Vol. 10 No. 3 — Summer 2009
Donor Spotlight: Larry and Darlene Kosoff
For close to a decade, Northwest natives Larry and Darlene Kosoff have been involved with Seattle Lighthouse as volunteers and donors supporting opportunities for people who are blind, Deaf-Blind, and blind with other disabilities. “We became involved with the Lighthouse because [President and CEO] Kirk Adams is our godson and we are so proud of what he has accomplished and wanted to support him in his mission at the Lighthouse,” Darlene says.“What kept us involved is our continuing awareness of the needs of the community that the Lighthouse supports. We had no idea of the high unemployment rate of these very capable people. We also had no idea of technology costs to enhance their independence and mobility.”
She adds, “We selected the Lighthouse as our primary charity. Living on a fixed income, it is not always easy to donate a large sum of money at any given time. So we set up a monthly automatic withdrawal to ensure that our support is ongoing and that the Lighthouse has an amount they can count on.”
The Lighthouse’s emphasis on assistive and accessible technology for blind and Deaf-Blind people is particularly important to Larry and Darlene. A former social worker, Darlene also spent fifteen years working in computer technology and security for the state of Washington, while Larry worked as a high school teacher and coach as well as a commercial fisherman. “In our family opinion, technology is the most important program that the Lighthouse can offer because of where the world is going and the freedom it allows everyone and especially those with limitations of sight and or hearing,” Darlene says.
As Larry and Darlene learned more about the opportunities the Lighthouse was offering to the blind and Deaf-Blind communities, they deepened their support by becoming charter members of the Lighthouse Legacy Society and joining our Redefining Vision Auction volunteer team.
“It was very important to us to remain faithful supporters of the Lighthouse. To commit our pledge of support, we included the Lighthouse in our living will,” Darlene explains. By including a bequest to the Lighthouse in their will, Larry and Darlene joined the Lighthouse Legacy Society, which honors individuals making planned gifts to build an endowment to ensure their will always be opportunities for people with visual disabilities.
Larry and Darlene also deepened their involvement as volunteers. Darlene played a key role in the auction committee, launching the Lighthouse’s very first Redefining Vision Dinner and Auction in 2008. She is now in her third year serving on the Redefining Vision Auction Committee and both Darlene and Larry have contributed their original tactile art for sale at the event.
“We became volunteers of the first annual dinner auction at the request of our daughter, KyLynn, and in support of Kirk Adams’ vision of the Lighthouse becoming self-sufficient,” Darlene remembers. “The first dinner and auction was such a success and provided the audience the opportunity to experience the challenges of the blind and Deaf-Blind communities. We were so excited at the outcome we couldn’t wait for it to become an annual event that grows bigger and better every year. We also gained an understanding of tactile art and how beauty in life is not always seen.”
Darlene continues, “Our message to everyone about the Lighthouse is that the work they are doing to provide opportunities to the blind and Deaf-Blind community is tantamount to ensure their continued advancement in society, such as leveling the playing field through technology.”
When they are not volunteering with the Lighthouse, Larry and Darlene both enjoy golfing, boating, traveling, and “socializing with Kirk.”
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