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MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT
Welcome to the Conklin Davis Center’s new website!
You are about to enjoy heart-warming, personal stories shared by men, women, teens, and children who would love to meet you! While perusing our website provides an overview of our exciting plans for the future, witnessing the love, respect, and compassion between our staff and clients is a truly memorable experience. Please consider this an open invitation to be my guest for a tour.
As CEO, I am exceedingly proud of the work we do every day that changes lives of blind people in our community, across the “Sunshine State”, and nationwide. Our success is possible because of the expertise, talents and care of our dedicated staff. They are an unstoppable team when it comes to extending exemplary services to our clients. They are committed to being there for the life of our clients. Whatever it takes.
CDCVI is also fortunate to benefit from the leadership and support of its stakeholders, board of directors, and generous supporters who share our passion. This was especially apparent in 2023 when they became participants in our strategic planning initiative. The strategic imperatives you’ll read about represent the ideas and dreams shared by these loyal participants and our own CDCVI team.
So much has happened since the Spring of 2020 when we opened the doors to our newly merged organization. At that moment, a new era began for blind and visually impaired people. Now is the time to move boldly forward into a new, bright future. You are about to learn how we will launch new employment programs for our clients, how we will remove barriers to our clients finding safe and affordable housing, how we will creatively address the needs of the “whole blind person” with enrichment programs such as art, exercise, travel, and music; and much more.
Reflecting on music, I recall how the famous violinist, Itzchak Perlman, in the middle of a performance at Lincoln Center had one of four strings suddenly pop. Instead of stopping the concert, he played on 3 strings like no one ever played before. When questioned by the media afterward, his comments were, “sometimes in life you have to make the music with the strings you have left”.
That is what happens at CDCVI. We help blind people make the music of life with what they have remaining. We have had, and continue to have, so many successes! Adults with vision loss in all walks of life are getting back to work or enjoying retirement. Teens are going on to higher education and children are learning the skills to become successful in school. Through our programs and initiatives, we elevate the lives of all those who are a part of the blind and visually impaired community that we serve.
Our entire CDCVI team and I thank our many partners, volunteers, supporters and clients for the inspiration you bring. You ignite the light. You help us change lives every day. Thank you! With your ongoing support, we will continue to pass the torch and share the light.
Ronee David
President/CEO
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