MABVI Receives $7,500 Grant From Community Foundation of North Central MA/Nashoba Valley Healthcare Fund
Brookline, MA – (June 1, 2022) The Massachusetts Association for the Blind and Visually Impaired (MABVI) has received $7,500 from the Community Foundation of North Central MA and the Nashoba Valley Healthcare fund. The purpose of the Nashoba Valley Healthcare Fund and Community Foundation of North Central Massachusetts is to advance the community health of residents in thirteen communities, including Ashby, Ayer, Bolton, Dunstable, Groton, Harvard, Lancaster, Littleton, Lunenburg, Pepperell, Shirley, Townsend, and Westford.
The grant for MABVI will support rehabilitation services for older adults with visual disabilities. Programs include MABVI’s In-home vision rehabilitation occupational therapy services, Peer Empowerment Support Groups, Volunteer Services, Mental Health disability adjustment counseling, and Access Technology training delivered directly in the region. These services support older adults as they adjust to the onset of visual disabilities and eye diseases or degenerative eye conditions. These programs assist and adapt their environment for low vision, enable people to live safely in their homes, and manage their health and wellness on their terms.
Sassy Outwater-Wright, MABVI’s Executive Director, states: “MABVI is grateful to have been awarded a grant from the Community Foundation of North Central MA/Nashoba Valley Healthcare Fund to support our direct service provision in this region of the Commonwealth. The grant allows MABVI to provide critical services to more older adults with visual disabilities. This funding ensures blind and visually impaired residents can access the services and resources they need for increased social connectedness, self-determined interdependence within their community, and a safe and healthy home environment for their visual functionality.”
Through statewide Age-Friendly efforts, MABVI is also working with key state elder service agencies and five Gateway city partners to ensure that health equity and access to care are prioritized for every older individual who is blind or has low vision. “The Community Foundation of North Central Massachusetts is proud to support the work of MABVI and to help provide our visually disabled elders with the life-changing services that allow them to live a more fulfilled and independent life,” said Stephen Adams, Community Foundation President,
About Massachusetts Association for the Blind and Visually Impaired (MABVI)
MABVI is one of the oldest social service organizations in the country, serving older adults who live with blindness or low vision. MABVI’s dedicated staff provides high-impact, cost-effective services, including vision rehabilitation, adjustment counseling, peer-led support groups, and access/assistive technology training to those aging into visual disability. MABVI also partners with community and medical groups and relies on hundreds of generous volunteers. MABVI is a division of MAB Community Services (MAB). MAB specializes in creating opportunities to transform the lives of individuals with a range of disabilities to live full and independent lives in the community. MAB’s three distinct divisions are the Ivy Street School, MAB Adult Disability Services, and Massachusetts Association for the Blind and Visually Impaired. http://www.mabvi.org.
About the Community Foundation of North Central MA/Nashoba Valley Healthcare Fund
It was created by and for the people of the North Central Massachusetts region in 2001 to establish charitable funds and make grants to improve the quality of life in the 33 communities across north central Massachusetts. The Community Foundation of North Central Massachusetts is a non-profit public charity that manages charitable funds, like the Nashoba Valley Health Care Fund, established by individuals, families, businesses, and other non-profit organizations. It provides people and organizations with flexible giving options that enable and simplify the achievement of their significant current and permanent charitable goals. It provides education, guidance, and resources to strengthen and improve its communities through deep knowledge of the region, community leadership, strategic collaboration, and effective grantmaking.