Oklahoma League for the Blind Receives Hefty Donation

A vision of the future is now coming into focus for the Oklahoma League for the Blind. The organization is receiving a large donation to upgrade their facility.

Tuesday, March 17th 2009, 7:10 pm

By: News 9


By Melissa Maynarich, NEWS 9

OKLAHOMA CITY -- A vision of the future is now coming into focus for the Oklahoma League for the Blind.

The organization is receiving a large donation to upgrade their facility.

With the money that the downtown Rotary Club is donating, 150 more Oklahomans will have access to essential life skill training.

Yvonne VanBuskirk is learning how to get around more easily, now that she's blind.

"Not in my right eye, but in my left eye, I have a little bit of light, and maybe a little bit of movement," VanBuskirk said.

In 2003, she began losing her vision due to complications with diabetes. But she's recently found the Oklahoma League for the Blind, an organization dedicated to empowering people with vision loss, and keeping them independent.

"They have the mental ability to cope with life the same as a sighted person, but now they turn into a new atmosphere," Rehabilitation Instructor Tanya Skelly said. "Well, how do I find McDonald's if I can't see the golden arches? How do I order from a menu if I can't see to read it?"

The work being done at the League for the Blind is being recognized by the Rotary Club of Oklahoma City. They've donated $50,000 for an upgraded, state-of-the-art life skills training facility.

On top of rehabilitation the League employs visually impaired employees to manufacture things like wood chocks to the stabilizing of airplane wheels. Thousands of fire hoses are outfitted with the proper equipment there as well. The League's programs help the unemployment rate among the visually impaired, which they report as 75 percent.

"In the United States right now, the economic impact of older people losing their vision is $51.4 billion, and that translates into $800 million for the state of Oklahoma," Lauren White, Oklahoma City League for the Blind President, said.

Most importantly for VanBuskirk, they're helping improve her confidence, so that her mobility improves.

"When I first went blind, I was scared about steps, and not being able to see those," VanBuskirk said. "Now that I know I have my cane, or now that I know I can go with a sighted guide, it's not so hard."

Officials with the League for the Blind say most people who are legally blind do have some sort of vision and their organization helps a wide variety of people with vision loss.

According to the League, 50,000 Oklahomans are blind or visually impaired. Half a million more are diagnosed with an eye disease that could cause vision loss.

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