Miami Lighthouse

🎥 One Game, One Future Clinic by The FIFA World Cup 2026™ Miami Host Committee at Miami Lighthouse for the Blind – a grant activation event 🕶️⚽ #BlindSoccer @FWC26Miami The event began with special presentations by community leaders and members of the Host Committee, followed by a Miami Lighthouse Academy student march out to our campus mini pitch singing “This Little Light of Mine”, culminating in a blind soccer skill demonstration by Academy early learners and early elementary students. An impressive display of talent, our @USABA-credentialed blind soccer coaches led Miami Lighthouse Academy students in demonstrating their blind soccer skills, all using "ear-foot coordination". Blind soccer is a Paralympic sport where players wear blinders so they all cannot see equally, and the ball, which rattles, is located by sound 👂. Miami Lighthouse Blind Soccer launched in 2025 with funding from a @childrenstrust Innovation Grant to create the first and only blind soccer curriculum for early learners ages 1 to 4. Today, we are proud to have taught the skills of blind soccer to over 100 children and young adults! 👏 Our Senior Technology instructor Oseas De Leon, started playing soccer when he was blinded at age three, and now he is a member of the @usablindsoccer Men's national team, currently preparing for their upcoming game in England. It warms our hearts knowing that some day, these children too could be competing in the Paralympics, following Oseas's example 🫶. 🙏 We thank The Children's Trust, the FIFA World Cup 2026™ Miami Host Committee, as well as special guest speakers such as Rodney Barreto, Scott Richey, James Haj, Thomas Abraham, and Commissioner Rolando Escalona for supporting our venerable mission. Together, we prove it's possible to see without sight!™ 💙 #MiamiLighthouse @JamesRHaj1 @commescalona @ARAFCHAIRMAN #CommunityLeaders #MiamiLeaders #Inclusivity

One Game, One Future Clinic 🕶️⚽ The FIFA World Cup 2026™ Miami Host Committee grant activation event took place on our campus mini pitch with community leaders celebrating and observing the team sport of blind soccer. The event began with special presentations by community leaders and members of the Host Committee, followed by a Miami Lighthouse Academy student march out to the pitch singing “This Little Light of Mine”, culminating in a blind soccer skill demonstration by Academy early learners and early elementary students. It was an impressive display of talent with our USABA-credentialed blind soccer coaches leading our Academy students to demonstrate their blind soccer skills, all using "ear-foot coordination". Blind soccer is a Paralympic sport, where players wear blinders so they all cannot see equally, and the ball, which rattles, is located by sound 👂. Miami Lighthouse Blind Soccer launched in 2025 with funding from a Children's Trust Innovation Grant to create the first and only blind soccer curriculum for early learners ages 1 to 4. Today, we are proud to have taught the skills of blind soccer to over 100 children and young adults. Our Senior Technology instructor Oseas De Leon, started playing soccer when he was blinded at age three, and now he is a member of the USABA Blind Soccer national team, currently preparing for their upcoming game in England. It warms our hearts knowing that some day, these children too could be competing in the Paralympics, following Oseas's example. We thank The Children's Trust, the FIFA World Cup 2026™ Miami Host Committee, as well as special guests such as Rodney Barreto, Scott Richey, James Haj, Thomas Abraham, and Commissioner Rolando Escalona for supporting our venerable mission. Together, we prove it's possible to see without sight!™ 💙 #MiamiLighthouse #BlindSoccer @USABA @childrenstrust @FWC26Miami @FIFAWorldCup @JamesRHaj1 @commescalona @ARAFCHAIRMAN #CommunityLeaders #MiamiLeaders #Inclusivity #SupporttheBlind ALT: A video slideshow with 60 photos from the One Game, One Future Clinic, a FIFA World Cup 2026™ Miami Host Committee grant activation event that took place on the Miami Lighthouse campus mini pitch, with group photos, action shots of students playing soccer, as well as photos indoors of Miami Lighthouse President & CEO and guest speakers at a podium and children performing a song with a live guitar.

We were honored to stand with the FIFA World Cup 2026™ Miami Host Committee @FWC26Miami and @Miamilighthouse for the Blind, to expand adaptive soccer for blind and visually impaired youth, creating access, confidence, and connection through sport. Congratulations to Miami Lighthouse Blind Soccer on this exciting next chapter. #WeAreTCT #MiamiLightHouseForTheBlind #FIFAWorldCup2026

Proud to join the FIFA World Cup 2026™ Miami Host Committee @FWC26Miami and @Miamilighthouse for the Blind and Visually Impaired to celebrate the expansion of Blind Soccer in Miami-Dade. More youth will now have access to soccer, teamwork, and coaching. Congratulations to the Miami Lighthouse Blind on this milestone for inclusion in sports.

Our Florida Heiken Children's Vision Program mobile eyecare unit recently visited Cristo Rey Miami High School in North Miami to provide free eye exams and prescription glasses to students where needed; and they certainly were needed, as 82 percent of the students who received a dilated eye exam from us ended up receiving prescription glasses from us as well!👓👓👓 Malikah Auguste, a ninth-grade student at Cristo Rey and an intern with Miami Lighthouse was one of the students to receive a free eye exam and new glasses through the Heiken program, and she saw firsthand the impact the visit Heiken had on her classmates— “Something as simple as getting a pair of glasses can boost a student’s confidence so much. Watching it happen to my own classmates at Cristo Rey made it even more meaningful for me. Some students didn’t even know they needed glasses, and now they’re excited to see how this will help them in class and in their everyday lives. It feels good to be part of an organization I truly admire and to bring that kind of impact to my own school community." 👏 Read more about Heiken's visit to Cristo Rey Miami High in the Miami Herald here ➜ miamilighthouse.org/Docs/Miami-Her… Together, we prove it's possible to see without sight!™ 💙 With a mission to prevent blindness, our Florida Heiken Children's Vision Program provides free eye exams and prescription glasses where needed to financially disadvantaged students in Pre-K through 12th grade all throughout Florida. Learn more about the Florida Heiken Children's Vision Program ➜ FloridaHeiken.org The Florida Heiken Children's Vision Program is made possible with support from The Children's Trust, the Florida Department of Health (DOH), Children's Services Council of Broward County, Lions Clubs International Foundation, Baptist Health Foundation, AD Henderson Foundation, Quantum Foundation, The Batchelor Family Foundation, The Dunspaugh-Dalton Foundation, Collier Community Foundation, Ocean Reef Community Foundation, and other crucial private foundations and individual donors. 👁️🙏 @childrenstrust @CSCBroward @HealthyFla @BaptistHealthSF @lionsclubs @CristoReyMia #ChildrensEyeHealth #CommunityLeaders #MiamiLighthouse #FloridaHeiken #EyeExams ALT: A photo slideshow featuring images of students receiving eye exams and picking out their new prescription glasses courtesy of the Florida Heiken Children's Vision Program.

Miami Lighthouse for the Blind is excited to announce that we have been selected to receive a $25,000 grant award from The Boca Raton Foundation for Charitable Giving! 🥳 We thank Jaqueline Incera for nominating Miami Lighthouse for this opportunity! Jaqueline is the mother of Diandre, an alumnus from our Pre-Employment Transition Program who is now a junior in college and studying to apply for law school. 👏 Our Pre-Employment Transition Services Program welcomes students ages 14-22 to an inclusive program curated with guest speakers, activities, and field trips, to develop their skills to enter the work force or post-secondary education, and to support them in reaching their full potential. We are proud to see Diandre following his dreams, empowered by this program. 💙 We thank Jaqueline, and The Boca Raton Foundation for Charitable Giving, for supporting our venerable mission. Together, we prove it's possible to see without sight™! 👁️ #MiamiLighthouse #ThankYou @TheBocaRaton Learn more about our Pre-Employment program for teens and young adults, here ➜ miamilighthouse.org/TransitionProg… #SupportingtheBlind #CommunityLeaders #MiamiNonProfit

The Miami Lighthouse for the Blind President & CEO Virginia Jacko will be making an appearance during halftime at the Miami HEAT vs. Atlanta Hawks basketball game this Sunday, to receive an NBA Foundation + Miami Heat Grant Award! 🏀 We thank the NBA Foundation and the Miami Heat for supporting our visually impaired community! Together, we prove It's Possible to See Without Sight™! 💙 @NBAFoundation @MiamiHEAT @NBA This grant marks a meaningful partnership fostering positive change in our South Florida community by funding career readiness training for our Pre-Employment Transition Services program, which provides employment skills education to young people ages 14-22 who are blind and visually impaired, preparing them to enter the workforce. 🏆 For more info about our workforce development efforts, visit ➜ miamilighthouse.org/TransitionProg… Read the NBA's grant announcement here ➜ nba.com/news/nba-found… #MiamiLighthouse #SupportingtheBlind #MiamiLeaders #Inclusion #Disability

April is CVI Literacy Awareness Month 👁️📖 Did you know? Cortical Visual Impairment (CVI) is a brain-based vision condition where the eyes may be healthy, but the brain has trouble understanding what they see. CVI often begins early in life and can be caused by a variety of factors. Every child with CVI is unique, and with the right support, many can make meaningful progress in how they use their vision. Early identification and intervention are essential for children with CVI. For example, children with cerebral palsy who experience delays in motor skills like sitting, crawling, or walking can benefit greatly from a timely CVI diagnosis and assessment. 📝 Miami Lighthouse’s Cortical Visual Impairment (CVI) Collaborative Center is Florida’s first-of-its-kind to respond exclusively to CVI in children and babies. It has CVI-endorsed Teachers of the Visually Impaired (TVIs) who provide assessments, interventions, and ongoing support to children with CVI, their families, and therapy teams. Together, we prove it's possible to see without sight™! 💙👓 @BascomPalmerEye @Nicklaus4Kids @NSUFlorida @NSUMDCollege @HuizengaCollege @deltagamma Our CVI center is a unique collaboration between educators, ophthalmologists, neurologists, occupational therapists along with medical professionals, researchers, and service providers, all responding exclusively to CVI. It is a partnership between Miami Lighthouse and the University of Miami Bascom Palmer Eye Institute, the Nation's No. 1 hospital in ophthalmology, the experts at NOVA Southeastern University colleges of Business and Medicine for data assessment and collection, and neurologists at The Brain Institute at Nicklaus Children's Hospital. Learn more about Miami Lighthouse's CVI Collaborative Center on our website- miamilighthouse.org/CVICenter.asp Please fax referrals for Functional Vision Assessment (CVI Range Assessment) for patients diagnosed with CVI to: 786-362-7470 For more information contact Michael Berger, Teacher of the Visually Impaired, by phone at 786-362-7483. #CVI #CVILiteracyMonth #PediatricHealth #MiamiLighthouse

👁️ April is Women's Eye Health and Safety Month, declared by @PBA_savingsight to highlight that women suffer from the majority of vision impairments and blindness. Due to longer lifespans and hormonal changes, women are at higher risk for conditions like dry eye, glaucoma, cataracts, and age-related macular degeneration. 🔗 Learn more in this @AllAboutVision article by Meredith Marmurek - allaboutvision.com/resources/news… Of the 6 Eye Health Tips for Women in the article, tip number 5 sticks out to us: Use protective eyewear when needed. Protective eyewear like safety glasses and goggles can help keep your eyes safe from potential dangers. They’re good to wear when you play sports or work with hazardous materials, among other situations. 🕶 Visit our Visions Solution Center in person or online to purchase Solar Shield Glasses, which are excellent for eye safety and for those with low vision, providing 100% UV protection, reducing harsh glare, and featuring a wraparound design that shields eyes from side-angle light. They protect remaining vision, prevent eye strain, and offer a comfortable, affordable option for over-the-glasses wear. Check out our full inventory of Solar Shield eyewear here- lighthouseshop.org/collections/gl… ℹ️ Our Vision Solution Center is located at 601 SW 8th Avenue, Miami, FL 33130. The hours of operation are Monday to Friday, 8am - 4pm. Learn more ➜ lighthouseshop.org Together, we prove it's possible to see without sight™! 💙 #MiamiLighthouse The Miami Lighthouse for the Blind Vision Solution Center is made possible with support by partners such as: @AARPFL @FLBlindServices @Alliance4Aging #WomensEyeHealth #SupporttheBlind #CommunityLeaders #EyeCare

Miami Lighthouse for the Blind Senior Group Activities (SGA) participants are proud to announce that all of their artworks from the recent Tallahassee Museum exhibition, "Beautifully Florida" have now been selected to be exhibited in a premier art show at the Orlando Science Center! 👏🖼️ "Memories of Water", an exhibition running April 8-24th at the Orlando Science Center, is an Augmented Reality (AR) Experience, merging artistic expression with AR technology to explore water's critical role in life, culture, and memory. 🙏 We thank Daliany Camacho @DalianyCamacho, SGA Manager, Aaron Hill @gringoaaronhill, Supervisor of Fine Arts & Art Education, and SGA Instructor Jose Gonzalez for leading our artists to this opportunity. 🙏 We thank @arts4allflorida , the Orlando Science Center, and @tallymus for supporting our community! #VisuallyImpaired #Artists 🗣️ “A blind person can do anything a sighted person does, they just need to learn how to do things a bit differently.” Virginia Jacko, President & CEO of Miami Lighthouse for the Blind. Together, we prove it's possible to see without sight! 🎨💙 #MiamiLighthouse To learn more about our SGA program, visit ➜ miamilighthouse.org/SeniorGroupAnd… To learn about our classes for adults including SGA, Orientation & Mobility, and Vocational Rehabilitation, visit ➜ miamilighthouse.org/Adult_Services… Our SGA Program is made possible with support from the @FLBlindServices. #SeniorServices #CommunityLeaders #ArtsforAll

Happy Easter from Miami Lighthouse for the Blind 🐰💙 🎥 Miami Lighthouse Academy students had a blast during our inclusive Beeping Easter Egg Hunt! This egg-citing yearly event is created especially for our students who are blind and visually impaired, where the South Florida Police Benevolent Association and the Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office Bomb Squad team up to assemble colorful beeping eggs that our students can find by listening. 👂 To add to the fun, officers also brought a police robot for our students to "meet" for a hands-on opportunity to explore law enforcement technology. 🤖 We thank the Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office deputies for their assistance in making this event one to remember. Together, we prove it's possible to see without sight!™ 💙 #MiamiLighthouseAcademy @SouthFloridaPBA @MiamiPD @MiamiDade_SO 🍎 Miami Lighthouse Academy offers APPLE accredited free VPK for children who are sighted and inclusive preschool for students with visual impairments, as well as Kindergarten and 1st, 2nd, & 3rd Grade for students who are visually impaired! 🏆 Our Academy is a fully accredited Gold Seal Quality Care Program provider, in partnership with Miami-Dade County Public Schools. Learn more, register your child, or book an Academy tour here ➜ MiamiLighthouseAcademy.org Our Academy is made possible with support from: @childrenstrust @ELCMDM @MDCPS @EducationFL 🙏 #HappyEaster #Inclusive #VisualImpairment #MiamiLeaders

We wish everyone a happy, healthy, and peaceful Passover. 💙✨ #HappyPassover In the video: In February, our educators and community leaders welcomed two guests from the Eliya Association for Blind and Visually Impaired Children in Israel. Miami Lighthouse presented a live music and dance performance featuring our adorable and talented Bright Beacons students, with live music by the Miami Lighthouse Band: Richard Fernandez, Oman Pedreira, and Victor Castillo. 👏

The Miami Lighthouse for the Blind Vision Solution Center is proud to now offer Meta smart glasses to clients as an assistive technology device, adding to our extensive inventory of products from the latest in assistive technology to solar shields, talking watches, eye healthcare products, and more! 🕶️🛍️⌚✎ Meta smart glasses support the independence of those who are blind and visually impaired by using AI to identify objects, read text, and describe surroundings via voice command. They feature integrated cameras and audio for hands-free assistance, including direct, real-time video calls with volunteers through the Be My Eyes app. This is an exciting development for our visually impaired community! 👓 Together, we prove it's possible to see without sight™! 💙 #MiamiLighthouse @AARPFL @Alliance4Aging @FLBlindServices ℹ️ Our Vision Solution Center is located at 601 SW 8th Avenue, Miami, FL 33130. The hours of operation are Monday to Friday, 8am - 4pm. Learn more ➜ lighthouseshop.org #AssistiveTechnology #SupporttheBlind #CommunityLeaders #EyeCare

During Spring Break week, Miami Lighthouse for the Blind Pre-Employment Transition Services (Pre-ETS) students participated in a variety of inclusive activities such as: blind soccer training, technology classes, a bowling alley field trip, as well as self-advocacy and Orientation & Mobility sessions. 🕶️ Students also received college and workplace readiness lessons, learning how to cook with appliances and create a dish from scratch, by visiting the grocery store to practice budgeting, and shopping for ingredients with the help of assistive technology such as Meta glasses to read labels, before returning to Miami Lighthouse to learn how to cook French toast in an air fryer and prepare omelets using the ingredients they bought. 🍳👏 For students with visual impairment, practicing how to use assistive technology in everyday activities helps strengthen their independent living and technology skills. ℹ️ Our Pre-Employment Transition Services welcomes students ages 14-22 to an inclusive program curated with guest speakers, activities, and field trips, to develop their skills to enter the work force or post-secondary education, and to support them in reaching their full potential. 💙 We thank our community and partners for helping us inspire and teach our teen participants just how accessible the world can be for them. Together, we prove it's possible to see without sight! #MiamiLighthouse This program is made possible with support by partners such as The Florida Division of Blind Services and Able Trust. Learn more about our Pre-ETS Program, here ➜ miamilighthouse.org/TransitionProg… For more information contact Jesus Lopez, our Pre-ETS Program Coordinator, at 786-362-7523 or jlopez@miamilighthouse.org. #CommunityLeaders #InclusiveTeenPrograms #SupportingtheBlind #VisuallyImpaired

With a mission to prevent blindness, our Florida Heiken Children's Vision program provides free eye exams and prescription glasses where needed to financially disadvantaged students in Pre-K through 12th grade throughout Florida. 👓 You can support this initiative by attending Music Under the Stars on May 13th, where we are celebrating the 34th anniversary of this incredible program! 🥂 Since 1992, our Heiken program has provided more than 238,000 comprehensive eye exams, and in the 2024–25 school year alone 16,494 students received exams and 10,829 received glasses! 👏 This is more than just screening vision; these exams detect serious medical conditions that can lead to permanent blindness if untreated. You can impact the continued success of this program, purchase your tickets to Music Under the Stars now! Ticket link ➜ miamilighthouse.org/2026MusicUnder… Together, we prove it's possible to see without sight! 👁️💙 #MiamiLighthouse @childrenstrust @CSCBroward @CollierCFFL @BaptistHealthSF @beaconcouncil @MiamiRotary @MarlinsImpact @lionsclubs @SFM_Services @ABBOPTICALGROUP #MusicUndertheStars #CommunityLeaders #MiamiLeaders #FloridaHeiken

Free webinar, register now: How to Protect Your Firm and Clients from Accessibility Lawsuits 🚨 On April 7, Miami Lighthouse is partnering with the Miami‑Dade County Bar Association to host a free, one‑hour virtual lunch and learn (12-1pm) on how to protect your firm—or your clients—from accessibility‑related lawsuits, with a focus on websites. 🖥️ To register, visit miamidadebar.org/calendar/#!eve… Our team will outline common risks and practical steps businesses can take to reduce exposure. The program is worth 1 CLE credit and will be led by two outstanding experts from Miami Lighthouse for the Blind. Together, we prove it's possible to see without sight! 👁️💙 #MiamiLighthouse @FLBlindServices @dadebarlrs #ADACompliance #CommunityLeaders #MiamiLeaders #Accessibility