School for Blind Thanks Young Donors and Seeks Legislative Support

Several state leaders and a group of young people working to improve the lives of those with
visual impairment recently met with Royer-Greaves School for Blind officials to celebrate volunteerism and explore future partnership.

The Drishti Foundation, which was founded to provide visually impaired people with access to medical care and education while fostering volunteerism, presented Royer-Greaves with a $4,500
donation raised through the 2023 Drishti Dash – an annual run/walk fundraiser. Royer-Greaves serves children and adults who have visual impairment co-occurring with intellectual and other disabilities. The donation will help fund vocational programs.

“To everyone at Drishti, your generosity makes a difference,” said Royer-Greaves Executive Director Vicky Mayer. In addition to this gift, Drishti Volunteers – mostly high school students, but some even younger – have helped decorate the school for holidays, learned Braille to make greeting cards for students and adults, and donated hand-held radios.

State Rep. Melissa Shusterman (D., Chester), State Sen. John Kane (D., Chester and Delaware) and Michael Hartman, Chief of Staff for State Sen. Carolyn Comitta (D., Chester) added their praise for the volunteers then presented each of them with a certificate of appreciation.

The recipients said they were honored to help.

"Blindness and poverty are interrelated in large parts of the world: Poverty may be the cause of poor eye health and poor eye health may deepen poverty," said Akshara Raparla, Drishti co-founder and main coordinator. "In such a context, education enables economic mobility and independence for visually impaired people. For that reason, we are here today, and that is what motivates me further."

“To us as an organization, the most important thing is to be able to help, and that would be impossible without our community,” said Co-Founder Reyna Kondaveeti. “With your help, we can bring more awareness to this important cause.”

“Drishti is making a very, very positive impact on the world,” said volunteer Siddhant Prabhudesai. “Drishti makes my efforts immensely more satisfying. It helps me see and
understand how the effort has helped the recipients, such as the Royer-Greaves School.”

Help from Harrisburg

The afternoon began with Royer-Greaves program leaders outlining the educational, therapeutic, vocational, and recreational services Royer-Greaves provides and asking the legislative leaders to help address problems that mostly boil down to the need for additional funding.

“Most of the people in our residential population are blind, have intellectual disabilities, and are medically fragile, and these extensive needs require extra staffing and support,” said Royer-Greaves Deputy Executive Director Debra Jerome. “Right now, we are facing issues of funding to support medical, physical, and staffing needs.”

Royer-Greaves Adult Program Supervisor Domnic Odita noted that current funding makes it difficult to afford essential equipment, such as vans that safely transport wheelchair users. He and Royer-Greaves Strategic Planning Consultant Jim Powers spoke of the intense competition for staff, and the difficulty of supporting competitive wages with current funding from Harrisburg and Washington.

The state leaders acknowledged the funding and other challenges. “Everywhere I go, everyone is looking for labor,” said Kane, a plumber by trade. He praised Royer-Greaves for “doing so much with so little.”

Shusterman was hopeful more funding would be available through the new state budget, which was recently introduced. She noted, however, that the federal government also needs to act to fully address the funding issue, since Royer-Greaves’ funding is tied to Medicaid. Shusterman said she’s proud of a new state tax credit created by legislation she co-sponsored with Rep. Tina Davis (D., Bucks) with the goal of making it easier for people caring for children or dependents to return to work.

The credit provides $2,000 for childcare or dependent care. Coupled with a $2,000 federal credit, “this is allowing people to work with less of a struggle,” she said. She said she is also working to provide transportation assistance to caregivers.

Shusterman asked if Royer-Greaves was able to offer compensation beyond salary that might help attract employees. Powers, Royer’s strategic planning consultant, confirmed that Royer-Greaves is looking at multiple possible options with a focus on the major living expenses direct support professionals face every day.

Royer-Greaves Director of Lifesharing Marcia Debes raised a non-financial issue:
Her program has families waiting to open their homes as a residential option for adults who cannot live alone, but can thrive with the support of being part of a household. “We need to find more people who are interested in and can benefit from his wonderful program,” she said.

Hartman, Comitta’s Chief of Staff, said that in addition to pushing for additional funding, Comitta’s office and those of others who represent the students and adults served by Royer-Greaves could help tell Royer’s story.