Reader’s Digest Awards Guiding Eyes with Challenge Grant
Guiding Eyes for the Blind, an internationally accredited nonprofit guide dog school in Yorktown Heights, has received a challenge grant from the Reader’s Digest Partners for Sight Foundation (PFS). Designed to stimulate donors’ generosity, the foundation will provide an additional dollar, up to $50,000, for every two dollars the guide dog school raises.
“Thanks to the community’s support, we have had tremendous success in meeting or exceeding challenge grant goals,” said William D. Badger, Guiding Eyes’ president and chief executive officer. “Donors are gratified to know that their gifts will go further due to the foundation’s generosity and we know that we’ll be able to raise the full $100,000 needed to leverage the $50,000 grant. This is a wonderful opportunity to support a very special and deserving population.”
The funds raised in response to the challenge are designated to support Guiding Eyes’ Special Needs Program, dedicated to serving blind people who are also challenged by other disabilities, such as hearing loss, multiple sclerosis, muscular dystrophy, dialysis support, and cerebral palsy. Ten years ago, Guiding Eyes was the first guide dog school in the world to develop a special needs program dedicated solely to serving the multiply disabled.
The program also serves elderly people who may experience age-related health complications, and trains special needs clients to use guide dogs in order to achieve greater safety and independence.
Guiding Eyes is able to point to some terrific success stories, such as 18-year-old Ethan − declared legally blind as a toddler from an unknown cause − who was eligible for the special needs program. His medical condition mirrors that of Cerebral Palsy and affects his nervous system functions such as balance, movement, muscle weakness, and causes an abnormal gait. He uses two canes – one for balance support and one as a mobility aide. When Ethan applied for enrollment in Guiding Eyes’ Special Needs Program, the organization knew it had the perfect match for him: a black Labrador named Francis had been trained to accommodate someone with his exact needs.
He applied to only one school for his guide dog, remarking: “When I researched guide dog schools on the Internet, Guiding Eyes featured its Special Needs Program prominently and the site was easy to navigate. Ease of use and accessibility sent a strong message to me that this is the right school.”
For further information contact Linda Press, Guiding Eyes’ director of corporate and foundation relations, at 914-243-2250, or via email at lpress@guidingeyes.org.
Adam has worked in the local news industry for the past two decades in Westchester County and the broader Hudson Valley. Read more from Adam’s author bio here.