Statements
Mission
Blind Early Services TN ensures that families are empowered and equipped through specialized programs of support to provide young children who are blind or visually impaired their absolute BEST start.
Background
Alison and Stacy, like many parents of children with blindness, fell unknowingly and unprepared into the world of visual impairment after each had a son born with blindness in the metropolitan area of Nashville, TN. In fact, their sons were the first persons with blindness they had met! Both moms assumed that finding a Teacher of the Visually Impaired (TVI) to provide essential services and support would be simple after having successfully navigated complex medical procedures and diagnoses in their son's short lives, but in fact, it was anything but simple.
Told that services for children with blindness under age 3simply weren't available, both moms pushed back knowing their son's rights under IDEA. Despite being in a very emotional time in life, and downright grieving over a perceived loss, each mom somehow separately and diligently advocated. Then, six long months after first asking for services, each family was finally granted services through a temporary contract that wouldn't unfortunately wouldn't extend to other families like theirs. Alison and Stacy eventually connected and often commiserated, not over their newfound joy in their amazing sons, but over the sheer difficulty they faced finding accessible early intervention services. Each connected with an organization one state away that had robust support for families of children with blindness and they asked themselves "why are these services not available in TN?"
Alison and Stacy took a long hard look at the challenges they had faced
and began to see opportunities to change that landscape so that families like theirs wouldn't face the same difficulty. In 2020 they founded Blind Early Services TN (called "BEST" for short) and officially became known as "two moms on a mission."
Impact
Our service impact since 2020:
500 Families
30 Counties
40 "Little Rooms" Delivered
35 Podcast Episodes
....and counting!
Needs
Our fundraising goal for this year is $410,000.00 to support our ongoing services!
Service Categories |
|
| Primary Category: | Human Services - Blind/Visually Impaired Centers, Services |
| Secondary Category: | Education - Preschools |
| Tertiary Category: | - |
Areas Served
| TN - Davidson |
| TN - Sumner |
| TN - Robertson |
| TN - Williamson |
| Statewide |
