Partner

Description of Partnership

Goodwill Industries

Multi-faceted partnership of utilizing IT services of GW, promoting of each agency programs, sharing clients that are working but needing both Goodwill and VIP services simultaneously.

Community Cooperative Ministries

Meals on Wheels utilizes our campus as a depot site, we provide monitoring of food items between delivery and pickup. Homeless Services clients are mutually referred for services.  Created new partnership and service system with Lions Club of Bonita, CCMI, and VIP Center. 

 Literacy Volunteers of Lee

Provide adaptive technology equipment, training, and ideas to their providers in their centers that impacts visually impaired clients of both agencies. 

Goodwheels

Team up on addressing Legislative issues impacting the disabled.  Partnered to address special needs of a blind dual organ transplant through surgery and full recovery

Lions Club of Bonita Springs

Established a partnership/system of service with CCMI clients.  Clients seen by CCMI get free eye glasses and general exams via the Lions Club. Severe to blind clients are subsequently referred to VIP.  

Lions Clubs of
N Ft Myers & Cape Coral

These clubs partnered with VIP and Goodwheels to save the life of a blind, dual organ transplant resident of Cape Coral.

Lions Clubs of, S Ft Myers, Fort Myers, Sanibel/Captiva & Pine Island

Building referral system for clients who have a need for eye glasses and/or general exams via the Lions Clubs.  Severe to blind clients are subsequently referred to VIP.  

Talking Books of Lee County Library

The VIP teaches clients how to use the services of Talking Books Library.

Lee County Sheriff Office

LCSO provides training to clients (teens and adults about internet and physical safety) as we provide training to officers about dealing with visually impaired.  A detective with LCSO is a graduate of the VIP program. 

Southwest Florida Addiction Services

VIP trains SWAFAS staff how to help visually impaired teens with counseling insight, specialized equipment, and peer instruction so that clients can be successful in the SWFAS program.

Area Agency on Aging

AAA and VIP share in linking services to the elderly in Southwest Florida.

SunTrust Bank

VIP trains branch offices of Sun Trust Bank in money identification for their visually impaired clients to promote independence. Sun Trust is developing aNew Client Packet for the Visually Impaired community they service.

Lee Memorial Health System

Clients of the VIP created artwork that is displayed throughout the 5 hospital system.   Annually, awards are given by the Art Program of Lee Memorial for disabled artists.  VIP clients have been in the final awards for the past three years.

Lee Memorial Rehabilitation Center

Teaching the Rehab staff ways to more effectively work with visually impaired clients is underway as our staff learn more about cardiac and pulmonary rehabilitation.  

Lee County School District

VIP has partnered with Lee County Schools’ Vision Teachers to improve services to visually impaired/blind students ages 14 - graduation.  Through our partnership, we have hosted Open Houses and provided the teachers with information regarding our services. Our combined goal is to assure that all visually impaired/blind students in Lee County Schools receive optimum training and rehabilitation to meet their level of independence.

Boys Scouts of America

VIP supports and sponsors a Boy Scouts of America Troop in North Fort Myers; we provide a place for their weekly meetings. 

Deaf Service Center

We partner with DSC in rehabilitating individuals with combined hearing and sight loss.

American Red Cross

VIP provides Braille services to Lee County Red Cross.  VIP teams up with the Red Cross in offering services to visually impaired/blind victims of disasters.  Also, VIP provides Santa Clause at their annual Christmas event where families impacted by disaster are given a celebration.

LeeTran

Without Lee Tran, VIP would not be able to utilize the training center in N Ft. Myers   VIP partners with Lee Tran to secure adequate transportation for the visually impaired and all other disabilities, in Lee County.

Florida Gulf Coast University

We have partnered with FGCU on several studies/projects: Best Practice for Infants and Children with Visual Impairments Study; Succeeding in College with a Visual Impairment Study and a PR & Marketing Study of the VIP Web Site and overhaul.

Edison State College

VIP partners with the Vision Technology program partnering to branch the technical skills of students to agency based services.

Lee County Supervisor of Elections

The Supervisor of Elections office has partnered with VIP to create a video for election pollsters to use to accommodate the visually impaired voters by use of a grant obtained.  The Lee County Sheriff Office will partner with us in creating this video.

Lee County Visitor and Convention Bureau

The Visitor and Convention Bureau, on their web site, offers our services to their clientele who visit southwest Florida. 

Workforce Council of SW Florida

Clients are referred between the agencies with the goal of employment of the visually impaired and the general population of Lee County.          

Lee County Emergency Management

EO Chas asked that we be the conduit of information about EM services to the blind and visually impaired community, especially in the recovery process from a disaster.

Hope Hospice

VIP partnered with Hope Hospice to provide high powered magnification devices so their visually impaired clients can utilize remaining sight in the last stage of their lives.

Area Eye Professionals

We partner with all area Ophthalmologists and Optometrists in providing rehabilitation services for their patients.

Area Businesses

We provide customer service training to area businesses for their visually impaired clients/customers.

Assisted Living Facilities

We provide training to ALF staff on how to work with their residents who are visually impaired.

United Way 211

We work with all United Way agencies in referring clients to one another. We view our clients in a holistic manner and give them information they need to acquire services from other agencies.

Monday-Thursday

Monday

Recreation and Leisure
Painting Class:
9:30-11:30
12:30-2:30

Arts & Crafts
12:30-2:30

Music Enrichment
2:30-4:30

Tuesday

Transition Students
2:30-5:30

Wednesday

Arts & Crafts-Painting
12:30-2:30

Thursday

Arts & Crafts-Painting
12:30-2:30

Transition Students
2:30-3:30

Saturday

Social
Held 2nd Saturday of each month

Transition Students
Held 3rd Saturday of each month
10:00-4:00

Transition Students
During school holidays
10:00-5:00