About VIPS Louisville

Before 1985, children who were blind or had low vision in Kentucky & Southern Indiana had no access to early intervention services for their vision-specific needs. That all changed when a group of concerned citizens, led by Sharon Bensinger, formed the idea to start VIPS. Mrs. Bensinger had no personal connection to anyone who was blind, other than being employed by American Printing House for the Blind Research Department. However, it was in that job that she took countless numbers of phone calls from desperate parents looking for services for their child with blindness

With $20,000 in startup grants from WHAS Crusade for Children and Metro United Way, VIPS was born! Mrs. Bensinger was the first employee and began with a caseload of 14 families. Since that time, VIPS has grown into an impactful agency, serving hundreds of families a year across two states, with office locations in Louisville, Lexington, and Indianapolis. VIPS Louisville operates Kentucky’s only full-time preschool for children with visual impairments, a nationally accredited program, and Jefferson County, KY’s first five-star rated child care facility.