News & Events

Gabe’s Day 2013

April 27, 2013 marked the 10^th annual Gabe’s Day event, held in memory of Blind Babies Foundation alumni Gabriel Carson.

This year’s event was a true community effort. San Jose Kiwanis Club brought tools, supplies and volunteers. Salvation Army donated the work space, and the Kiwanis Action Club for adults with special needs came to make toys. Everyone brought amazing energy and enthusiasm for BBF kids!

It was a special day for the volunteers and for Gabe’s family, who shared his story, photos and favorite strawberry lemonade. Gabe’s heartfelt story illustrated how adapted play equipment enhances the life of a child with special needs and their family. BBF toy bars and resonance boards are based on Dr. Lili Nielsen’s Active Learning philosophy, creating an accessible play environment for young children with differing abilities to independently explore and learn.

Gabe’s inspiration brought a very special meaning to the day and inspired volunteers to build 40 new toy bar kits and resonance boards for children with visual impairments served by Blind Babies Foundation. We are grateful to all who helped, and especially to San Jose Kiwanis for a decade of amazing work for children and families!

Mission

When an infant or preschooler is identified as blind or visually impaired, Blind Babies Foundation provides family-centered services to support the child's optimal development and access to the world.

Click here to help support our mission.

Services

Blind Babies Foundation has been providing critical early intervention and education services to infants and preschoolers who are blind or visually impaired for 60 years. Our family-centered services are provided in the home environment and encourage every child’s development to the fullest degree possible with careful attention to their individual abilities and needs. Through our Access VIS program, our Vision Impairment Specialists help more than 560 children each year in 14 central and northern California counties at no cost to families.

"Our son has a visual impairment which put us on a hunt for some sound help and direction. We have been on a medical and emotional roller-coaster and we can wholeheartedly say that having BBF at our side has made this trying time much easier to handle." - Steve & Jody C. of Lodi, California

Why Use Our Services?

The birth of a baby marks the beginning of many challenges for a family. With a baby who is visually impaired, the challenges are more complex. The early intervention program of BBF, called Access VIS, helps the entire family adjust by:

providing parent education
providing information -supporting the parent/child relationship
connecting the family to resources
attending medical visits with families
administering visual and developmental assessments
referral to other agencies
supporting family advocacy skills
giving opportunities for families to meet and to learn from one another

Click here to find out why Early Intervention is so essential.