The Jewish Guild for the Blind

Vision Rehabilitation: Approximately 1,200 people received vision rehabilitation services in 2023. Examples included: academic and communication skills training to assess academic potential, use adaptive aids, and prepare for tests such as high school equivalency tests and college preparatory exams. Training in adaptive technology to help clients enter or stay in school or the job market, including technologies that enlarge written material, software that reads what is on a computer screen, and other devices that compensate for vision loss. Career services that prepare clients for work, including pre-employment training, resume and interview strategies, job retention services, and presentations for employers on how to fully integrate and accommodate people who are visually impaired. Living skills training to teach clients how to function safely and independently in the home. Orientation and mobility instruction on how to navigate safely in homes and neighborhoods and to travel to school and work.

Education and research support: Fifteen merit-based scholarships of $10,000 each were awarded this year to help legally blind students successfully transition to college or support their post-graduate education, as well as facilitate their career development. Jewish Guild Healthcare also presented the Bressler Prize in vision science to recognize a clinician-scientist whose leadership, research and service resulted in translation of medical or scientific knowledge into significant advancements in the treatment or rehabilitation of people with vision loss.