As the pandemic wears on, so does our combined economic struggle. Personal and professional finances are suffering, and while the community is rallying around local businesses to help them stay afloat, not everyone who needs help is getting it.

An oft-overlooked sector of pandemic economic casualties are nonprofits, as they struggle to continue to support their clients and pay their staff. While all of us are just trying to make it through the day – given the never-ending stressors of 2020 – Irvine Weekly does think it’s vital to shine some much-needed light on those in our community that could use a helping hand if you have one free. 

We’ve been talking to the dedicated leaders of O.C.’s nonprofits to learn what’s next for them, and how we as a community can help. 

The Blind Children’s Learning Center (BCLC) is a nonprofit organization that prepares children with visual impairments and other disabilities for a life of independence. Located in Santa Ana, the program has had to make some adjustments to ensure that one of Orange County’s most vulnerable populations continues receiving the help, services and resources they need.

(Courtesy of Blind Children’s Learning Center)

Undeterred by setbacks following COVID closures, the dedicated staff of BCLC has been able to make sure the needs of their client’s remain met.   

“Prior to COVID-19, Blind Children’s Learning Center provided 100 percent of its services in person,” explains President and Executive Director Angie Rowe. “We served over 250 children and their families through various early intervention, early education, and school aged programs through small classroom or 1:1 individual services on site or in home. Within two weeks of Gov. Newsom’s stay-at-home order, we were able to launch all our programs and services virtually. We launched all of our small classrooms as daily Zoom classes and sent weekly packets each Sunday to supplement the online curriculum.”

Blind Children’s Learning Center President & Executive Director Angie Rowe

Rowe has played a major role in BCLC’s quick transition to meet the requirements of the times, providing families with learning kits that include touch and feel books, Braille letter blocks, as well as personalized learning and activity plans to ensure adaptive learning may continue at home. She also spearheads other outreach services, including individual therapy sessions, direction/coaching from teachers, and more. 

“We also launched a HIPAA-compliant tele-health platform to provide all our 1:1 services (Occupational Therapy, Speech Therapy, Infant Stim, Physical Therapy). This critical pivot allowed us to continue to serve and engage with over 85 percent of our children and their families,” Rowe continues. “We have delivered over 3,000 hours of online instruction and tele-health sessions. COVID required BCLC, like the students we serve, to persevere past what we thought were insurmountable obstacles to change how our services are delivered. We have returned to a hybrid model as of May 11th and discuss each family’s preference for face to face or virtual services.”

While their ability to help despite modern obstacles has been impressive, the disruption to their normal programming has presented challenges. 

“For our early intervention programs, it has been more difficult to identify infants and toddlers with needs because assessments are down,” shares Rowe. “To overcome this, we are finding creative ways to screen for children with disabilities including visual impairments.”

Not one to be deterred by a challenge, Rowe and her dedicated team have found ways to continue to serve all who need them.

For their school-aged student population, learning has been online since mid-March. For some, the online platform can be less than ideal. 

“As time goes on we are finding that this modality for children with visual impairments does have limitations,” discloses BCLC’s director. “With that, we are finding creative ways to engage and serve these students and look forward to announcing some initiatives to work with population 1:1, safely adhering to all public health and safety mandates and recommendations. Stay tuned for announcements about these exciting programs!”

(Courtesy of Blind Children’s Learning Center)

Nonprofits largely depend on fundraising efforts to help make their programming happen. With events off the table for what looks like the remainder of the year, what changes have BCLC made to their fundraising efforts to help meet their goals?

“With special events, we understand that there is no guarantee to hold them. However, we are pursuing creative opportunities to hold both virtual fundraisers and in-person events with significant adjustments to uphold all public health guidelines and recommendations,” answers Rowe. “For instance, we are excited to announce our annual Frank Villalobos Golf Tournament at Aliso Viejo Country Club on October 19th. Our guests will tee off in small groups with safety and hygiene protocols in place to maintain a safe environment to raise crucial funds for our families. There will also be opportunities for virtual participation in events as well to meet people in the space where they are most comfortable.”

“We are finding that in a pandemic, sharing stories of hope and perseverance that we witness through our work is a meaningful and important engagement opportunity for our donors and community members,” she continues. “If you or your business would like to hear inspirational stories and more about what BCLC does, we would be happy to hold a Virtual Town Hall for your business or invite you to participate in one that we host!”

(Courtesy of Blind Children’s Learning Center)

BCLC has been collaborating with other agencies, offering pro bono consultation to other nonprofits that are interested in creating virtual funding activities but need help with social media and community outreach. 

“We are taking time to work with other agencies and organizations to assist with their questions and needs and are offering our campus as well. We hope that this spirit of generosity of collaboration is paid forward,” inspires Rowe.

They have also expanded their services to their families who need resources for housing and food. 

What does the rest of 2020 have in store for Blind Children’s Learning Center? 

“As we are hitting our stride in providing services through tele-health and other online modalities, we are building our operational and organizational capacity in order to expand our reach and to holistically meet the needs of children with visual impairments and other disabilities and the families raising them,” explains the organization. 

Did you know that 80 percent of early learning is typically driven by vision and that most children with visual impairments have other disabilities? This is why BCLC invests so heavily in early intervention. Their adaptive services have been enriching lives since 1962.

Their ability to continue this important work depends on donations from the community. You may help support their families by participating in or sponsoring their golf tournament, or donating online. Donations are accepted and golf tournament information is available at www.blindkids.org. 

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