Helen Keller Services Kicks Off 125th Anniversary Celebration

Helen Keller Services for the Blind (HKSB), a division of Helen Keller Services (HKS), kicked off its 125th anniversary year with a recent breakfast at Brooklyn Borough Hall hosted by Brooklyn Borough President Eric L. Adams. The event saw HKS President and CEO Joseph Bruno pay tribute to the organization’s Brooklyn roots, detail plans for a move by HKS to new space in Downtown Brooklyn this summer, and unveil a 125th anniversary logo that incorporates the iconic Brooklyn Bridge. The reception was held under Borough Hall’s rotunda and attended by more than a dozen elected officials as well as HKS staff, clients, board members, and longtime friends.

“I can’t imagine a more fitting place to kick off our 125th anniversary celebration than Brooklyn Borough Hall,” observed Bruno. “Helen Keller Services began in Brooklyn in 1893 as The Industrial Home for the Blind. In the ensuing 125 years, we took on a new name, opened new offices here and on Long Island, and expanded our scope of services, touching the lives of countless blind and visually impaired men, women, and children. It is an honor to be here with you to mark this significant occasion. We look back with pride at our many accomplishments and look to the future committed to the ideals set forth by Helen Keller and the individuals who came before us at HKSB.”

Referring to Helen Keller Services for the Blind as “a beloved Brooklyn institution that continues to grow and inspire,” Brooklyn Borough President Adams congratulated HKS on its milestone anniversary. “125 years of community service is a monumental achievement, and it speaks to the meaningful relationship that Helen Keller Services has established with our blind and visually-impaired community. I thank them deeply for helping to make Brooklyn a safer place for everyone to raise healthy children and families.”

A highlight of the kickoff breakfast was the unveiling of an architect’s’ renderings depicting the space at 180 Livingston Street in Downtown Brooklyn that will soon house the new headquarters for Helen Keller Services. The organization’s existing headquarters at 57 Willoughby Street was sold in 2016. Plans include a private lobby outfitted with a marketing wall that will be visible to all who enter or pass by, which will display programs, events and stories about those consumers that are assisted and cared for every day; new classrooms; a gym for pre-K and early intervention students; training rooms; breakout, community and education space; new offices and workstations; adaptive technology training program space; a doctor-staffed Low Vision Center; a new boardroom; private conference rooms for interviews and agency work; and displays telling the story of HKS’ past and its vision for the future. The new space will be fully accessible and will contain wayfinding attributes that will welcome consumers who are learning to easily navigate its 35,000 square-foot presence.

In addition to the recent Borough Hall event, HKS will celebrate its 125th Anniversary at its annual GALA on September 13, 2018, to be held at Liberty Warehouse in Red Hook, Brooklyn. More information on the gala is available by visiting www.helenkeller.org/hks/events or contacting Deborah Rodriguez at drodriguez@helenkeller.org or 718-522-2122, ext. 2204.

The mission of Helen Keller Services (www.helenkeller.org) is to enable individuals who are blind, visually-impaired, deaf-blind or have combined hearing-vision loss to live, work and thrive in the communities of their choice. HKS offers services and programs through two divisions: Helen Keller Services for the Blind and Helen Keller National Center for Deaf-Blind Youths and Adults.

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This release was published on openPR.