Our Kids Will Thrive

Every child deserves the same opportunities to thrive. But for children living with blindness or low vision, insufficient or nonexistent supports for families mean far too many are at risk of lifetimes of lost potential.

Together, we can change that – and create a future in which children who are blind or partially sighted are empowered with limitless possibility. We believe that children living with blindness or low vision deserve better.

With your support, we are transforming the ways in which families seek and access support while advocating for equity and access in education and health care.

CNIB has launched the largest campaign in our history supporting youth to raise $25M ensuring all children who are blind or partially sighted can enjoy the same opportunities and quality of life as their sighted peers. $2,600 raised, for example, can ensure that a child can enjoy the excitement and tradition of summer camp at Lake Joe, our fully accessible waterfront facility.

The CNIB Kids Campaign has three main focus areas:

Focus Area 1: Providing Life Skills & Camp Programs
CNIB provides an opportunity for limitless possibilities, providing the knowledge, skills, and confidence to smash barriers in pursuit of the life clients choose. Some of the Programs supporting CNIB Kids include CNIB Buddy Dog Camp, braille & literacy sessions, scholarships, and programming at CNIB Lake Joe.

Focus Area 2: Advocacy & Family Support
CNIB Kids will significantly increase support through two new resources: Family Guide and a national support group and resource website. CNIB Kids will also create new roles focused on advocating for accessible and inclusive environments for children and youth.

Focus Area 3: Capital Project - West Coast Camp
CNIB has been proud to offer summer camp opportunities for thousands of children with sight loss for than 60 years. CNIB will expand the CNIB Lake Joe experience, the only fully accessible camp in the country, to an additional location in Western Canada.

"I never dreamed about my future. I was never able to attend any kind of opportunity to help myself grow and dream and believe in myself or get connected with any organizations that could help me. CNIB is the place that has made me begin to believe that I can dream… and that perhaps some of my dreams could be fulfilled in the future. I found freedom to dream" - Anonymous, CNIB Lake Joe participant.

Intended impact:

Our goal is to create a future in which children with sight loss and their families feel supported, nurtured, and included through every stage of life, and have access to the tools, opportunities, and resources they need to thrive.

•Parents have improved access to information about the resources available to them and their children, and children have improved access to opportunities, equal to their sighted peers.
•Canadian children universally have their eyes screened before entering school.
•All provinces adopt National Standards of Education for students with sight loss, and all students nationwide are actively learning about sight loss in school.

Give parents and children the support they need to excel in and out of the classroom.

Your support will help bring The Way Forward to life.

Every dollar can make a difference.