The Lavelle Fund for the Blind Awards a Transformative $75,000 Grant to Launch the Big Data Project Phase Two

VisionServe Alliance is honored to announce receipt of a $75,000 grant award from the Lavelle Fund for the Blind to help launch Phase Two of the Big Data Project. This historic project focuses on working-age adults (age 18-64) who are blind or visually impaired.

“Lavelle Fund for the Blind once again is demonstrating its support for the collection of data about people who are blind or visually impaired in the US,” said Lee Nasehi, President and CEO of VisionServe Alliance. “Lavelle’s support of Phase One of the Big Data Project for adults aged 65+ was crucial to its success. The grant award for this project’s next phase is equally critical.”

The Aging and Vision Loss National Coalition (AVLNC) program of VisionServe Alliance initiated the Big Data Project. This translational research effort produced the first-ever national report, and individual state reports elucidating the prevalence of blindness and vision loss among adults aged 65+. State reports also provide a wealth of data presented on a county-by-county basis. The tremendous success of the initial phase of this project has led to the design and launch of Phase Two.

“Phase Two of the Big Data Project will continue to address the lack of real data to support decades of anecdotal evidence in the field of vision rehabilitation,” said Susan Olivo, Executive Director and CEO of the Lavelle Fund for the Blind. 

“This ground-breaking research lays the foundation upon which programs and services can be built to positively impact the lives of adults and older adults with blindness and vision loss across the nation. We are pleased to partner with VisionServe Alliance to help build this foundation.”

For more information, to access Phase One Big Data Reports, or to participate in Phase Two of the Big Data Project, contact lmurphy@visionservealliance.org