Dear LightHouse and Earle Baum Center Community,
We are overcome with joy and gratitude for the outpouring of support for the LightHouse Little Learners program during yesterday’s #GivingTuesday campaign. We are thrilled to have received 111 donations totaling $50,350! Wow!
 
We would like to thank each and every individual and organization who supported our Little Learners. A special thanks to our fantastic matching gift donors:  the Benedict Family, Dan and Alicia Klitsner of Bop It for Good, LightHouse Board Chair Sharon Sacks and Little Learners champion Elaine Elkin. 
 
We’d also like to thank the following wonderful donors for their kick-off gifts which helped us launch our campaign with a bang: Sawyer and Labar LLP; Dr. Deborah Orel-Bixler; Maurice Belote and Alan Broussard; Marissa Gonzalez; Stuart and Donna Wittenstein, Dottie Bridge and Fernando Robleto; Amanda and Scott Lueck; Rebecca Allswang and Dennis Schrag; and Julie Bernas-Pierce.

Every dollar raised will go to fund this incredible program, grow our outreach, and expand services to even more families in Northern and Central California. From all of us at LightHouse, our team of dedicated Little Learner Specialists, our appreciative families, and our sweet, eager, and inspiring Little Learners, from the bottom of our hearts, we thank you!

Wishing everyone a safe, happy and healthy holiday season filled with warmth and joy, and a very prosperous new year!

Kindest regards,
LightHouse for the Blind and Visually Impaired

Today is Giving Tuesday! We are honored to participate in this global day of giving. Last year, we met our fundraising goal of $75k for our newly established Little Learners program. The success of Giving Tuesday 2022 helped us significantly grow our program and expand our reach. This year, we are asking the LightHouse community to once again support our Little Learners by helping us reach our goal of $80k!  
 
“We are proud to reflect on all that the Little Learners program has accomplished in our second year with LightHouse,” says Little Learners Program Director, Pam Chapin. “Our highly experienced team has provided specialized early learning services to almost 300 young children in Northern and Central California who are blind, have low vision and additional disabilities that include visual impairment.” 
  
“Leaving a long-term NICU stay is only the beginning for parents of medically complex or disabled children. We were filled with joy, fear, sadness, relief, and rage. Every corner we turned there was a new diagnosis, every door we opened revealed complicated systems we had to quickly learn. LightHouse Little Learners sent us our first post-NICU angel, Drue Banister, who jumped through hoops to come see us as soon as she could.” – Little Learners Mom, Jora   
 
By engaging with physicians, pediatric ophthalmologists, eye care professionals, educators, and researchers, our Little Learners Specialists in Early Childhood Blindness and Low Vision have helped the community learn more about early childhood vision loss and the importance of early identification and access to quality, evidence-based educational services. We have helped families identify their child’s unique learning needs, learn through play and daily activities, advocate, access resources, and prepare for their child’s transition to preschool. 
 
“Small and big changes recommended by our Little Learners Specialists Kris and Pam have improved our daughter Casey’s ability and mobility: for instance, small things like using higher contrast-colored objects and keeping hard-to-see gates closed, as well as big changes like the gift of a new pair of glasses and a little eyeglass party to encourage a reluctant toddler to give them a try. Additionally, help with understanding the pediatric ophthalmologist and optometrist was awesome as well; I was feeling quite overwhelmed and Kris’ support during the appointment was absolutely invaluable.“ – Little Learners Mom, Latasha 
 
Through home visits, playgroups, family events, and family camp, our Little Learners, their Specialists and their families have learned together, built relationships, shared challenges, experienced joyful moments, and discovered new possibilities.  
 
“Together with our Little Learners Specialist Jeri, we went to LightHouse’s Beeping Egg Hunt this spring. We made Max’s favorite toy which is a homemade rattle consisting of a whisk and ping pong ball, Max took his first bite of solid food, Max learned to crawl thanks to the lite box, and many more big firsts.  We also celebrated our first White Cane Day together and crossed the Golden Gate Bridge for the first time! Jeri is our guide and our mentor, and Little Learners has a community of other mamas and papas who are fiercely devoted to raising thriving and successful babies!” – Little Learners Mom, Jenny 
 
Our generous donors and community partners have helped us provide young children with prescription glasses, early literacy materials including Braille and large print books, access technology, and specialized learning materials.  
 
We are thrilled as we look to the future and are grateful for our community’s support as we continue growing our program and helping young children and families flourish! 

Make a Giving Tuesday Donation to LightHouse Little Learners

Learn more about LightHouse Little Learners.

Today is Giving Tuesday. This year, LightHouse asks our community to donate to our LightHouse Little Learners program.
 
LightHouse Little Learners supports young children who are blind, deafblind, have low vision or have a Cerebral Visual Impairment. Our goal is to raise $80,000 this Giving Tuesday for our littles.

Below, a Little Learners Mom shares a story of how the program helped her little one.
 
“My son, Maximiliano, has been seeing LightHouse Little Learner Specialist Kristi since he was 12 months old, and it has been such a blessing,” says Little Learners mom, Natali.  
 
“He was diagnosed with Pitt-Hopkins Syndrome (a rare neurological disorder) at 22 months, which consists of global developmental delays along with various medical complexities. Kristi would work with Max once a week at our home. She even attended an appointment with his pediatric ophthalmologist and advocated for his CVI diagnosis as he was getting ready to transition to the school district. Kristi also educated me and provided various resources to adequately choose the perfect glasses for Max, which has helped tremendously with him keeping them on. Max’s absolute favorite day of the month was playgroup that was put together by LightHouse Little Learners at a local library, which consisted of sensory, color pop, music and inclusiveness at its finest. I will forever be grateful for Kristi—her knowledge, her sweetness, her empowerment to advocate and her presence.”

Make a Giving Tuesday Donation to LightHouse Little Learners

Learn more about the LightHouse Little Learners Program.

It’s Giving Tuesday and we’re asking our LightHouse Community to donate today to our LightHouse Little Learners Program.
 
The LightHouse Little Learners supports young children who are blind, deafblind, have low vision or have a Cerebral Visual Impairment. Our goal is to raise $80,000 this Giving Tuesday for our littles.

Here is a story from one of our Little Learner Moms.

“It’s hard to have a child with reduced vision and not know if or what they are seeing. Not many things make this situation less difficult, but the LightHouse Little Learners program has definitely helped us tremendously, “ says Little Learner Mom, Latasha.  
 
“Small and big changes recommended by our Little Learners Specialists Kris and Pam have improved our daughter Casey’s ability and mobility. Small things like using higher contrast-colored objects and keeping hard-to-see gates closed. The big changes like the gift of a new pair of glasses and a little eyeglass party to encourage a reluctant toddler to give them a try. Help with understanding the pediatric ophthalmologist and optometrist was awesome as well: I was feeling quite overwhelmed and Kris’ support during the appointment was absolutely invaluable!”   

Make a Giving Tuesday Donation to LightHouse Little Learners

Learn more about the LightHouse Little Learners Program.