Clients at the Association for the Blind & Visually Impaired - Charleston's Office
Charleston, SC – The Sisters of Charity Foundation of South Carolina recently awarded a $5,000 grant to the Association for the Blind and Visually Impaired – Charleston to support Own Your Life. This program was created to empower blind and visually impaired adults with independent living and job-readiness skills.
The funding was provided through the Sisters of Charity Foundation of South Carolina’s Caritas grants for the 2018 grant cycle. These grants bear the name of one of the guiding principles of the Sisters of Charity of St. Augustine, in omnibus caritas, meaning “in all things charity.” The Caritas grants are awarded to organizations meeting fundamental needs of individuals and families experiencing poverty in South Carolina. In total, 75 organizations were awarded Fall Caritas 2018 funding.
“The unemployment rate for blind and visually impaired adults in this country is over 70%,” said Courtney Plotner, CEO of ABVI. “Through our Own Your Life program we are working to change this statistic. Our goal is to help these adults learn to live without signed assistance, so they can go back to work and interrupt the cycle of poverty.”
Through Own Your Life, ABVI helps to create, foster and sustain opportunities for our clients to set and reach their personal and professional goals. Classes taught in this program are geared towards championing our clients, enriching their lives and making them less dependent on others. Classes include instruction on daily living skills such as cooking and personal hygiene, braille, computer and assistive technologies. Clients also work with ABVI instructors on resume development, interview skills, interpersonal communication and many other areas that prepare them to be ready to enter the workforce.
To learn more about ABVI and Own Your Life, visit https://www.abvisc.org/. To learn more on the Sisters of Charity Foundation of South Carolina, visit https://sistersofcharitysc.com/.
About Association for the Blind and Visually Impaired – Charleston
The Association for the Blind and Visually Impaired – Charleston’s mission is to empower individuals with blindness and visual impairment to lead safe, dignified, independent and rewarding lives and to prevent vision loss for adults in Berkeley, Charleston and Dorchester Counties and children in Charleston County Title I schools. Founded in 1936, we have been serving the Tri-County area for over 80 years. We have three main programs supporting our mission: Focus on Adults, Focus on Children and Own Your Life. Focus on Adults and Focus on Children are preventative programs aimed at catching vision impairment in the early stages and restoring vision when possible. Own Your Life is geared towards helping our blind and visually impaired clients attain independence in their personal and professional lives. In addition, we provide guide dog scholarships for our clients as well as opportunities for social engagement.
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