AFB Blog

Ike Claus I was delighted to join the staff at the Atlanta Center for the Visually Impaired BEGIN Program (Babies Early Growth Intervention Network) for their infants and toddlers holiday program last Saturday. We sang songs, ate way too many cookies, and I was honored to don the big guy’s red suit (the beard is my own!). Each child had the opportunity to have their photos taken with Santa. Children this young and some with additional disabilities often do not receive a friendly welcome at…

Helen Keller’s book "Let Us Have Faith" was published in 1940. Her words are a timely reminder of the importance of vigilance in the face of prejudice and bigotry. Helen was acutely aware of the dangers of political and social discrimination. Seven years earlier, in 1933, her book entitled "How I became a socialist" was burned by Nazi youth during the book burning frenzy that took place in Germany. The following excerpt from "Let Us Have Faith" counsels us to be active participants in…

Below is an excerpt from Helen Keller’s essay Three Days to See. Enjoy her beautiful and wise words. ...Sometimes I have thought it would be an excellent rule to live each day as if we should die to-morrow. Such an attitude would emphasize sharply the values of life. We should live each day with gentleness, a vigor, and a keenness of appreciation which are often lost when times stretches before us in the constant panorama of more days and months and years to come… …Now and then I…

The American Foundation for the Blind is delighted to share this movie clip of Helen Keller in her home in Westport, Connecticut. Filmed in the 1950s, it beautifully captures Helen’s instinctive appreciation of the world around her and her wholehearted joy of living. This is one of 10 clips that will be uploaded to the newly digitized Helen Keller Archival Collection. These clips, newly cleaned, are now also described and captioned for blind and hearing impaired viewers. Transcript Male…

Helen Keller and Polly Thomson with amputees in wheelchairs at McCloskey General Hospital, Temple, Texas, 1944 On Veterans Day, the American Foundation for the Blind honors all those who have fought in America's wars. Helen Keller was, and remains, a source of inspiration and solace for so many. During her lifetime thousands of veterans were inspired by her courage. We are particularly proud of the role Helen Keller played as a leading advocate for the men injured and maimed during World…

Meet Poonam Agrawal, 16, a junior at Cypress Ridge High School in Houston, Texas. At a recent community health fair, Poonam printed out some information from AFB’s website and set up a collection box to encourage donations. “I’m so glad to advocate for AFB and raise awareness about vision loss and all that AFB does to help people with blindness and low vision,” she said. Poonam found out about AFB when she was researching Helen Keller, who has been a life-long inspiration. Keller’s forty-…

Patrick Dunphy is unafraid of challenges. Recently recovering from retinal surgery, he plans to run the New York City Marathon this November while raising funds for AFB. "I like how AFB encourages people with vision loss to stretch and challenge themselves to aim higher," he said. Dunphy, 32, is Assistant Principal and head of the Social Studies department at Francis Lewis High School in Fresh Meadows (Queens, NY). He has a lot in common with his hero, Theodore Roosevelt. Like the 26th U.…

Welcome to this, the seventh day of our 8-day #BeAMiracleworker campaign. We have now raised $22,819, which is fantastic! But we have only one day left to reach our goal of $25,000. Please donate now and be a miracle worker. And don’t forget to follow the campaign’s progress on Facebook. A "Who’s Who" of the 19th and 20th Centuries "Some people are foolish enough to imagine that wealth and power and fame satisfy our hearts: but they never do, unless they are used to create and distribute…

Welcome to this, the sixth day of our 8-day #BeAMiracleworker campaign. The total has risen to a fabulous $22,656! However, we still need to raise $2,344 to reach our goal of $25,000, and we only have two days left of the fundraiser. Remember, every dollar we raise will be matched by the National Endowment for the Humanities, so please donate now and be a miracle worker. And don’t forget to follow the campaign’s progress on Facebook. See beyond a person’s disability… "When we do the best…