Readers Digest Partners For Sight Foundation

Programs: See schedule ordpfs's grant making program provides monetary support to organizations which provide direct services to people who are blind or visually impaired. Our support enables these organizations to serve blind and visually impaired persons of all ages, and at various stages of their vision loss by providing skills training in, for example, activities of daily living, orientation and mobility, assistive technology, guide dog usage, low vision rehabilitation, literacy and braille. Support is also offered for organizations providing career, vocational, recreation and youth-in-transition programs for blind and visually impaired people. Rdpfs also provides support for assistive technology research and development, as well as scientific research designed to improve service delivery in the field of low vision. We also provide support for programs designed to improve doctor/patient communication in the ophthalmic field, with the aim of increasing referrals into the low vision rehabilitation system. Rdpfs has a rigorous grant proposal and outcome evaluation process which helps ensure the success of the funded programs. In fiscal year 2018, rdpfs made a total of 26 grants to 24 different organizations across the united states. Grant monies were designated for :* travel stipends for 2 low vision researchers to attend the arvo (association for research in vision and ophthalmology) annual conference, enabling the young researchers to present their research findings. * expansion of the bookshare accessible reading program into the northeastern states. * provision of vision services for needy persons in the ny metropolitan region. * support for a blind and visually impaired teens transition program in the chicago area. * support for a conference on employment and vision impairment in the ny area. * provision of adaptive devices for needy persons in the mobile, al area. * guide dog training for blind people with multiple disabilities. 16 special needs teams will graduate this year, and hundreds of blind people with additional needs will be exposed to the benefits of guide dog use. * children's vision screening and eyeglass provision in cleveland, ohio. The goal is to screen up to 7,000 low-income students from underserved communities, and to provide 1,400 students with a free pair of prescription eyeglasses, and refer an estimated 70 students for further assessment. * support for two summer camp programs for blind and visually impaired youth from the ny metropolitan area and long island. Camps expect to serve approximately 65 children. * mentoring program for blind and visually impaired college students, to improve retention and graduation rates, and to improve students' ability to obtain jobs after college. This growing program currently serves approximately 1,400+ students. * ophthalmology resident training programs designed to increase awareness and skills among ophthalmology residents and faculty on the importance of communication with patients when breaking bad news, and to teach ophthalmologists to refer patients into the low vision rehabilitation system. These training programs are in the piloting stages, and when launched, will be available on a national basis. * support for an ophthalmology scholarship program for underrepresented minority physicians. * continued expansion of the low vision network (lovrnet) program into the boston area. This program, originally piloted in the baltimore area, connects people to low vision services by utilizing the grassroots strength of local lions clubs volunteers. * provision of vision screening and testing equipment to be used on premises as well as on an itinerant basis in upstate ny. *optometric services provided to 200+ homebound people in manhattan and queens, ny, including vision testing and provision of special lighting and adaptive devices, including eyeglasses. * comprehensive career-centered after school programs for low income blind and visually impaired youth in boston. * training efforts for teachers of the visually impaired in new england and illinois, focused on the needs and challenges of tvi's in aiding blind and visually impaired students in the classroom. Educators will be taught how to provide students with technological solutions to access classroom instruction, as well as high tech solutions for orientation and mobility training. This program expects to equip at least 150 educators and professionals with practical technology tools to support 1,500 students. * support of a pilot program which adapts a nationally successful vocational program for teens into a program for blind and visually impaired adults, with the end result being gainful employment. This program will support a small cohort of people this year in the pilot, and help the organization development plans for growth. *a collaborative low vision research award to encourage technology development in the field of low vision. * support for the efforts of a collaboration among members of higher ed, the technology industry and accessibility advocates who seek to include accessibility and universal design principles in the curricula of computer scientists, designers and researchers in undergraduate, graduate and continuing education. The overall aim of this project is to help ensure that all technology developed in the future is "born accessible. " * continued support for a train the trainer program to improve the assistive technology skills of tvi's and certified vision rehab therapists in the upstate, rural ny area. This pilot program will train approximately 45 tvi's and cvrt's, each with multiple blind and visually impaired students on their caseload. In aggregate, these programs serve tens of thousands of people across the u. S. On a yearly basis.

the rdpfs large print publishing program, through its select editions large type periodical, served 49,970 people in fy18, providing a total of 249,848 volumes to subscribers. Subscribers also received a large print calendar, and information on finding low vision services. Select editions large type is formatted and printed to specifications designed to enable ease of reading for people with low vision.