History
Our History
ABVI was established on October 14, 1936, by a dedicated group of volunteers led by Mrs. Fred J. Sahlmann and members of the American Foundation for the Blind. ABVI was chartered and incorporated on April 19, 1937, and continued to promote independence and greater quality of life for individuals who are blind or have low vision through job-readiness training, independent living skills classes and recreational and informal education classes like ceramics, sewing, cooking and more. ABVI also helped clients find jobs including chair caning and medical transcription.
Over time, we recognized the need for preventative vision care for low-income adults and children, so we started our Focus programs providing free, comprehensive vision care to catch and address vision problems in treatable stages. We ran our Focus programs for nearly a decade and provided thousands of low-income people with the vision care they desperately needed but could not afford. However, over time, we realized other organizations had begun providing preventative vision care. As such, in FY20, we diverted funding from our Focus programs and concentrated on providing free vision rehabilitation services for adults in the Tri-County. As an organization providing vision rehabilitation services for nearly a century, ABVI is the premier organization in the state for adults to learn to live independently with blindness or low vision.
After 85 years of serving the local community, ABVI observed rates of vision loss rapidly increasing and a corresponding need for vision services for all ages across South Carolina. In 2022, with a shared passion for expanding vision services, a unique partnership developed between ABVI and The Vision Institute (TVI). TVI was founded in June 2010 in response to a state-wide need for a non-profit organization to assist in providing a variety of services for individuals who are blind or have low vision. TVI assisted individuals of all ages with low vision, blindness and deaf-blindness across South Carolina in educational, home and community settings. To this day, The Vision Institute’s School-Based program at ABVI utilizes Certified Teachers for the Visually Impaired and Orientation and Mobility Specialists to advocate for students, provide access to curriculum and remove barriers to learning in the classroom.
Recognizing the growing need for vision rehabiliation and education accessibility across our nation and state, ABVI merged with TVI in 2023. As a joined team, ABVI now provides services statewide to individuals of all ages with blindness and low vision to empower them to live independent, fulfilling and purpose-driven lives.