Potential is what Jean and George Henderson saw in their daughter Anne when they gathered with other parents of children with vision loss to provide the resources that could help their children become independent adults, establishing Community Services for the Blind (CSB) in 1962.
Ten years later, CSB and Metropolitan Atlanta Association for the Blind agreed that they could serve the community better together and merged to become Atlanta Area Services for the Blind (AASB), and in 1987, the agency changed its name to Center for the Visually Impaired (CVI) to more accurately reflect the wide range of services offered to individuals who are blind and visually impaired.
Potential is what inspired Florence Hunt Maxwell to donate her property on Peachtree Street to CVI. She helped create a home where adults and seniors could receive exams and specialized training to
help them live to the fullest.
Potential motivated Dr. Jerry Berman to join with CVI to start an early intervention program where families could receive guidance, care, and hope for their infants and babies with vision loss.
Potential is what our young students are realizing
as they thrive and excel learning new skills, enjoying sports, and peer activities.
Potential is what adults experiencing vision loss later in life find when they begin re-learning to do everyday tasks through the training available at CVI. They realize they are going to be able to do
more than they might think can.
We are grateful to the thousands of people who have entrusted CVI with their futures and their potential over the last 60 years. We have been honored to walk alongside so many of our neighbors as they bravely overcame barriers and regained their independence. Check out what others had to share about the impact CVI had on their lives by clicking here.
Thank you for supporting CVI and for believing in our mission.
Stories of Impact
Throughout this year, we will bring you stories of clients, volunteers, donors and staff who have be impacted by what CVI has offered the community over the past 60 years and who have made an impact on the lives of those who needed the life-changing services they received at CVI.
Bill Cohen: A Client, Volunteer, Mentor and Donor
Bill Cohen, a retired attorney, began volunteering at the Center for the Visually Impaired after experiencing CVI’s beneficial programs and services firsthand. Cohen began losing his vision in 1976 following a one-year military tour in Vietnam. He was diagnosed with an infection that had similar effects as macular degeneration, and in 1998 he was declared legally blind. He first visited CVI in 1999. Read More
“I was scared when I first came. There was just so much I didn’t know,” Cohen said. “But CVI was very important in my life—it kept my life going.”