VISIONS Services For the Blind & Visually Impaired hosts “Holiday Voices For VISIONS” Virtual Awards Dec. 15

With the goal of helping Staten Island residents “see what is possible,” the non-for-profit VISIONS Services for the Blind and Visually Impaired, has planted its roots firmly in the borough of Staten Island.

The organization is set to host its second borough community awards Dec. 15 via Facebook.

“Holiday Voices for VISIONS” will not only honor some of Staten Island’s most outstanding leaders, but it will feature four talented vocalists, Thomas Folderauer (Wagner College), Evan Hardan (Monsignor Farrell High School), Anthony Nardulli (Sayerville War Memorial High School), and Nicole Sutherland (St. John’s University), who’ll lend their talents by performing iconic holiday tunes during the virtual ceremony.

ABOUT VISIONS SERVICES FOR THE BLIND AND VISUALLY IMPAIRED

Founded in 1926, VISIONS is a 94- year old vision rehabilitation and social service organization that targets services for legally blind and totally blind low-income, frail, multi-disabled and/or limited English speaking persons and new immigrants.

VISIONS serves every neighborhood of New York City, Long Island, and Westchester — with services provided free of charge.

Some VISIONS programs include in-home and community training for legally blind persons of all ages.

The agency also focuses on supporting families of blind individuals through training and support for unpaid caregivers.

In addition, VISIONS focuses on employment. Stigmas associated with misconceptions about the capabilities of the blind and visually impaired job seeker make this population difficult to employ.

VISIONS works to diminish stereotypes by offering work readiness and job placement services. The results speak for themselves as VISIONS is No. 1 in job placements of legally blind New Yorkers.

In October 2018, VISIONS recruited Holly Bonner, founder of Blind Motherhood (www.blindmotherhood.com) and a 2017 Advance Woman of Achievement, to serve as its Staten Island borough coordinator.

Bonner was tasked with formulating an advisory board of borough residents to help increase awareness about VISIONS services and to raise funds to support the organization’s free services on Staten Island.

COMMUNITY AWARD WINNERS

In recognition of their outstanding contributions with the annual Beeping Egg Hunt at the COMMONS Café, Nicole Doz and Karyn Turner will receive the VISIONS Advocacy Award.

Doz is a Brooklyn College grad, a City Department of Sanitation staffer and a two-time Miss America Organization titleholder, crowned both Miss Staten Island 2018 and Miss Big Apple 2019.

Combining her love for her city and her passion for community service, she is involved with numerous charity organizations including VISIONS/Services for the Blind and Visually Impaired where she provides her time and talent at the annual Beeping Egg Hunt. She also volunteers to assist both blind and sighted children in the hunt and often escorts the Easter Bunny around the grounds to welcome families in attendance.

Karyn is the founder and director of Kaleidoscope Mode Inc., a community-based non-for-profit that aims to break barriers, through producing pageants and making dreams come true. She created both the Miss Black Staten Island and Miss Special Staten Island beauty pageants in the borough.

Miss Special Staten Island focuses specifically on providing young women with various disabilities the opportunity to showcase their talents, to feel beautiful, and have the opportunity for civic engagement. She’s made it her mission to make the event all-inclusive, integrating pageant judges who identify “disabled” as part of the event.

Turner escorts winners to community events to represent the organization and encourages others to participate. Miss Special Staten Island contestants and winners make a yearly appearance at the Staten Island Beeping Egg Hunt.

Through a generous grant from the Staten Island Foundation, VISIONS created the borough’s first North Shore Low Vision Clinic, where children ages 5 to 18 are provided with a comprehensive eye exam conducted by licensed optometrists and then fitted for frames and lenses. In 2019, VISIONS conducted two low vision clinics where over 350 children were examined.

Five dedicated volunteers — including four eye care professionals — from the organization’s North Shore Low Vision Clinic program will be honored with the VISIONS Civic Engagement Award: Dr. Bryan Wolysnki, Dr. Vincente Calderon, Dr. Mario Calderon, Dr. Jan Weitz, and pediatric occupational therapist, Saira Weitz.

Dr. Wolynski has over 30 years experience in optometry. He began as an optician, and later become an optometrist after graduating from the New England College of Optometry.

During the first half of his career he worked for a private family practice in New York City. In time he joined the Florida Heiken Children’s Vision Program, a division of the Miami Lighthouse and spent three years providing mobile eye care to financially underprivileged children throughout the state. While practicing low vision he found his passion for not only helping others, but empowering individuals who were blind or visually impaired through technology. He consults for an Israeli tech company called OrCam Technologies, which uses the power of artificial intelligence to assist people with vision loss.

Dr. Vincente Calderón is one of only a handful of native fluent Spanish speaking optometrists practicing in New York. He treats patients in all five boroughs and surrounding counties. After working in a surgical ophthalmology practice for several years, he now operates his house call eye doctor practice, Aspire Health Solutions. In addition to full scope eye care, he’s a pioneering provider of intense pulsed light (IPL) treatment for ocular conditions like blepharitis and dry eye. Aspire Health Solutions (www.AspireHS.com) specializes in in-home eye care for diabetics, and primary eye care for senior and mobility challenged patients.

Vincente’s brother, Mario Calderón, is an entrepreneur, entertainer and optician whose journey began as a collegiate wrestler and biology major at Hofstra University. He lived in Los Angeles where he earned credits as a commercial actor, backup dancer for Ricky Martin, and television host. While on a mission trip to the Dominican Republic, an interaction with a 12 year-old nearsighted tween, who’d never worn glasses, gave Mario the spark for his next stage in life. He partnered with his brother Dr. Vincente Calderón and they began assisting the underserved in NYC by visiting senior patients in their homes.

Dr. Jan and Saira Weitz both volunteered during VISIONS screenings. Jan did examinations while his wife, Saira, helped manage patient charts. Dr. Weitz, who’s practicing optometry since 2009, attended Hofstra University for his undergraduate education and then optometry school in Bayamon, Puerto Rico at Inter American University School of Optometry. He’s a partner at Paskowski & Weitz Optometry, Brooklyn and on staff at Verrazano Nursing Home in Tompkinsville and Hopkins Rehabilitation Center in Downtown Brooklyn.

Saira is a pediatric occupational therapist for the City Department of Education. She attended Binghamton University for her undergraduate degree and then SUNY Downstate for a master’s in occupational therapy. She provides school based occupational therapy for children in preschool through high school. Saira and Jan welcomed their first son, Jesse in March.

Victoria Priola will receive the VISIONS Excellence in Journalism Award in recognition of her educational and inclusive coverage of stories relating to the blind and disabled community. A reporter with the Staten Island Advance/SILive.com she covers the beat of arts and entertainment through multimedia platforms. During her four years with the Advance she has profiled musicians, artists, filmmakers, local businesses and theater production companies.

She produces a social media-based video series including “Weekend Alert,” “It’s New” and “Best of Staten Island,” highlighting local events and restaurants across the borough and has covered the Beeping Egg Hunt since 2018. In 2018, she profiled Jeremey Seacott, the first Staten Islander to receive a free prosthetic from Assembly 3D Printing of Stapleton. Jeremey was born without a right forearm and Victoria documented him riding a bike for the first time with his prosthetic. She also covered the first-ever Miss Special Staten Island and Richmond County Pageant. A College of Staten Island grad, she was recently accepted into Baruch College Weissman School of Art and Sciences where she’ll pursue her master’s degree.

For more information on how to become a member of the VISIONS Staten Island Advisory Board, or to request a presentation for your school or business relating to vision loss and VISIONS services, contact Holly Bonner, SI Borough Coordinator, at hbonner@visionsvcb.org.