Connecting with our Blind Beginnings community helps children and their families to feel less isolated. Programs include:

1. Community Discovery outings were created to provide children who are blind or partially sighted and their families with the time and opportunities for hands-on exploration.

2. With our Early Beginnings Program, we strive to help parents with a greater understanding of how to encourage early literacy, language, and mobility for their child with a visual impairment. We teach tips for making family outings more meaningful and accessible and an overview of the services and resources available to their child. We also try to create opportunities to meet and network with other families who are also experiencing visual impairment for the first time.

3. Our Kids Connect Junior Support Group is designed for children 7 – 13 years who are blind or partially sighted. Children from all across BC have been able to connect with each other, receive support and establish friendships that would not have been possible without this online group.

4. To support BC’s children who are blind or partially sighted to challenge physical boundaries and build confidence, Blind Beginnings’ Summer Camps offers summer camps for school aged children to get out of their comfort zone and challenge themselves physically and mentally. Their parents also begin to see their child’s true capacities and lift unnecessary limits, allowing their child to develop undiscovered talents, increase independence and lead an active life. Our Annual Summer Camp is called Camp Hornby and is held at the Tribune Bay Education Centre on Hornby Island.
Our Family Retreats are focused on early intervention and are designed to provide families much needed resources while bringing families together and creating new friendships and bonds and much needed social networks and support systems. These weekend long retreats have historically taken place at various locations in BC, from the Okanagan to Vancouver Island.