Making a Difference One Student at a Time

What makes The Hadley School for the Blind so unique? Some might say it's the fact that we are teaching braille and other critical subjects at a distance to people who are blind or visually impaired around the world. Others would say it's the personalized, one-on-one instruction you get from dedicated faculty members even though they aren't right there with you. We think it's a little of both--and then some.

The Power of Distance Education

Distance education itself is not new. In fact, when The Hadley School for the Blind was founded in 1920, it was done so as a correspondence school. It was "braille by mail" and it was an immediate success. These days, not only has the term "distance education" caught on, but many have found it to be an increasingly affordable and convenient alternative to traditional classroom education. There is also a particular demand for Hadley's programs, as the number of blind premature infants, newly blinded veterans and seniors with age-related vision loss continues to increase. Today, Hadley is the largest provider of distance education for people who are blind and visually impaired, their families and blindness service providers, serving more than 10,000 students in more than 100 countries each year.

Addressing the Crisis in Braille Literacy

Hadley is also the leading educator of braille, building on our history and providing the highest quality instruction to both visually impaired students and sighted teachers and professionals. In doing so, Hadley is addressing the decline in braille literacy head on and proving that teaching braille at a distance is not only doable but incredibly successful.

Responding to Student Needs

We are responding to the way our students learn by continually evaluating our curriculum, expanding and updating courses, taking advantage of new technologies such as the Internet and Digital Talking Book formats to deliver our courses faster and more efficiently and by providing "just-in-time" training on the most relevant and sought after topics by our students.

Providing Lifelong Learning

Hadley students come to us at all stages of life, and for all sorts of reasons. There's the mother who wants to help advocate for her child who is visually impaired and ready to go off to school. And the man whose was recently diagnosed with macular degeneration and needs help in remaining independent and safe in his home. Or the teacher who suddenly found herself with several blind students and no proper training. And then the 50-year-old who never finished high school because the special education requirements at that time did not provide enough support to help him succeed. No matter what the situation, we strive to offer the most positive educational experience possible.

Fulfilling Our Mission

Hadley's mission to provide independence and lifelong learning cannot be achieved, however, without securing additional financial resources. On average, Hadley incurs operating expenses of $6 million annually to maintain the quality of its current staff, courses and services. Yet, we recognize the need to provide more programs to our students and the increasing cost of maintaining our standard of excellence. Hadley's current endowment covers approximately two-thirds of the school's annual operating costs, with the remaining one-third coming from private, corporate and foundation support.

How You Can Make a Difference

By making an outright donation, a gift to our endowment, a life income plan or by including The Hadley School for the Blind in your estate, you can help serve those who turn to Hadley each year for assistance in adjusting to vision loss and remaining independent and productive members of our society.

There are several ways you can make a gift--and make a difference. Examples include:

• A gift of cash or securities
• A gift in memory or in honor of a loved one
• A bequest through your will
• A planned gift, such as a gift annuity

If you would like to talk to us about how you can have a direct impact on our students' lives, please call 800-323-4238 and ask for the Development Department. Your call will be confidential and completely without obligation. Thank you for your interest and for your support.