Verizon Foundation Grant Helps the Blind Make Use of Computers

The Greater Wilkes-Barre Association for the Blind computer program recently got a boost from a $25,000 Verizon Foundation grant, which will be used to buy more computer workstations and laptops.

The grant will help blind and visually-impaired people enter the workforce as well as enjoy computers the same ways as seeing people, said Ron Petrilla, the blind association’s executive director. For 41-year-old John Kowalski, a student of the association who has been blind for about 20 years, the Verizon Foundation grant and blind association are “a godsend.” Kowalski had been interested in learning how to use a computer, but feared the unknown.
 
“I did not want to invest the money in something that would need to be upgraded,” he said. “But I am an active person and I finally decided if I don’t get one, I’m only hurting myself.” He bought a computer about 18 months ago and said it has opened up a new world. An avid reader and guitar player, he now scans documents so the computer can read them to him and hopes to someday use the computer to record his guitar-playing.
 
The Verizon Foundation asked nonprofit groups statewide to submit proposals for $150,000 in grant money. Some 35 groups applied, including four locally, according to Verizon spokeswoman Anna Cervenak. So far the foundation has given 21,000 grants nationwide worth more than $70 million to programs that focus on e-literacy, technology and creating a skilled workforce.
 
Source: Verizon Foundation