careers in criminal justice and
the law.
One of many programs offered at the Miami Lighthouse for the Blind and
Visually Impaired, the Transition program provides students ages 14 to 22
with the experience needed to live independent, successful and fulfilling
lives. Multiple sessions are offered to students monthly as well as a
focused eight week summer program. The Transition program offers students
work experience that suits their individual interests, personal and home
management, assistive technology training, orientation and mobility, field
trips, and community integration. In addition to developing independence
in all areas of life, the Transition program also teaches students how to
succeed together and build meaningful relationships with their peers.
Click here to see the article U.S.
Congressswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen wrote for Diario Las Americas on August
1, 2010.
“The Pillar of Hope” STAR Summer Camp Art Project
This ceramic column was created by students participating in the Miami
Lighthouse 2009 Summer Camp Program with the help of visiting artists
Carlos Alves, Jane Carroll, and staff artist Nelba Gonzales.
During the 2010 summer camp, children will again create individual ceramic
pieces which the artists will use to create a second column. These
projects are underwritten by Scott Miller and the Opa Locka Hialeah Flea
Market.
José Feliciano visits Miami Lighthouse
Music Students
José Feliciano, who has received a total of eight Grammy
Awards, delighted blind and sighted students in our Music Inclusion
Program when he visited them at the Miami Lighthouse Henry and Inez Stone
Music and Sound Studio on March 29th. The Music Inclusion Program is
funded by grants from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation and the
Children’s Trust. While at the Miami Lighthouse, José Feliciano recorded
Braille literacy public service announcements.
Miami Lighthouse Heiken Children’s Vision Program
Honored by Miami-Dade County School Board
A proclamation recognizing the Miami Lighthouse Heiken Children's Vision
Program for distinguished services to county schoolchildren was presented
at the April 14th meeting of the Miami-Dade County School Board.
Since its creation in 1992 by the Dade County Optometric Association, the
Heiken Program has provided over 40,000 free comprehensive eye
examinations and glasses, when prescribed, to low-income M-DCPS students
who fail their state-mandated vision screening.
Click here
to read the School Board Proclamation.
Miami Lighthouse Receives Third
Consecutive Four-Star Rating
from Charity Navigator
Miami Lighthouse has received its third consecutive 4-star
rating, the highest rating possible, from Charity Navigator in recognition
of its ability to efficiently manage and grow its finances.
The notification letter states: “Only 13% of the charities
rated by Charity Navigator have received at least 3 consecutive 4-star
evaluations, indicating that Miami Lighthouse for the Blind and Visually
Impaired consistently executes its mission in a fiscally responsible way,
and outperforms most other charities in America."
To view the full press release and the award letter from
Charity Navigator: click
here.
NEI Award to Miami Lighthouse Heiken
Children's Vision Program
The Miami Lighthouse Heiken Children’s Vision Program
received one of the select national 2020 Healthy Vision Community Awards
from the National Eye Institute, part of the National Institute of Health.
The competitive award will provide funding to educate Miami-Dade County
Public Schools parents,
counselors and teachers about the importance of early eye care by
community optometrists and comprehensive eye examinations for school
children who fail their school vision screening. The intended outcome of
the award is to improve the return rate of parental consent forms since
our network of optometrists must have a signed consent form before
providing an eye examination. Last school year, the Miami Lighthouse
Heiken Program provided nearly 5,000 needy children with comprehensive eye
examinations and glasses when prescribed.
Miami Lighthouse to Expand Music
Inclusion Program
with John S. and James L. Knight Foundation Grant
Miami Lighthouse for the Blind and Visually Impaired will
expand its nationally recognized Music Inclusion Program for young adults
to include both sighted and blind talented adults, with a $125,000 grant
from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation.
The Knight Arts Challenge is a five-year, $40 million
initiative to help bring the South Florida community together through the
arts.
The Knight Foundation award will be augmented by matching
funds from the Children’s Trust and an anonymous philanthropist to double
the program’s capacity to generate quality music. The enhanced music
production program will enable more talented community vocalists and
musicians to perform in the Lighthouse’s state-of-the-art Henry and Inez
Stone music production studio.
President and CEO Virginia Jacko stated, “We look forward
to the community enjoying beautiful music by both sighted and visually
impaired performers working together.”
Click here to read the full press
release;
click here to view a Channel 10 news piece about the Miami Lighthouse
Henry and Inez Stone Music and Sound Studio.
We Did It!
$1.5 million was raised for the Incentive 1:1 Challenge
announced one year ago. We are truly grateful to all the donors who
participated in the match as their investment in Miami Lighthouse programs
was doubled, and this helped us maintain our programs during difficult
economic times. Our client participation is growing dramatically. For
example, Blind Babies grew from a caseload of seven to a caseload of 98
since inception just six years ago. Our seniors have more than doubled in
our SGA program, and the number of low-income schoolchildren needing our
free eye care has grown from 2,500 the first year of our program merger in
2007 to almost 5,000 in the last school year. We could not meet this
growing demand without our community’s investment. Thank you!
Miami Lighthouse Transition Program students swim with
dolphins at Miami Seaquarium
Miami Lighthouse for the Blind Transition students, ages 14 to 22, spent
the afternoon playing with dolphins at Miami Seaquarium Dolphin Harbor. On
July 29, 20 students fed, played with, pet, hugged and posed with
bottlenose dolphins. Every student, whether blind or visually impaired,
was able to see the dolphins through touch and interaction. The students
saw the dolphins through feeling their textured skin, kissing their beaks
and playing catch with them. The Miami Lighthouse is grateful for this
wonderful experience provided by Andrew and Arthur Hertz.
To view a video taken by the Miami Herald, please
click here.
To view a video taken by NBC 6, please
click here (The video begins after a
commercial.)
STAR Summer Campers Swim with the Miami HEAT for HEAT
Learn to Swim
On July 19 the Miami HEAT, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Florida, and the
American Red Cross teamed up with the Miami Lighthouse to surprise
children in the Summer Training and Recreation (STAR) program during their
swimming lessons at José Martí Pool as part of the HEAT Learn to Swim
community water safety campaign. The STAR program is a six-week summer
camp providing services to blind or visually impaired children ages 5- 13.
The program offers fun, engaging, and enriching activities including
Braille literacy, physical fitness, social skills development, art and
music.
HEAT Community Liaison Tim Hardaway, made a surprise visit and joined the
children in the water for their afternoon lesson. HEAT/Sun Sports
Courtside Reporter, Jason Jackson, gave the children instructions on how
to be better swimmers before they jumped in the pool. The HEAT offered $10
off swimming lesson coupons, to be redeemed at select authorized providers
of Red Cross swimming lessons, in order to make a noticeable impact in
water safety. Campers were encouraged to pass the Learn to Swim message on
to their peers.
Guest speakers included City of Miami District 3 Commissioner Frank
Carrollo, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Florida South Florida Market
President Penny Shaffer, Miami Lighthouse Board Director Ramon
Casas and American Red Cross representative Patrick Beason.
Speakers were presented with ceramic lighthouses and thank you cards made
by summer campers participating in the Miami Lighthouse STAR program.
STAR Summer Campers Enjoy a Carnival Day
On July 9, campers in the Summer Training and Recreation (STAR) program
had a fun-filled Carnival Day complete with a bounce house, train, slides
and golf cart rides. The carnival was generously provided by Harvey and
Ellen Amster, Elsa Dela Cruz, Dario Gomez and family, and Jack and
Patricia Tierney. The summer
campers, ages 5 to 13, enjoyed getting their faces painted by a clown and
eating unlimited snow cones, cotton candy and popcorn. Miami Lighthouse
music program students performed a concert in the sensory garden for all
those in attendance followed by a pizza feast.
The STAR program is a six-week summer camp providing services to blind or
visually impaired children ages 5- 13. The program offers fun, engaging,
and enriching activities including Braille literacy, physical fitness,
social skills development, art and music. In addition to the STAR program
summer campers, Transition students also enjoyed the day’s carnival
activities. The Transition program provides students ages 14 to 22 with
the experience needed to live independent, successful and fulfilling
lives, while teaching students how to succeed together and build
meaningful relationships with their peers. The Transition program offers
students work experience that suits their individual interests, personal
and home management, assistive technology training, orientation and
mobility, field trips, and community integration.
Miami Lighthouse for the Blind received five
commendations with its five year
accreditation renewal from
The National
Accreditation Council (NAC) for agencies serving people with blindness or
visual impairment.
For more information,
click here.
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