[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 54 (Thursday, April 26, 2001)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E647]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




    CELEBRATING 50 YEARS OF ADVOCACY AND FELLOWSHIP FOR PEOPLE WITH 
                               BLINDNESS

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. FRANK PALLONE, JR.

                             of new jersey

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, April 26, 2001

  Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I would like to call the attention of my 
colleges to a outstanding organization in the sixth district that has 
been dedicated to promoting fellowship among the blind and visually 
impaired in the community for fifty years.
  In 1951, a small group of about half a dozen people with blindness or 
visual impairment met to form the Monmouth County Association of the 
Blind. That same year, a building at the comer of Belmar Boulevard and 
Allenwood Road was purchased to serve as the home base of operations 
and named the Clubhouse of the Association. Twenty years later, in 
1971, the Association was formally incorporated and recently received 
non-profit status.
  The Association has several goals all of which are interconnected: to 
bring together the blind and visually impaired adult residents of the 
county to work, to promote equity within our society for the blind or 
visually impaired, to heighten awareness of legislative action 
pertaining to blindness or visual impairments, and to create a sense of 
community and increase sociability among members.
  Currently, the Association offers training in computer skills and 
also provides Braille lessons, training in daily living skills, and 
self help discussion sessions, in addition to educational and 
informational sessions on services and programs available to members. 
To help foster this, the Association works in tandem with the New 
Jersey Commission for the Blind, along with other New Jersey 
organizations in the field of blindness.
  During the past fifty years, the Monmouth County Association for the 
Blind has helped hundreds of people with blindness or visual impairment 
to enjoy a higher standard of living. The Association has also played a 
key role in improving the understanding of the public on treating and 
helping those who are blind or visually impaired in a positive and 
helpful manner. As the senior population swells, we will continue to 
see an increasing amount of blind or visually impaired seniors, 
bringing new challenges. Thankfully, the Monmouth County Association 
for the Blind seems well prepared.
  It is my sincere hope that my colleges will join me in honoring the 
Monmouth County Association for the Blind for their service to the 
blind, the visually impaired, and the general public.

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