Impact Report
FY 2020/21
We impacted
6,972 lives!
Earle Baum Center touched the lives of 6,972 people during the 2020/21 fiscal year. We could not celebrate this and other positive outcomes without YOU: our generous donors, community, and supporters.
Here is our summary of this past year through the experience of our clients, both the regular journey and the added challenges brought by the pandemic.
New to Sight Loss
Our intake appointments answer the question many face when new to sight loss: what next? We offer the tools and skills needed to regain independence. This year we welcomed 134 new clients.
After meeting us, they go to our Low Vision Clinic or other support services where we evaluate each person to determine how we can enhance their remaining sight and explore with them aids to help optimize their vision.
%
Increase
Hours of Low Vision
Clinic Support
New Clients
Hours of Care
%
Increase
Learners in Lifestyle
Adaptation Classes
People using the raised map to learn the path of our cane-friendly labyrinth.
Photo by Chris Kittredge
Learners
Hours Training
Enjoying Fun & Community
We want our clients to embrace sight loss so we offer community- building programs that are fun. From yoga practice to ukulele class to our Book & Movie Club, these were especially important during this period as many who come to us are older adults already facing loneliness and isolation before COVID-19.
Ukulele playing has been a hit!
Photo by Chris Kittredge
Thank you to our 55 volunteers who spent 1,793 hours making this impact possible!
Lockdown
In the midst of a pandemic, people with sight loss faced unique challenges. Accustomed to using touch to navigate the world, the threat of infection changed how we moved about in our daily lives. Guide dogs are not trained to support their people through social distancing and other COVID protocols. Dots and markers on the floor were designed only with people who are sighted in mind. The independence many of our clients worked so hard to build seemed to be challenged once again.
Thanks to a whirlwind effort by our incredible staff, we quickly moved many services away from in-person gatherings. Classes, group meetings, and trainings went remote using Zoom, Uber Conference calling and other technologies. Wellness check-ins were conducted to see how community members were fairing so they did not fall through the cracks of a society trying to quickly adapt.
We also educated the public on the unique challenges COVID brought to our community of people facing sight loss, and released a series of cartoons through mail and social media. Thanks to you, our audience keeps growing!
