Our latest annual report for 2006

Our Annual Report for 2005 (PDF Format)

Equipping Alaskans

The mission of the Center is

To equip Alaskans who are blind and visually impaired with skills for success in life and work.

Our vision is an Alaska where

Visual impairments or blindness is not the barrier to Alaskans achieving their vocational goals or living safely and independently in retirement.

We are guided by these values

• People are accepted for who they are and not judged based on their eyesight.
• People come first—respect and caring for everyone
• Personal self-determination
• Passion for the highest quality of life for each client
• Outstanding services provided by highly qualified, ethical professionals
• Integrity & accountability

Partners

The Center’s partners include the Alaska Division of Vocational Rehabilitation, the Special Education office at the Alaska Department of Education and Early Development, Access Alaska, Lions District 49A, Alaska Community Share payroll deduction giving program, and Assistive Technology for Alaskans (ATLA).

Funding

Thirty-nine percent of the Center’s current funding is from fees for rehabilitation training and other services.  Forty-eight percent is from grants, mostly from the government. One of the Center’s goals is to build its individual donor program, now 13% of the budget in order to better meet the needs of Alaskans who are blind and visually impaired.  The Center is a 501c(3) non-profit.

History

Through the efforts of many concerned citizens, the Alaska Division of Vocational Rehabilitation, and led by two blind individuals, the forerunner of our current agency began providing services in 1977 under the name Sensory Impairment Center.  The Center offered vocational rehabilitation training to sight- and hearing disabled clients.

In 1983, the dual-purpose agency became a non-profit corporation, changed its name to the Louise Rude Center for Blind and Deaf Adults, and moved into two separate facilities one to the deaf and the other to the visually impaired. Through a special State Legislative Award, the Center purchased its current facility on Taft Drive in Anchorage to ensure residential housing for visually impaired clients traveling from communities outside Anchorage.

In 1991, the agency changed names again to become the Alaska Center for Blind and Deaf Adults. Then on July 1, 1999, the two functions separated. Services for the deaf were absorbed into the larger ARC of Anchorage while those for the blind and visually impaired remained as a stand-alone non-profit corporation.

The Alaska Center for the Blind and Visually Impaired is the only vision rehabilitation and training facility in Alaska, offering a full range of classes to day as well as residential clients.

Alaska Center for the Blind & Visually Impaired
907-248-7770, 1-800-770-7517, fax: 907-248-7517, info@alaskabvi.org