Organization hoping to bring a school for the visually impaired to Southern Nevada
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Nevada is one of only two states in the country without a school for the blind. One local organization is looking to change that to give our visually impaired kids a better chance at a college education and brighter future. Video by ktnv.com
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Las Vegas, NV (KTNV) - Nevada is one of only two states in the country without a school for the blind. One local organization is looking to change that to give our visually impaired kids a better chance at a college education and brighter future.
Niki White is 20 years old and has been blind since birth but it's not stopping her from getting a college education. Niki will be a junior at UNLV in the fall and says she probably wouldn't be there if not for help from the Nevada Blind Children's Foundation.
"The NBCF really lends the extra support that you just wouldn't get within the Clark County School District because there's so many things that need to be taught," said Niki.
Linda Maneen is the foundation's Director of Operations. She says NBCF fills in the gaps for blind kids providing the extra services they can't get from the school district.
"A lot of these children have a lot more potential than they're given credit for and because they do have visual impairments they are put in resource classes or classes where they're not able to excel," said Linda.
The foundation's ultimate goal is to build a school for the blind, from kindergarten through second grade then mainstream the children from there.
"Once we jump start children and they're able to pick up at third grade level, that would be an ideal situation," said Linda.
The NBCF isn't just about education, it's about providing blind adapted activities from beeper baseball to a summer day camp, providing experiences they may not get otherwise.
"It's heartwarming, it really is as it is to see any child just having fun," said Linda.
Niki says she hopes other families will take advantage of the services just like she did.
"The foundation is really improving by leaps and bounds and we really just need more awareness of what the foundation provides as well as blind awareness in general," said Niki,
"The percentage of blind adults that are unemployed is staggering so important to give these children a chance at education so that they can become productive citizens in our community," said Linda.
The foundation hopes you'll support them at a fundraising event on July 20th. Click here to learn more information.
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