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EYE-LINK NEWS

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Help for Family, Friends and Neighbors

The Eye-Link Foundation has a clear and singular mission. We purchase and provide a wide range of unique assistive/adaptive equipment given free of any charges, to residents of Minnesota, Wisconsin and North Dakota who are challenged by uncorrectable sight loss! Eye-Link is an all-volunteer 501c3 nonprofit charity. Our strength comes from our supporters, as well as our volunteer Board members who actively deliver specialized equipment to the hands of low and/or no vision grant applicants. Eye-Link directs an average of 90 cents of every contributed dollar to the purchase of this vital equipment!

The newest adaptive technologies perform amazing tasks. There is a wide variety of products for those who are losing, yet have some remaining sight. Cameras tethered to large screen monitors can assist by powering up font, character and type size, making them readable. People struggling with Macular Degeneration are able to read newspapers, prescriptions, books and routine household mail. Hand held versions of this technology can be taken shopping to read can and food labels, and menus in restaurants. Adaptive technologies for folks with little remaining sight or who are blind require sophisticated optical character recognition technology. This equipment literally scans or takes a picture of a document, person, photograph or an object, and “reads” everything aloud to the user! This software also gives a “voice” to computers and smartphones.

One of last year’s equipment grant recipients, Kathleen from Minnesota, received a RubyHD magnifier from Eye-Link, Minnesota. She uses it for reading and home activities, and as an independence aid when she leaves her home. She said, ”At the store, I take photos of bar codes or ingredients and the Ruby brings it up to my face, so I can read the type.” Her Ruby lets her zoom in and out on whatever she’s reading: labels, books, the newspaper and more.

Here is how the Eye-Link assistive equipment grant application process works: Any person who has uncorrectable vision loss and needs adaptive equipment can and should first apply for help from any low vision related state agency.

Eye-Link assistive equipment grant applications are available on the North Dakota, Wisconsin and Minnesota websites. Direct “links” to each state site are shown below. Copies of the equipment grant application can easily be printed, or the grant application can be filled out on line. If you need help with the equipment application, contact information including a telephone number is shown on the application.

We are responding to the corona virus threat conditions by speeding up the entire application process. Eye-Link board members normally meet quarterly to review all pending grant applications. We have immediately started to conduct on line grant reviews and voting on each application as received. Grant applicants will no longer have to wait for quarterly Board meetings to learn of their outcome. Our goal is to quickly get the right adaptive technologies to those facing the hurdles of diminishing sight as soon as practical.

Each year the three-state Eye-Link Foundation receives between 45 to 55 adaptive equipment grant applications. Eye-Link accepts no federal or state money. Our funding comes solely from the generosity of our supporters and a few corporate foundation grants. We urge you to help bolster this community outreach effort by contributing. Help individuals who are dealing with severe visual impairment get the tools they need to regain access to all forms of information with your on line donation!

Jim Justesen
Board Chairman

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HOW YOU CAN HELP

Out of every dollar, 93 cents goes directly to helping your friends, family and neighbors who live with vision loss on a daily basis.

Eye-Link Foundation is helping residents of Minnesota, North Dakota and Wisconsin by delivering badly needed adaptive technologies to residents challenged by irreparable sight loss.

We are an all-volunteer organization whose mission is to provide a wide array of vital, highly specialized adaptive technologies and training to family members, friends and neighbors who are struggling with severe visual impairments.  Adaptive or assistive technologies are hardware and software packages that give “voice” or Braille output to computers, smart phones, classroom note takers, document scanners, bar code and prescription readers, Braillers and more.

Approximately 3% of our population has uncorrectable sight loss!  The current estimate of Blind unemployment in the United States is approximately a whopping 70 percent! Receiving unique equipment from Eye-Link immediately helps recipients restore independence and develop self-sufficiency.

Please make a donation today, to better the lives of people who live with vision loss.

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