Development - Home page

  HKNC Newsletter PDF

  HKNC Newsletter text

  Ways to give

  Donate

  Contact us

  HKNC Home page

Authorized by an Act of Congress in 1967, the Helen Keller National Center is the only national vocational rehabilitation training program dedicated exclusively to serving youth and adults who are deaf-blind. This includes individuals who:

• *were born deaf-blind;

• *were born deaf and are now losing their vision;

• *were born blind and are now losing their hearing and;

• *those who were born sighted and hearing and who are now, or already have, lost some or all of both senses. This category is our largest group of potential consumers, including "Baby Boomers" and their aging family members.

Our mission is to enable each person who is deaf-blind to live and work in his or her community of choice. The Center provides these services according to the definition of deaf-blindness in the Helen Keller Act. 

Our residential and vocational training facility is at our headquarters in Sands Point, NY. Here, students receive one-on-one instruction in subjects such as technology, mobility, communication and independent living. Instructors work in partnership with each student to design a program to meet his/her needs, desires, preferences and abilities, with the ultimate goal of assisting them in achieving their own definition of success. We also provide support services throughout the country through a comprehensive system of field services.

Why does the Helen Keller National Center need your help?

Although we rely on federal funding to cover our annual operating budget, many important projects are funded by private philanthropy. The Center depends upon the generosity of individuals, foundations and the corporate community to help support the programs that ultimately make a world of difference in the lives of the individuals we serve.