White Cane Drive – Annual Fundraiser
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Each year, Grand Rapids Lions, optometrists, opticians, ophthalmologists, and teachers for the visually impaired volunteer their time to collect donations from passers-by at designated locations throughout the community. Thousands of dollars are contributed annually by the generous people of the greater Grand Rapids area. Proceeds are used to fund programs for visually and neuro-visually impaired children between the ages of birth-26 who are eligible for special education services throughout all 20 school districts in Kent County.
The funds also support handheld optical aids that are dispensed to children with visual impairments through the Low Vision Clinic housed at the Association for the Blind and Visually Impaired. These optical aids are prescriptive devices that allow children to function in a variety of travel and/or education settings to help them read or see near and/or distance. Because these are handheld aids, there is no other source of funding for children who meet the criteria of being legally blind.