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Annual Report
IN THIS REPORT
A printable version of this annual report is available 2008/2009 Annual Report.pdf
THE YEAR IN REVIEW
2008 | 2009
Blind Childrens Center
What a year we have had. With the addition of First Grade, we realized the need for larger spaces, larger equipment, and additional materials. Of course, the children are bigger!
The expansion of our program demanded a transformation of our facility. The extraordinary care and planning of the building design, programs, and services will allow us to serve more children for a longer period of time.
The formal Groundbreaking Ceremony was held April 20, 2009. Tom Sullivan and Jennifer Brown made it official and major donors Norris Foundation, Ahmanson Foundation and Gibney Foundation were recognized.
We thank the Board of Directors and the many people and organizations who have made this growth possible. Children and families have an even greater opportunity to establish strong foundations upon which to build their future.
The following are the accomplishments and activities achieved in the 2008/2009 school year.
Education & Family Services
• 68 students and their families received direct services from Blind Childrens Center professional staff:
27 children were enrolled in the Preschool
05 children were enrolled in the Pre-Kindergarten
08 children were enrolled in the Kindergarten Program
07 children were enrolled in the First Grade Program
21 families were served in the Infant Program
31 visits by the family worker, infant teacher and specialists were made to the infant families at home, in the hospital, doctor visits, hearings and mediations, and other professional appointments
51 families, in addition to those enrolled, were served by the family services professionals.
• 15 children graduated and professional assistance was provided for placement.
• 37 children participated in the afternoon program.
• 13 children came early for morning Day Care.
• 12 staff members completed masters level and BA level courses this year. One staff member taught a course at Cal State LA.
• Infant Massage Training was provided in a series of five sessions.
• 37 pre-IEP, IEP, and transition meetings were conducted.
• All programs were fully inclusive, incorporating multiply impaired children with peers of the same age.
• Literacy training was part of all activities for the children, both in braille and print. Each child requires individualized materials.
• 10 In-House staff training sessions included: Positive Reinforcement, Orientation & Mobility, Building Social Skills, Task Analysis, Adapting Materials for Storytime & Circle Time, Expanded Curriculum vs Academic Curriculum, Tactile Calendars and Optic Nerve Hypoplasia.
• Weekly Parent Groups included topics such as: advocacy, assertiveness, relaxation, grief & loss, rebuilding dreams, behavior management, and anger management.
• Self-Enhancement family group held nine meetings, including: Techniques on How to Get Organized, Self-Esteem, Renewing Your Thoughts, Creative Memory Scrapbooks, and trips to Farmer’s Market and Griffith Park.
• 150 parents or extended family members were served through parent consultations and group discussions.
• Off site assistance provided to families included private therapies, CCS, Medi-Cal, medical/doctor visits & clinics, social security, legal representatives, SSI/IHSS, school districts and regional centers.
• 15 PowerPoint presentations were developed for outreach and training.
• 200 parents, professionals, and community members (outside the BCC) were served by the Education and Family Services staff through 10 presentations. Staff presented at three national conferences and seven local conferences.
• 300 educators, professionals, service providers and parents were reached through Information Fairs, Fiesta Educativa, CAPVI, NAPVI, Network, and West Ed Early Start.
• 42 Pediatric Residents from Childrens Hospital came for observation.
• 4,049 educational and training publications were distributed throughout the world.
Volunteers
• 5 Parent Co-op volunteers regularly provided essential assistance with the children. Four volunteers came weekly to assist with the children and facility projects.
• Parents donated $4,367 through a variety of fund raisers.
• Junior Mentor’s, Carlos, 17 yrs., Karen, 16 yrs., and Daisy, 9 yrs., all BCC graduates, along with Karen’s friend Ann, also visually impaired, helped in the classrooms during their school breaks. They were especially helpful with brailling for the kindergarten and first grade classes.
• Delta Gamma collegians from USC, UCLA, Pepperdine, Long Beach, and Loyola Marymount, and alumnae from Los Angeles, Glendale/Burbank, San Fernando Valley and South Bay volunteered for special events and children’s activities.
• 65 volunteers from Pepperdine University worked at the facility all day on a Saturday.
• 8 volunteers from AT&T provided treats and decorations for graduation and Board member, Sandy Hubert, provided very special back packs.
• 150 volunteers helped at the golf tournament and the marathon.
Field Trips
• Field trips were limited this year due to budget constraints. However, several special groups and community helpers came to the Center for the kids. The American Teaching Zoo was especially significant. The children were able to touch and learn about several exotic animals.
Conferences, Workshops & Outreach
• 25 professional conferences and workshops were attended by education and family services staff. Some included: CTEVH (California Transcribers and Educators of the Visually Handicapped); IEP: Practical Tools and Techniques; Families Connecting with Families International NAPVI Conference; Autism Spectrum Disorders; Autism Partnerships; Autism Conference Part I & II; National Federation of the Blind of CA State Convention; CA Deaf-Blind Services; Children with Optic Nerve Hypoplasia; and National Training Institute-Zero to Three/Atlas.
• Dr. Armenta-Schmitt participated as an advisory member on the Early Childhood Special Education Committee with Dr. Deborah Chen at CSUN.
Administration & Computer Upgrades
• Agency expenses increased 3% over 2008.
• Electronic upgrades were constantly provided in-house by our IT Coordinator.
• A new Employee Handbook was developed and policies implemented.
• Professional Boards/Committees: Staff members served on the following: Vision Network Board; NAPVI; CSUN Advisory Committee for Early Childhood Second Language Acquisition/Special Education; Atlas Foundation Professional and Supervisory Group; IDA (Infant Development Association); Zero to Three; Lions Club; Rotary Club; Neil Bogart Fund Auxiliary; LAPD Centurions; VisionServe Alliance; and Delta Gamma.
• Executive Director Midge Horton and Administrative staff made 77 presentations to visitors, community clubs, organizations, and businesses.
Facility
• Phase I of our construction will be completed in time for school to resume in September.
• Capital Campaign raised $676,080 of the $762,083 budget by June 30. The Brick Campaign is going well and raised $10,800 by June 30.
• The First Grade classroom was reconstructed to accommodate the class in September 2008. All materials and equipment were purchased.
Development, Public Relations, Research
• Light the Way Circle membership remained steady at 120, realizing $320,084.
• Foundation and Corporate funding accounted for 35% of fund raising. New grants were received from The Green Foundation ($30,000), The California Community Foundation ($100,000), S. Mark Taper Foundation ($25,000) and Ann Peppers Foundation ($5,000).
• Special events support accounted for 25% of fund raising, for a total of $447,585. Special events included the Roddy Hiatt Golf Tournament; Les Marraines Halloween Luncheon and Holiday Party; Help Youth Golf Tournament; The Gibney Challenge Longest Day of Golf; LA Marathon; The Tom Sullivan Blind Childrens Center Celebrity Golf Tournament, sponsored by John Hancock Insurance; San Francisco to San Diego Bike Tour (three athletes) and LAPD Centurions football games.
• Bequests totaled $406,542 accounting for 22% of Direct Support.
• Annual Giving support accounted for 13% of fund raising.
• The 2009 Tom Sullivan Blind Childrens Center Celebrity Golf Tournament, sponsored by John Hancock Insurance, raised a net of $146,000.
• Larry Meyer was honored by the Steve Garvey Spirit of Light Award.
• Longest Day of Golf, sponsored by The Gibney Family Foundation and supported by our incredible volunteer golfers, raised $84,720.
• The Roddy Hiatt Golf Tournament raised $47,000 for the children.
• Help Youth Charities golf raised $3,000.
• Les Marraines continued their remarkable efforts raising $14,000.
• LA Marathon/Team Blind Children support raised $34,404.
• Board member, Larry Meyer, continued his remarkable Marathon journey, completing the Paris Marathon.
• Centurion activities included the family & staff picnic, and seven games. A gift of $5,000 was presented.
• North Hollywood Lions donated $7,000; L.A. Host Lions contributed $4,000 through their Lark Ellen Charities; Northwest Glendale Lions donated $1,000. East Valley Lions visited the Center several times and donated an electric embosser which prints Braille electronically. They initiated a subsequent campaign and were awarded a matching grant from Lions International to purchase a new van.
• All graphics were provided in-house for special events, direct mail pieces, brochures, newsletters, PowerPoint presentations, and our website. The Building Brochure was also developed in-house and printed pro-bono by Optima Graphics.
• Building DVD was produced pro-bono by Fred Sayeg, Inc.
• The newsletter was sent to 4,200 friends, twice during the year.
• Research Project, Improving Retinal Stem Cell Proliferation conducted by Thomas C. Lee, M.D. at Childrens Hospital Los Angeles, was sponsored.
Financial Information
Administration, Development, and Public Information costs are supported by the Investment Account.
Audited Financial Statements are available upon request.
Thank you for being a vital part of our success.
A printable version of this annual report is available 2008/2009 Annual Report.pdf
Previous annual report: 2007/2008