PLATINUM2023

SIGHTS FOR HOPE

Seize Independence Now

Allentown, PA   |  www.SightsforHope.org

Mission

To provide people with visual impairments the skills, supports, and solutions that advance their self-sufficiency.

Ruling year info

1951

Executive Director and CEO

Mr. Dennis William Zehner Jr.

Main address

845 West Wyoming St

Allentown, PA 18103 USA

Show more contact info

Formerly known as

Association for the Blind & Vsually Impaired

PA Association for the Blind Lehigh Co. Branch

Visual Impairment & Blindness Services

EIN

23-1352260

NTEE code info

Blind/Visually Impaired Centers, Services (P86)

IRS filing requirement

This organization is required to file an IRS Form 990 or 990-EZ.

Sign in or create an account to view Form(s) 990 for 2022, 2021 and 2021.
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Communication

Blog

Programs and results

What we aim to solve

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

People with visual impairments face unacceptable disparities with respect to personal independence and wellbeing. These inequalities are manifest particularly by increased challenges in accomplishing daily life activities; limited access to medical care, nutritious food, and other critical services; difficulties with emotional health, including depression; and decreased potential to learn successfully in school.

Our programs

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?

Counseling Services

Counseling services are provided by caseworkers and a certified vision rehabilitation therapist. A primary counseling focus is to help people who lose much of, or all of, their vision adjust to the changes in their lives.

Population(s) Served
People with vision impairments
Seniors

The agency’s Low Vision Care services include functional exams by an optometrist who specializes in helping people with severe vision loss and a variety of assistive devices for purchase. Both of its locations also have a store with devices that assist people with visual impairments conduct daily activities.

Population(s) Served
People with vision impairments
Seniors

The agency has provided its guided transport services for its clients with vision loss since the 1970s. This service provide access to medical care, groceries, and agency services that counteract isolation and improve quality of life. Approximately 65% of the agency's clients are ages 65 and up, and approximately 85% are from low-income households.

The guided transport services are “door-through-door,” which means that the agency's specially-trained drivers guide clients from their homes and into their destinations. When it is necessary, drivers provide additional assistance – such as helping to read paperwork or carrying bags into clients’ homes.

Population(s) Served
People with vision impairments
Seniors

Sights for Hope's life skills education services are provided in group and one-on-one sessions and empower people with visual impairments to increase their self-sufficiency.

Rehabilitative Skills: Clients learn how to use their existing vision most effectively and how to apply specific functional techniques. All sessions are presented by vision rehabilitation therapist (VRT) certified nationally.

Orientation and Mobility (O&M) Skills: Clients learn how to understand their surroundings and how to navigate between familiar locations. All sessions are presented O&M specialist who are ACVREP-certified.

Technology Skills: Clients explore present-day and emerging technologies that improve their quality of life.

Elemental Skills: Clients learn critical non-physical skills of daily life.

Youth and Family Programs: Include the Camp I CAN! summer program for ages 7-13; youth transitions for ages 14-17; Mom and Me in Motion for ages 0-2; and Preschool Playtime for ages 3-7 and families.

Population(s) Served
People with vision impairments
Seniors
Children and youth
Preteens

Sights for Hope's community education programs for preschool children, students, adults, and professionals promote eye health, eye safety, and inclusion of people with visual impairments. Its C. Well Bunny Goes to School presentation introduces preschool children to basic concepts about eye health and safety. During some of his adventures, C. Well is joined by friends Dr. Optical and Miss Illusion. The Low Vision Road Show shows audiences the specialized services that are available to people affected by vision loss. The Eyes in the Library presentation encourages students to discover the similarities and differences between human and animal eyes. The Doing Things Differently presentation helps professionals interact effectively in their workplaces with visually impaired patients, customers, and clients.

Population(s) Served

Sights for Hope conducts thousands of free vision screenings for children ages 0-6 and refers hundreds of children for additional care by medical professionals. When a child finds their vision improved, they literally are able to see a new world of possibilities. Screeners use the state-of-the-art Spot vision screening equipment by Welch Allyn, a camera-like device which uses a non-invasive laser to take a reading of the child’s visual acuity. The equipment is extremely accurate in determining eye conditions including near and farsightedness; astigmatism; strabismus; and amblyopia, a condition that can lead to blindness if not detected and treated early enough in a child’s life.

Sights for Hope's Focused Futures program leverages several partnerships to provide free eye exams and glasses to children ages 0-6 in families in need. Additional information can be found at SightsforHope.org/FocusedFutures.

Population(s) Served
Adults
Children and youth

The agency offers a variety of peer support groups for its clients with permanent vision loss. Support Groups give clients opportunities to express needs and concerns, participate in problem solving, and share resources in environments of openness, respect, encouragement, and trust.

Population(s) Served
People with vision impairments
Seniors

Sights for Hope's socialization and recreation activities help clients with vision loss remain active, execute skills and techniques that they have learned, connect with those who face similar challenges, and avoid the harmful effects of isolation.

Activities include Lions Clubs created to provide Sights for Hope clients from the Lehigh Valley and Monroe County to give back to their respective communities. Additional information is avaialble at SightsforHope.org/LionsClubs.

Population(s) Served
People with vision impairments
Seniors

Sights for Hope's caseworkers guide clients with vision loss to services that meet their goals, monitor client progress, arrange for one-on-one instruction, make referrals, and provide counseling as necessary.
Caseworkers also conduct home visits, during which they can help clients read mail, write checks, manage finances, complete forms, and perform basic home repairs to ensure safety.

Population(s) Served
People with vision impairments
Seniors

Where we work

Affiliations & memberships

VisionServe Alliance 2019

Pennsylvania Association for the Blind (PAB) 1928

Our results

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

How does this organization measure their results? It's a hard question but an important one.

Percentage of clients with visual impairments who reside outside of assisted living

This metric is no longer tracked.
Totals By Year
Population(s) Served

Seniors, Older adults, People with vision impairments, Low-income people, Working poor

Type of Metric

Outcome - describing the effects on people or issues

Direction of Success

Holding steady

Percentage of clients with visual impairments who improve or maintain their overall quality of life

This metric is no longer tracked.
Totals By Year
Population(s) Served

Seniors, Older adults, People with vision impairments, Working poor, Low-income people

Type of Metric

Outcome - describing the effects on people or issues

Direction of Success

Holding steady

Percentage of clients with visual impairments who improve or maintain their ability to perform daily activities

This metric is no longer tracked.
Totals By Year
Population(s) Served

Seniors, Older adults, People with vision impairments, Working poor, Low-income people

Type of Metric

Outcome - describing the effects on people or issues

Direction of Success

Holding steady

Our Sustainable Development Goals

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

Learn more about Sustainable Development Goals.

Goals & Strategy

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

Learn about the organization's key goals, strategies, capabilities, and progress.

Charting impact

Four powerful questions that require reflection about what really matters - results.

We have established four Big Impact Goals to achieve from 2022-2030.

1. To provide at least 2,500 people with visual impairments with at least one assistive technology device that boosts their ability to interact with the people and environments around them.

2. To provide at least 25,000 guided transports to people with visual impairments that increase their access to medical care, food, life skills education, and critical wellness services.

3. To provide at least 2,500 people with visual impairments with at least one life skills education experience that enhances their ability to live independently.

4. To ensure that at least 2,500 children ages 6 and under with professional eye exams and glasses or equivalent solutions that advance their ability to learn effectively.

We have identified three pillars to articulate our work.

1. Skills: We teach people with visual impairments the adaptive skills to accomplish daily life activities.

2. Supports: We provide supports to people with visual impairments that counter the effects of their circumstances and increase their access to essential services, including medical care and healthy food.

3. Solutions: We advance solutions to people with visual impairments that enhance their sight capabilities.

Our services for people with visual impairments promote the accomplishment of daily tasks, increased access to medical services and food supplies, enhanced personal wellness, and extended self-sufficiency. Our free vision screenings for pre-kindergarten children stimulate success in school and our community education programs advocate for eye health and safety.

Our services are as follows:

Life Skills Education: Group and one-on-one sessions that teach vision rehabilitation, orientation and mobility, adaptive use of technology, and elemental life skills.

Youth and Family Programs: Life Skills Education Programs that help young people with visual impairments develop key adaptive skills and show their families how to empower them.

Support Services: Services for clients – including casework support, guided transportation, peer support groups, personal counseling, social activities, and recreational activities – that improve their quality of life and their access to food and medical care.

Technology Solutions: Functional low vision exams and individualized consultations performed to match clients and patients with the assistive devices and technologies that best meet their needs.

Prevention Services: Free vision screenings for children ages 0-6 that promote school success and community education programs that advocate eye health and safety and inclusion.

Services for Lehigh and Northampton counties are provided from Sights for Hope's Lehigh Valley Services Center in Allentown, PA. Services for Monroe County are provided from its Monroe Services Center near Stroudsburg, PA. Sights for Hope has 27 staff positions and approximately 50 services volunteers. Sights for Hope is funded through contributions, grants, government service contracts, revenue from sales of devices and assistive technologies, event revenue, and the affiliated Sights for Hope Endowment Foundation.

Our four Big Impact Goals were set in May 2022. Efforts toward achieving them have commenced. Meanwhile, an analysis of agency service data and client surveys reflect our impact.

Our client population increased by 14% from July 2021 to June 2022.

95% of our clients maintain their level of independence.

98% of our clients improve or maintain their ability to perform daily activities.

98% of our clients gain improved access to medical services.

76% of our clients gain improved access to nutritious foods.

79% of our clients gain improved safety and functionality in their homes.

73% of our clients achieve an improved outlook on life.

78% of our clients achieve an improved overall quality of life.

We provided 2,506 guided transport rides in 2021-2022 to provide increased access to medical care and food.

We screen up to 7,000 children ages 0-6 in a typical year. Approximately 15% of children screened are referred for additional care.

How we listen

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

Seeking feedback from people served makes programs more responsive and effective. Here’s how this organization is listening.

done We demonstrated a willingness to learn more by reviewing resources about feedback practice.
done We shared information about our current feedback practices.
  • How is your organization using feedback from the people you serve?

    To identify and remedy poor client service experiences, To identify bright spots and enhance positive service experiences, To make fundamental changes to our programs and/or operations, To inform the development of new programs/projects, To identify where we are less inclusive or equitable across demographic groups, To strengthen relationships with the people we serve, To understand people's needs and how we can help them achieve their goals

  • Which of the following feedback practices does your organization routinely carry out?

    We collect feedback from the people we serve at least annually, We take steps to get feedback from marginalized or under-represented people, We aim to collect feedback from as many people we serve as possible, We take steps to ensure people feel comfortable being honest with us, We engage the people who provide feedback in looking for ways we can improve in response, We act on the feedback we receive, We tell the people who gave us feedback how we acted on their feedback

  • What challenges does the organization face when collecting feedback?

    It is difficult to get the people we serve to respond to requests for feedback, We don’t have the right technology to collect and aggregate feedback efficiently, The people we serve tell us they find data collection burdensome, It is difficult to find the ongoing funding to support feedback collection, Staff find it hard to prioritize feedback collection and review due to lack of time

Financials

SIGHTS FOR HOPE
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Operations

The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.

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Connect with nonprofit leaders

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Connect with nonprofit leaders

Subscribe

Build relationships with key people who manage and lead nonprofit organizations with GuideStar Pro. Try a low commitment monthly plan today.

  • Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
  • Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
  • Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations

Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights? Learn More about GuideStar Pro.

SIGHTS FOR HOPE

Board of directors
as of 10/17/2023
SOURCE: Self-reported by organization
Board chair

Ms. Kate Raymond

PPL Corporation

Term: 2023 - 2025

Martin Lang, CPA

Lang, Faylor & Chomo CPA

Lucille Piggott-Prawl

Disability Rights Pennsylvania

Ross Ramaley, Esq.

Attorney at Law

Fred Folland

Hop Energy, Retired

Steven Savino

Lehigh University

Kate Raymond

(Board President) PPL Corporation

Devin Darby, MS, OTR/L

(Board Secretary) Good Shepherd Rehabilitation Network

Gary Dvorshak

Sights for Hope Client

Daniel Lombardo

(Board Treasurer) Richard B. Ryon Insurance

Michael Savage

Savage Financial Group and Tannersville Lions Club

Paul Miller

(Board Vice President) Active Learning Centers and Lehigh Valley Martial Arts

Kathy Duelley

Pennsylvania Lions District 14-K

Nicole Williams, O.D.

Valley Health Partners Community Health Center

Board leadership practices

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

GuideStar worked with BoardSource, the national leader in nonprofit board leadership and governance, to create this section.

  • Board orientation and education
    Does the board conduct a formal orientation for new board members and require all board members to sign a written agreement regarding their roles, responsibilities, and expectations? No
  • CEO oversight
    Has the board conducted a formal, written assessment of the chief executive within the past year ? Yes
  • Ethics and transparency
    Have the board and senior staff reviewed the conflict-of-interest policy and completed and signed disclosure statements in the past year? Yes
  • Board composition
    Does the board ensure an inclusive board member recruitment process that results in diversity of thought and leadership? No
  • Board performance
    Has the board conducted a formal, written self-assessment of its performance within the past three years? No

Organizational demographics

SOURCE: Self-reported; last updated 10/17/2023

Who works and leads organizations that serve our diverse communities? Candid partnered with CHANGE Philanthropy on this demographic section.

Leadership

The organization's leader identifies as:

Race & ethnicity
White/Caucasian/European
Gender identity
Male, Not transgender (cisgender)
Sexual orientation
Heterosexual or straight
Disability status
Person without a disability

Race & ethnicity

Gender identity

 

Sexual orientation

No data

Disability

Equity strategies

Last updated: 08/22/2023

GuideStar partnered with Equity in the Center - an organization that works to shift mindsets, practices, and systems to increase racial equity - to create this section. Learn more

Data
  • We review compensation data across the organization (and by staff levels) to identify disparities by race.
  • We ask team members to identify racial disparities in their programs and / or portfolios.
  • We analyze disaggregated data and root causes of race disparities that impact the organization's programs, portfolios, and the populations served.
  • We disaggregate data to adjust programming goals to keep pace with changing needs of the communities we support.
  • We employ non-traditional ways of gathering feedback on programs and trainings, which may include interviews, roundtables, and external reviews with/by community stakeholders.
  • We have long-term strategic plans and measurable goals for creating a culture such that one’s race identity has no influence on how they fare within the organization.
Policies and processes
  • We seek individuals from various race backgrounds for board and executive director/CEO positions within our organization.
  • We measure and then disaggregate job satisfaction and retention data by race, function, level, and/or team.