Three Years of Covid
It has now been 36 months since we began our unprecedented journey through the pandemic with quick, decisive and heart felt actions. As we look back now, we are so very proud of how far our team, the children and families we serve, and all those that support us have come by first considering each other’s health and safety. Our primary focus always remained our mission and so we continued to support direct intervention families through a blend of either socially distanced in-person visits or virtually through the use of technology to ensure their children continue their educational path. Our industry-standard best practices were delivered with compassion and flexibility to meet every family’s needs. We remained #VIPSstrong!
Because of the great success we achieved during this time, a new blended model of delivery is now actually embraced in both states as a supported practice. We remain hopeful that Covid will continue to diminish with time but do plan to take all that we have learned during this time to ensure the continued protection our VIPS family – staff and clients - alike.
Looking back, we are so very grateful to have benefited from a PPP grant, had extremely generous donor gifts and received specialized pandemic support that has allowed us to emerge on the other side in a healthy financial position, poised for continued growth. We will continue to strive for critical sustainability and your support allows us to make that happen. If you are not a monthly donor--now would be a great time to initiate a monthly gift. The families we serve greatly depend on our teachers and we depend on you to help us in our critical mission to provide early intervention to every child with blindness or low vision.
Thank you for being part of our journey!
Diane Nelson
Executive Director
Current VIPS Program Updates
VIPS early intervention services will continue as directed by our respective state First Steps programs, including tele-intervention and face-to-face visits. VIPS Kids Town is currently business as usual. We continue to monitor guidelines and follow the school system rules.
Please check out our VIPS Facebook page (“Visually Impaired Preschool Services”) for up-to-date information.
Helpful Resources
Illinois Early Intervention Clearinghouse
The Illinois Early Intervention Clearinghouse has put together a packet of selected tip sheets with ideas and information about how infants and toddlers can learn during play and daily routines. We hope these resources help you think about everyday learning moments in the kitchen, or when doing the laundry, even playing on the couch and turn them into opportunities for Everyday Early Intervention with your family.
Packet link
https://eiclearinghouse.org/resources/trying-times/
Illinois Early Intervention Clearinghouse Resource page
https://illinoisearlylearning.org/reslists/trying-times/
Kentucky- Jefferson County
Greater Louisville’s corporate community is coming together in an unprecedented way to create a fund aimed at providing much-needed assistance to those in need in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. One Louisville: COVID-19 Response Fund will provide support for nonprofits and families impacted by COVID-19. The link below contains an updated overview of the Fund including who is eligible for support and how to request it.
Military Family Relief Fund
The Military Family Relief Fund is an emergency fund available to all Veterans experiencing a financial hardship that served on active duty during a national conflict or war time period for at least 12-months and received an honorable or under honorable conditions discharge. The Indiana Department of Veterans Affairs has extended this emergency fund during the COVID-19 outbreak to include all Veterans and their families who have been affected by this national emergency. If you or your parent qualifies for this emergency assistance he/she could be awarded a maximum lifetime grant of $2,500.00 for financial assistance to cover up to 2 months of household needs such as food, utilities, and medical expenses: including extra caregiving services during this time, for grocery delivering, check-ins, socialization visiting, and other assistance.