PRESIDENT'S LETTER

President's Letter 2008

Dear Friends,

We, at the Oklahoma League for the Blind, have the privilege on a daily basis to empower people with vision loss to reclaim their lives.  I know that's a powerful claim, but that's what we do!

Imagine waking up tomorrow morning unable to see.  What would be your first thought as you tried to figure out how you were going to get ready for work or how you were going to get your kids off to school? How would you match your clothes?  Find the phone to call for help?  Get to work? Many of our employees and rehabilitation clients have found themselves in that exact situation.  And through our assistance, their lost hope for a bright future has been restored.

In Oklahoma, over 45,000 people suffer from severe vision loss, and over 500,000 Oklahomans have eye diseases that lead to vision loss.  That is almost 15% of our state population!  If you think about it you'll realize that you may know someone who is affected by vision loss. 

Our vision for the Oklahoma League for the Blind is to be able to provide services to anyone in the state who is losing their vision or who has lost their vision.  And, we are the only private agency in the state providing vision rehabilitation and job training services to people with vision loss.  So you can see, the need is tremendous, and it will only grow as the baby boomer generation gets older and many of us develop age-related eye diseases.

Helen Keller once said, "One can never consent to creep when one feels an impulse to soar."  That's what our intention is at the OLB - to soar forward and create a better future for blind and visually impaired Oklahomans.

Just imagine the possibilities!

Lauren White

President/CEO

Past President's Letters