Photo By GIORGIO VIERA / Red Eye Productions, Inc.
For 95 remarkable years, Miami Lighthouse for the Blind and Visually Impaired has been a beacon of hope, offering education, training, research and vision enhancement to individuals of all ages.
“It’s the oldest private agency in Florida and one of the oldest in the United States,” explains Virginia A. Jacko, president and CEO.
“I came to Miami Lighthouse for the Blind as a vision rehabilitation client in 2001. Since becoming the president and CEO in 2005, I have seen phenomenal growth — in revenue (from approximately $2 million to $14 million in 2023) and in the number of program participants from 500 to 26,000 this past year.”
This success is attributed to Jacko’s extensive experience as a grant writer at Purdue University.
“At that time, I learned that Miami Lighthouse only had one grant, and I knew it needed more,” says Jacko, 82, originally from Wisconsin and now a Miami resident. She began losing her eyesight to eye disease more than 20 years ago but has maintained her independence thanks to her tenacity, ambition and her guide dog, Sama, provided by Guiding Eyes for the Blind in New York.
The 501(c)(3) nonprofit is committed to building skills and abilities, strengthening connections and fostering a rich quality of life for the visually impaired through music education, pre-employment services and programs for children, adults and seniors.
Jacko is responsible for founding programs like the Miami Lighthouse Academy, an Accredited Professional Preschool Learning Environment for students ages 1 through 4. She has also collaborated with Miami-Dade County Public Schools to provide an on-campus adult basic education program, a GED program and English as a Second Language instruction, enabling adults to attend college and pursue careers. A $2 million grant also led to the creation of the Miami Lighthouse Cortical Visual Impairment Collaborative Center, advancing the diagnosis, awareness and treatment of CVI, the leading cause of permanent visual impairment in children.
Looking ahead, Jacko notes, “We’ll also be launching blind soccer for ages 1 through high school within our schools, which we’ll be teaching in the play area. In 2028, the country will introduce blind soccer at the Paralympics.”
Through its programs, services and dedicated instructors, Miami Lighthouse continues to be a source of hope and independence for the blind and visually impaired.
For more information or to support Miami Lighthouse for the Blind and Visually Impaired, call 305-856-2288 or visit miamilighthouse.org.