A hidden gem in Corpus Christi, is the South Texas Lighthouse for the Blind. They help employ, educate and empower those that are visually impaired and blind. Currently, they are getting ready for one of their biggest fundraisers of the year, the Rubber Duck Round Up.
South Texas Lighthouse for the Blind Public Relations and Communications Specialist, Alana Manrow says, “This really helps us to provide for the accommodations that we need to make for our employees, like the Nueyes glasses. We have suffered some significant damage from Hurricane Harvey so some of the funds raised are gonna help us with those repairs.”
The Nueyes glasses have been a big leap of help for some employees like John David, who works in the manufacturing facility at Lighthouse for the Blind. About 10 years ago, John found out he had meningitis in the brain. He woke up from a coma and said he was completely blind. After a few months he retained some of his vision but did lose all sight in his left eye, “I mean to wake up and to not being able to see, I mean it was, oh my god it was so scary.”
John uses Nueyes at work to help see what he’s doing. The Nueyes will help magnify, color correct and even read to those that are visually impaired.
“To read my own letters that I get in the mail and stuff, you know sometimes you want privacy and you can’t have that if you have to have someone reading for you,” says John.
Along with their facility here in Corpus Christi, they have a facility in Victoria. The Lighthouse for the Blind would like to have about 55 glasses in total to give to the visually impaired at both facilities. But the hefty price can make it difficult to supply one to all who needs it. Manrow says, “they are about 61-hundred dollars each and so fundraisers like this help us to purchase those glasses.”
Rubber Duck Round Up starts at 10 a.m. on Saturday May 26, at Cole Park. Just look for the giant rubber duck.
Lighthouse for the Blind also tells KRIS 6 they are still looking for volunteers and are hoping to gain a few more sponsors for the event.
For more information, http://www.stlb.net/
