Volunteers for Vision
Helping people with visual impairments remain independent.
Volunteerism has been a tradition since MAB’s earliest days, when the organization was founded by volunteers at the Women’s Educational and Industrial Union. MAB’s first Advisory Boards featured such illustrious volunteers as Helen Keller, Julia Ward Howe, and Edward Everett Hale. The first paid staff member wasn’t hired until 1948. In 1959, a formal volunteer matching program was established, matching 28 sighted volunteers with 34 blind individuals. Today more than 300 volunteers provide a friendly, confidential and reliable source of help for blind and visually impaired individuals across Massachusetts, at home and in the workplace.
Volunteers are matched one-to-one with consumers and assist with tasks such as shopping, reading and clerical work. Each volunteer is thoroughly interviewed, screened, and trained. They read mail, magazines and paperwork; write letters and fill out forms; help with grocery shopping or errands; and sometimes provide transportation to doctor’s appointments. Call a MAB regional office to request a volunteer match.
Central Massachusetts Office
(508) 854-0700 or
(888) 613-2777
Greater Boston Office
(617) 926-4232 or
(800) 852-3029
Western Massachusetts Office
(413) 734-7343
"Up until the early 90s my wife took care of our mail, paid the bills, and read my mail to me, but that became a trial and it wasn’t helpful to our relationship, so I took over the checkbook. I started paying the bills, and I got a volunteer from MAB to help me do it all."
- Bill
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