Foundation again makes gift to Mississippi State research center

For the second time in as many years, a Wyoming philanthropic foundation is making a grant to a Mississippi State program that trains professionals who work with the visually impaired.

The Rehabilitation Research and Training Center on Blindness and Low Vision has received $23,000 from the George B. Storer Foundation. The donation will be used to purchase adaptive computer access equipment for the center's Access Technology Laboratory.

The equipment includes computers and computer software, a speech synthesizer, a laser printer, and a magnification system. They are among the latest technologies used to train individuals in the vocational rehabilitation for the blind and visually impaired.

Contributions from private sources are the primary means to purchase equipment for the center, according to Franklin Johnson, the center's training associate.

Established in 1981 and funded mostly by the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research, the Mississippi State center is the only one of its kind in the country. It conducts research and training connected with vocational rehabilitation services for the blind or severely visually impaired.

"We are funded entirely through grants and donations, many of which we cannot use to purchase equipment," Johnson said. "To train people across the country in the most current technology for the blind, it is crucial that we stay in touch with the leading edge of technology. Gifts like these from the Storer Foundation are instrumental to our success."

Founded in 1955, the independent Saratoga, Wyo.-based foundation has supported higher education and social services, particularly for blind people, youth organizations, conservation groups, hospitals, and cultural programs.

Last year, the philanthropic organization provided $20,000 to the Mississippi State center to purchase similar computer and telecommunications equipment for the visually impaired.

"With this equipment we are able to offer the highest quality training for professionals to help persons who are visually impaired achieve independence and improve their quality of life," said center director Elton Moore.

The Access Technology Laboratory is used to train both Mississippi State graduate students and professionals from across the country in computer access technology, including assistive or adaptive technology.

Moore said the trainees, in turn, train persons in their home states who are blind or severely visually impaired in the use of adaptive technology.