History

The Association for the Blind and Visually Impaired (ABVI) was founded in 1913.

Goals of the Association for the Blind and Visually Impaired:

Its primary goals are to:

Provide rehabilitation services to those who live with visual impairment enabling them to live more independently and with greater dignity.
Create a community culture where those who are blind or visually impaired enjoy the same opportunities as those who are sighted by:: educating others about the capabilities of those who are blind or visually impaired;; informing others about proposed legislation that is relevant to issues of vision loss;; working with local governmental bodies to implement accommodations that address the unique needs of our clients;; educating our clients, their families and friends about the benefits of appropriate accommodations.
Promote the prevention of blindness through education.

Roberta A. Griffith, Founder of ABVI:

Portrait of Roberta Griffith In order to appreciate and understand the journey that the Association for the Blind and Visually Impaired has taken since its creation in 1913, you should know about Roberta A. Griffith, our founder. Blind herself from an early childhood illness, she dedicated her life to the helping others who faced similar visual challenges. Throughout her life, she was a leader in national and state organizations that provided assistance to those who were blind. During the more than 40 years she lived in Grand Rapids, she was a guide, counselor, and friend to virtually every blind person in the state.

Miss Griffith, raised in Bay City, became a pupil at the Michigan School for the Blind in Lansing at the age of twelve. She completed high school at the Ohio School for the Blind in Columbus. After high school, she was awarded a small scholarship to Western Reserve University in Cleveland. She paid for the rest of her college expenses by teaching piano to sighted students. She graduated from Western Reserve becoming the first woman who was blind to receive a degree from an institution not intended for the education of the sightless.

After moving to Grand Rapids, Miss Griffith designed and drafted the plans for her home. She drew the plans by using raised dots to create the lines in the drawings. So perfect was her conception of the building that the architect was able to follow her drawings without any changes.

Her accomplishments were many. She compiled the first dictionary for the blind. She helped create the American Foundation for the Blind (AFB), a national non-profit agency which has become a leader in public policy and advocacy for people who are blind and visually impaired.
Click here to visit the AFB Web Site.

She worked with Helen Keller on standardizing Braille throughout the country. Prior to this work, each region had its own version of Braille. Miss Griffith also promoted and helped create legislation in the state mandating eye care for newborns to help prevent complications that could lead to blindness in babies.
Click here to read more about Roberta Griffith's accomplishments (In MSWord format).

Highlights from ABVI'S History:

Miss Griffith gave ABVI a high standard to follow and much has occurred over ABVI's history.

ABVI helped Grand Rapids Public Schools become one of the first schools in the nation to integrate sighted and non-sighted children together in the same classroom.

ABVI offered vision screening in all schools throughout the county including nursery schools. ABVI was so effective in the area of pre-school vision screening that it received a national award from the National Society for the Prevention of Blindness, today known as Prevent Blindness America.

A nursery school program for pre-school blind children was established and conducted at the agency.

Preschool in 1956

In the late 1960's ABVI hired its first Orientation and Mobility Specialist and Certified Vision Rehabilitation Therapist. Both positions require Masters' Degrees in the area of blindness rehabilitation.

ABVI's Low Vision Clinic was started with assistance from the Michigan Commission for the Blind. The Low Vision Clinic helps clients maximize their ability to use their remaining vision. Today, we offer Low Vision Clinics in Grand Rapids, Muskegon, Ludington and Ionia.

Dr. Cobler Examining Eyes

In the early 1970's we moved to Sheldon Ave. SE. This location allowed us to house all our services in one location and served us well for over 30 years.

ABVI created its Community Outreach Program. This program informs community members about what they can do to prevent vision loss in themselves, their families and friends. Also, recognizing that there are historically underserved populations in the community, ABVI place extra emphasis on reaching those who are underserved.

Recognizing that your peers are often your best teachers, ABVI expanded its Peer Support Groups outside of Kent County. Today, we have 15 support groups throughout West Michigan.

Support Group for Seniors

Going back to its roots, ABVI has expanded programming for school age children creating both a summer program, Summer in the City, and an after school program, STEPS (Successful Teens Exploring Positive Skills).

ABVI was on the move again. Recognizing that ABVI had moved away from site based programs to community based services, ABVI found a smaller building better suited to its needs. In 2004, ABVI moved its offices to its current location at 456 Cherry St. SE, Grand Rapids. This location created a more accessible environment for its clients.

Outside of ABVI office

Moving into the future, ABVI remains committed to create new highlights as West Michigan's premier provider of vision rehabilitation services and advocate for people who are blind or visually impaired.