KEEPING AFLOAT - Much gratitude to all our supporters!!
We are very grateful to Lowell & Wilda Northrop for their generous contribution of $4,000.00 and their continued support.
A SPECIAL THANK YOU to our Lions Friends for their recent support:
The BVIC’s fiscal year has been changed to coincide with the calendar year. December 31, 2005 will mark the end of the fiscal year and January 1, 2006 will begin our new fiscal year.
Membership –We welcome you early birds to pay your 2006 membership now if you would like to use it as a 2005 tax deduction. Be sure to indicate membership in your check memo. The official membership envelope will be included in the next Blindfold.
Thank you also to all the merchants, crafters, & volunteers who helped with Country Store & Auction, especially our Tuesday members Clara Cuicci, Marie Hopwood, Yasuko Patrick, Joyce Blackburn, Renee Price, Fran Avery Rosemary Heisinger & Florence Cogan. Arlene & Andy Anderlik were honored for their 20 plus years of volunteering for the event. Congratulations to Donnie Long for winning the beautiful doll house donated by Randy Henson (earning the BVIC $500.00 plus). It seemed more than serendipitous that the doll house winner was Kathy Henson’s brother-in-law. The house now resides at Kathy’s mother’s home available for all her nieces to enjoy.
Congratulations also to volunteer, Sheila Doyle Rickenbacher for winning the grand prize, an Olympus camera & printer.Great donated vehicles for sale to benefit the BVIC. All reasonable offers will be considered. For info or to donate a vehicle call Russ Hatch at 659-5360 or the BVIC.
There will not be a Low Vision Support Group in December or January, but it will resume in February.
Tis the Season!
The Blind & Visually Impaired Center
Invites you to its
Annual Holiday Party
Please join us for
music
entertainment
cookies & punch
and….
a surprise visitor
ho ho ho!
Tuesday, December 13, 2005
12:30 until 2:30
at the BVIC
225 Laurel Avenue, PG
RSVP by 12/08/05 - 649-3505
The Center began in 1971 with 35 visually impaired members and in nearly 35 years has grown to help more than 325 people with direct services each year. Our Low Vision Clinic established in 1988, the brainchild of Cindy Hazard, Kathy Henson, and Mike Tomlin O.D. , sees 100 to 150 patients each year at the weekly clinic. We are proud of our informed and supportive board, our knowledgeable staff, and caring volunteers who together offer unique and essential services for our community. We possess many of the newest assistive technology available for people who are visually impaired.
The BVIC is extremely fortunate for Lions Building for the Blind’s support providing a facility for our organization. However, we find with the changing times, the increasing numbers of people needing services, and the new privacy regulations, the current design is inadequate and a building renovation must be addressed. We are very excited about transforming the main floor of the Center into a new Low Vision Clinic, an area for rehabilitation services, resource library, training areas and staff areas. The renovation would foremost advance the quality and efficiency of services for our clients and provide a professional environment, promoting trust and confidence.
Our clients range from school aged children to century old seniors with an equally diverse demography. We look to the community to partner with us in supporting this $150,000 project. We encourage those with corporate affiliations to advocate sponsorship and gratefully accept tax deductible donations. Together we can make this happen.
The timing of important changes made to the US Federal tax law in regards to the Hurricane Katrina Relief Bill give people an opportunity to make major gifts to the BVIC. These changes were designed not only to help hurricane victims, but to also help nonprofits like the Blind & Visually Impaired Center of Monterey County Inc. Outright gifts of cash made from August 28, 2005 through December 31, 2005 allow donors the full benefit of charitable deductions for their contributions. This means that the contribution limit for certain outright cash gifts has increased from 50 percent of adjusted gross income to 100 per cent of adjusted gross income. Donors are exempt from the three per cent reduction in itemized deductions for a donor with an adjusted gross income over $145,950. For a short period donors are presented with an attractive opportunity to fund outright gifts with assets withdrawn from an IRA or other qualified retirement plan. Remember December 31, 2005 is the deadline for this temporary giving incentive. It is important to consult with your tax advisor or financial planner before making a major gift.
Less daylight and the rainy season create more hazards to people with low vision. We remind people to slow down and take their time when walking outdoors. A couple of seconds of awareness can save you from a fall.
The office will be closed for the holiday season from December 19th to January 2nd reopening on Wednesday January 3, 2006.
WE WISH ALL OF YOU THE HAPPIEST OF HOLIDAYS & A HEALTHY NEW YEAR!!