​The Sight-Loss Support Group of Central PA, Inc. is a Centre County United Way Member Agency.








Sight-Loss Support Group of Central PA, Inc.
TURNING DARKNESS INTO LIGHT SINCE 1982!




October 2014, Town and Gown, p.73
Nonprofit Organizations, Sight-Loss Support Group of Central PA
The number of individuals with sight loss is projected to rise as much as 72 percent by 2030, when the last of the baby boomers turn 65, according to a 2012 report by the National Institutes of Health. The most common conditions causing vision loss are macular degeneration, diabetic retinopathy, glaucoma, cataract, and hereditary diseases such as retinitis pigmentosa. The Sight-Loss Support Group of Central PA offers hope and support to individuals as they adjust to the physical and emotional challenges of vision loss and develop strategies to regain independence. The organizations provides a gateway to information and a strong community of people who help each other answer the question, "What do I do now?" Among the Sight-Loss Support Group's programs and services are:

  • One-on-one peer counseling and support
  • Educational programs for community organizations
  • Expediting of referrals to the PA Bureau of blindness and Visual Services (the state rehabilitation agency), and North Central Sight Services (a PA Asso for the Blind agency)
  • Information on many topics of concern to individual s with sight loss and their families
  • Audio description via headphones for local theatrical performances and exhibits
  • Trained Festival Eyes guidees for local arts festivals
  • Centre County Seeing Eye 4-H Puppy Raisers Program

​August 30, 2014, Centre Daily Times
State College woman thankful for service dog eager to train another life-saver.
​by Casey McCracken


​​​​​2014 - 2015 Accessibility Services Brochure, 
Center for the Performing Arts at Penn State:
View Via Headphones Now in its Sixteenth Season​



​​​April 20, 2014, Centre Daily Times,
Volunteers of the Year, Rose Cologne Awards:

Sight-Loss Support Group of Central PA: Susan Kennedy
Susan Kennedy has been an audio describer for the Sight-Loss Support Group’s View Via Headphones Program, an audio description service that describes theatrical and dance performances for blind and visually impaired patrons.

Kennedy enjoys describing the rich visual detail of the costumes and scenery, as well as the movements and expressions of the actors and dancers. She also is a describer for special tours of local gardens, arboretums, art exhibits and historic homes. She enjoys making these cultural experiences accessible to people with sight loss through the senses of touch, smell and hearing.

She also serves on the board of directors of the Sight-Loss Support Group.

Kennedy, of Port Matilda, received her doctorate in health education at Penn State in 1983. She stayed on at Penn State as an associate director for University Health Services, where she served as an administrator and educator, developing health promotion initiatives. She is an active community volunteer, and is involved with Centre Crest and the Penn State Extension Master Gardener Program.

She’s been with the agency for five years.


April 2014, Town and Gown:
Men In the Community
Jesse Smith, Board President, Sight-Loss Support Group of Central PA, Inc.
A self-employed structural engineer and leadership Centre County alumnus, Jesse joined the Sight-Loss Support Group board in 1997 when the organization needed help with strategic planning. Now celebrating its 30th anniversary, SLSG is experiencing growing need for its services as babyboomers reach the age when their vision naturally begins to deteriorate, he says. To meet that need, the organization's leadership is in the process of restructuring the services SLSG provides and the technology used to deliver them.

January 2014, Town and Gown:
Not Losing Sight of Living by Kerry Royer
       Being born blind or losing your vision later in life can be frightening. But, as many in Centre County show, unable to see doesn't have to mean unable to try, unable to do, or unable to achieve.
(for online edition of  Jan 2014 T & G, with photos, click here)


2013 - 2014 Accessibility Services Brochure, 
Center for the Performing Arts at Penn State:
ARNOLD HAS SPENT THREE DECADES HELPING PEOPLE WITH VISION LOSS


October 5, 2013, Centre Daily Times:
        October is Art Beyond Sight Awareness Month. The Sight-loss Support Group of Central PA will join other vision-assisting organizations in the region to promote the experience and celebration of the arts by people who are blind or have vision loss.
       	The SLSG will sponsor two audio-described events for those in the Centre Region who are blind or have low vision. Those interested are invited to attend the dress rehearsal of State College Community Theater's production of “Spamalot” at 7:30 p.m. Oct.16 at the Mount Nittany Middle School, 656 Brandywine Drive, State College. Attendees are asked to come to the lobby of the school shortly after 7 p.m. to pick up audio equipment that will enable them to hear the pre-show notes and the description of the show.  At 1:30 p.m. Oct. 27, an audio-described tour of the Boal Mansion and Christopher Columbus Chapel will be conducted for those with vision difficulties who would like to experience the museum.
     	Additional audio described events are scheduled throughout the year. For more information on all events, call the Sight-Loss Support group at 238-0132.


August 3, 2013 Centre Daily Times: Q
Q&A with Josie Smith, director of the Sight Loss Support Group of Central PA
By Mike Dawson "Since April, Stage College resident Josie Smith, 62, has served as the director of the Sight Loss Support Group of Central Pennsylvania. She is legally blind herself, and that is among the factors that motivate her in her job."