Lehigh Valley Council of the Blind Grant Upgrades Kitchen for Life Skills Education

By Sights for Hope Team |
Dianne Michels and Rita Lang of Sights for Hope and the Lehigh Valley Council of the Blind smile inside Sights for Hope's Lehigh Valley Services Center kitchen. The scene features an open fridge, a microwave with its door open, wooden cabinets, and an electric stovetop.

A grant from the Lehigh Valley Council of the Blind has enabled Sights for Hope to upgrade the kitchen at its Lehigh Valley Services Center – the site of many of its most popular life skills lessons.

Sights for Hope used the grant funds to buy a new refrigerator and a four-burner electric range. Sights for Hope also purchased a microwave oven with an air fryer and a stainless steel toaster oven and broiler to supplement the project.

Classes and individual lessons related to cooking are consistently among Sights for Hope’s most popular offerings. They teach clients with permanent visual impairments and blindness how to prepare meals effectively by implementing adaptive skills. Many of these classes are taught by Sights for Hope’s Vision Rehabilitation Therapist Dianne Michels, who has had a visual impairment throughout her life.

“We deeply appreciate the support from the Lehigh Valley Council of the Blind and are grateful to be able to do this project,” said Dennis Zehner, Executive Director and CEO of Sights for Hope. “The skills taught in our kitchen are among the most critical in empowering people to conquer the challenges of vision loss and to thrive independently.”

The Lehigh Valley Council of the Blind advocates for the rights and needs of individuals in the region who are blind or visually impaired. It is a chapter of the Pennsylvania Council of the Blind and an affiliate of the American Council of the Blind. Among the Lehigh Valley council’s members are Michels, Sights for Hope Client Activities Manager Rita Lang, and Gary Dvorshak, a Sights for Hope client and member of its Board of Directors. The council holds monthly meetings at the Lehigh Valley Services Center.

Image: Dianne Michels and Rita Lang of Sights for Hope and the Lehigh Valley Council of the Blind smile inside Sights for Hope’s Lehigh Valley Services Center kitchen. The scene features an open fridge, a microwave with its door open, wooden cabinets, and an electric stovetop.