Sights for Hope Earns High Marks from its Clients Again for Quality Service and Impact
Sights for Hope’s clients have given the organization high marks again for the quality of its services and its impacts on their lives.
In client surveys from the year ending June 30, 97% of respondents said that Sights for Hope has helped them improve their ability to perform daily activities and 99% agreed that it has removed the barriers to their independence and success. In other survey results, 96% of clients said that they have gained increased access to medical care, food, and resources in the community; 94% of clients said they have learned to use their existing sight to their advantage; and 95% said that their outlook on their visual impairments or blindness has improved. Also as of June 30, 96% of Sights for Hope clients resided outside of assisted living facilities or nursing homes, according to organizational data.
During the 2022-2023 year, Sights for Hope provided services to 7,268 people, exceeding the prior year’s number of 7,117 and increasing its total for the third straight year. It closed the year with 672 clients, an increase of 8% over one year and 27% over the prior three years. Sights for Hope generated year-over-year growth in the number of guided transports it provided and the number of clients who participated in life skills education programs, physical and social activities, peer support groups, and personal counseling. In several categories, the organization approached or exceeded its service totals from 2018-2019, the last full year before the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The ability to maintain this level of excellence while raising the number of people we impact is another reflection of the growing need for our services and our team’s capability to meet it,” said Jennifer Pandolfo, Associate Director and Director of Services for Sights for Hope. “More people are discovering what we have already known – that Sights for Hope is a special organization propelled by people who are thoughtfully dedicated to a critical mission, intensely focused on dependability, and steadfastly devoted to advancing solutions that transform lives.”
Sights for Hope also began an ambitious eight-year initiative in 2022-2023 to provide people with visual impairments 25,000 guided transports, to furnish 2,500 of them with assistive technologies and life skills education, and to ensure that 2,500 children ages 0-6 receive professional eye exams and glasses.
Sights for Hope removes barriers to independence and success for people who live with visual impairments and blindness. Sights for Hope’s services teach adaptive skills to accomplish daily life activities; provide supports that counter the effects of visual impairments and blindness; increase access to medical care, healthy food, and other essentials; and advance solutions that enhance sight capabilities. More than 40% of Sights for Hope’s clients live below or near the federal poverty line. Founded in 1928, Sights for Hope carries forward in Pennsylvania’s Lehigh Valley and Monroe County a tradition of service inspired by Helen Keller and is a member of the Pennsylvania Association for the Blind.
Image: Three Sights for Hope clients and one volunteer walking in a park with smiles on their faces