Newton’s Carroll Center For The Blind Receives $1.5M Donation

NEWTON, MA — The Carroll Center for the Blind has received a record donation of $1.5 million from blind businessman and philanthropist Gordon Gund and the Gund Family.

The gift will support rehabilitation programs provided in the main building on the Carroll Center’s Newton campus, which has been renamed The Lulie Gund Center for Vision Rehabilitation in honor of Gordon’s wife, Lulie, for her support throughout his journey with vision loss.

“The values and the qualities of the services provided by the Carroll Center are extraordinarily helpful to people who are dealing with blindness or visual impairment,” said Gordon Gund in a statement. "I know my wife Lulie would be proud to have her name attached to this vision rehabilitation center. I also know she would join me and the rest of our family in wishing the Carroll Center, its board, and its tremendously capable dedicated staff continued success in their efforts to assist the thousands of visually impaired and blind people, who will come through these doors over many years to come, to achieve independence, self-confidence and a fulfilling life.”

The Carroll Center is the foremost leader in vision rehabilitation and has been serving people with vision impairments for over eight decades. The programs offered in The Lulie Gund Center for Vision Rehabilitation are key to producing successful outcomes for clients to live independently—whether it be obtaining or retaining employment, school advancement and college transition, community engagement, essential skill development or emotional adjustment to vision loss. The building houses programs like manual & sensory arts instruction, braille instruction, assistive technology and device training, personal management and essential skills instruction, low vision services, vocational training, adjustment counseling, fencing, recreational and social enrichment activities, and more.

“The history of this building is great, but the future of this building is even greater,” said Gregory J. Donnelly, President and CEO of the Carroll Center for the Blind, in. statement. “Gordon’s $1.5 million gift will help us transform and further innovate our services so we can keep doing what we do best—offering education, experiences and opportunities so that our clients can pursue their passions and reach their fullest potential.”

The Gund Family's gift is the largest outright gift in the Center's 85-year history and aligns with their ongoing support of the blindness community for the past five decades. Gordon Gund was rendered totally blind at age 31 due to a progressive genetic disease called retinitis pigmentosa. In 1971, just one year after becoming blind, Gordon and Lulie, along with others, created the Foundation Fighting Blindness (FFB) to find treatments and cures for inherited retinal diseases.

To learn more about the The Lulie Gund Center for Vision Rehabilitation, click here.