personal stories Archives

How to Volunteer with Vision Loss: Real Stories and Practical Ideas

Posted on April 13, 2026 - 12:33 pm by Empish J. Thomas

Sandra Burgess along with her guide dog walks while carrying the Olympic Torch for the 1996 Summer Olympics.

Editor’s note: April 19-25 is National Volunteer Week. The Points of Light established it 50 years ago. A chance to honor volunteer service arose. It also showed how volunteers can solve complex, large-scale challenges. Volunteers help build stronger communities. They can be a force that transforms the world. Rediscovering Purpose Through Volunteering For years, giving back […]

Archiving Stories of Blind People: More Than a Job, a Passion

Posted on April 6, 2026 - 12:16 pm by Empish J. Thomas

What can you do with an interest that doesn’t fit a traditional career path? Historians, genealogists, researchers, and archivists are all used to describe people who collect and preserve history. But Peggy Chong prefers a different title: storyteller. Since 2014, Peggy has been known as the Blind History Lady, sharing powerful and often overlooked stories about people who are […]

Blind Senior with Diabetes Gains Independence with CGM

Posted on March 26, 2026 - 3:10 pm by Empish J. Thomas

Nancy Duncan is a retired senior with diabetes. She was diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes in 2005 and was unsure of the cause. “Relatives in my family had it, but people weren’t diagnosed back then,” Nancy said. They just said you had the sugars and that was it.” Over the past 20 years, Nancy has learned how to manage her condition and advocate for herself. When she was […]

Love for Recreation and Community Drives Career Success

Posted on March 11, 2026 - 4:54 pm by Empish J. Thomas

For Greg DeWall, staying active and involved in the community has always been a central part of life. After losing his vision in 1997, he found a new path that combined his love of sports with a career. Today, he helps others stay active and engaged. Today, Greg works as an Assistant Supervisor at the Easterday […]

Be My Eyes App Gives More Independence to the Blind and Low Vision

Posted on March 6, 2026 - 12:04 pm by Empish J. Thomas

In 2015, the Be My Eyes app, a free virtual sighted assistant, was launched. APH VisionAware published a post by Audrey Demmitt, Peer Advisor, sharing her reaction and how it was recommended by her eye doctor. “As an eye doctor, I have a variety of special tools available to help those with vision impairment,” Dr Henahan explained. “But sometimes there is no substitute for a pair of eyes […]

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