“About a year ago we had a gentleman stop into our agency looking for volunteer opportunities. He is an educated adult who has a degree in economics. He lives in the Elm Grove area of Wheeling with his wife. He is both visually impaired and hearing impaired. He worked many years in the field of computer engineering. He came to see us because he was losing his sight due to macular degeneration. This is the most common eye disorder in the aging population.
He was frustrated because he was used to being very productive and felt with his disability he was no longer very productive. He wanted to know if we could use a volunteer and how he could help. We are always looking for new volunteers so it was decided he could help in our workshop one day a week. He enjoys woodworking and stated here helping to repair chairs that needed caned.
We were very blessed to have him as a volunteer. He quickly stepped up to support fundraisers and whatever needs arose in the workshop. We thought he would be a great addition to our staff and offered him a job. He agreed to take it but only wanted to work one day a week.
In the past six months he has helped us move forward with our new project of refilling the fire extinguishers. We had a few employees who were trained for the project who later resigned. This left us in a difficult situation because visually impaired people who want to work are hard to find. However, he agreed to work two or three days a week, as needed, to help get the project running.
He has taken the lead and is doing an exceptional job. He spends half of his day working on the caning of chairs and half of his day filling the extinguishers. He is handy with tools and this is a great job for him.
The greatest thing about knowing him is his positive attitude and sunny disposition. He just makes The Seeing Hand a nicer place to be. He now has a purpose and reason to get out of the house. He makes a little money and contributes a valuable skill. He will always have a job with us and we hope he works for many years to come.”
-Seeing Hand Association