Fact Sheet

Columbia Lighthouse for the Blind was founded on May 17, 1900 by Francis R. Cleveland, an attorney from Connecticut, and H.R.W. Miles, a graduate of the Perkins Institute for the Blind, in an effort to establish a presence for the blind community in the nation's Capitol.

For over 100 years, the Columbia Lighthouse for the Blind has been Washington, D.C.'s premiere service provider and resource center for people who are blind or visually impaired. Its outstanding services have helped thousands of people cope with blindness and low vision, helping them to live and work independently and giving them the skills and confidence they need to lead productive and fulfilling lives.

• The Columbia Lighthouse serves more than 5,000 blind and low vision individuals in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area each year. Hundreds of others throughout the nation benefit from the Columbia Lighthouse's assistive technology training services as well.

• The Columbia Lighthouse offers a variety of programs and services to children, working-age adults and senior citizens who are blind or have low vision, including adaptive and assistive technology; professional and career services training; rehabilitation; community outreach; children's services; low vision services; independent living and older adult programs.
  
  
• The Columbia Lighthouse Board of Directors is made up of community leaders from the greater Washington, D.C. area and is led by Chairman John Bouchard.
  
  
• Each year, nearly 200 volunteers donate their time and talent to the Columbia Lighthouse, committing to about 20,000 hours of volunteer time to the organization annually.