Fall 2005

George Jacobson, president

As the Lighthouse begins a new fiscal year, we are committed to finding new ways of fulfilling our mission. That means creating new employment opportunities for people who are blind, Deaf-Blind, and blind with developmental disabilities. It also means expanding our training opportunities and support services.

First, a word about employment. As you know, we are working to address the exceedingly disproportionate unemployment rate for blind and Deaf-Blind people in the United States today. We do this by offering a range of positions in production, machining, customer service, teaching and instructing, and management. By streamlining operations and adding new projects, we plan to add at least twenty new living-wage jobs for blind and Deaf-Blind people in the next six months.

Employment is one aspect of independence and self-sufficiency. Another is the opportunity to cultivate knowledge and grow. From orientation and mobility training to online classes helping Lighthouse machinists to develop their skills, training is an essential part of fulfilling the Lighthouse mission.

One final piece of fulfilling our mission is the supports we offer to ensure accessibility for all Lighthouse employees. Supports can be as simple as raised tactile pathways that help white cane users to navigate the Lighthouse. They can also include fully adapted workstations with screen-readers and Braille displays, American Sign Language interpreters skilled in working with Deaf-Blind people, and Braille versions of all Lighthouse materials. In all of these cases, the outcome is the same: equal access and participation for all Lighthouse employees and training recipients.

In this Horizons issue, you will learn more about the developments and projects helping us to do more in fulfilling the Lighthouse mission through employment, training, and supports in the years to come.

We could not expand our programs and services without the support of generous community members. By supporting new initiatives and training programs, these dedicated individuals and organizations are helping the Lighthouse to create more opportunities.

On behalf of all of us here at the Lighthouse, I offer our heartfelt thanks to all of you who are helping us to grow.

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