Perkins School for the Blind

Perkins School for the Blind Hosts Harry Potter Weekend

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Perkins School for the Blind got a taste of Hogwarts over the weekend, when children with visual impairments got to participate in Harry Potter Weekend. 

The outreach program opened the campus to students throughout the community with visual impairment for some fun and games inspired by the young wizard. “This was a terrific weekend not only for volunteers and staff, but for the students. The kids were so immersed in the activities,” said Mike Cataruzolo, manager of Volunteer Services at Perkins School for the Blind. “They really felt like they were at having a magical time at Hogwarts. We hope to have this weekend again next year.”

Schools

Perkins Announces Additions to the School’s Board of Trustees

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The following announcement was provided by Perkins School for the Blind:

Perkins School for the Blind, the first school for the blind in the U.S. and the international leader in blindness education has added long-time Members of the
Corporation Jim Down and Stephen Pelletier to its Board of Trustees, alongside Katherine McGaugh and Jo Frances Meyer, who was appointed by the Massachusetts Governor’s Office. Prior to his retirement, Down was vice chairman of Mercer Management Consulting (now Oliver Wyman), responsible for the overall direction and management of the firm. Over the course of his career, Down has been a senior advisor on strategic issues to a multitude of organizations including UPS, CSX/Seal-Land, AT&T, Agility, The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and
Merck. Down will become chair of Perkins’ International Committee. Pelletier is executive vice president and chief operating officer of Prudential’s U.S.-based businesses, comprising more than $1.3 trillion in assets under management as of June 30, 2018.

App

MBTA Piloting Bus App for Blind Riders Developed by Perkins School, Raizlabs

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The following information was provided by Perkins School for the Blind:
Perkins School for the Blind has enhanced its groundbreaking micronavigation app, designed to help commuters with visual impairment find their bus stops, by bolstering it with new technology that makes traveling even easier. Still free to use, BlindWays 2.0 now alerts riders along select MBTA bus routes when they’ve found their outdoor stop via signals from bluetooth beacons, installed in bus stop signs, that trigger iPhone vibration. “Perkins continues to foster innovation by working collaboratively, as we are with the MBTA and developer Raizlabs on this initiative, to solve challenges for people who are visually impaired,” said Luiza Aguiar, executive director of Perkins Solutions. “We’re motivated to help create a transportation infrastructure that is equally accessible to all riders. Augmenting BlindWays to leverage beacons speeds us along that path.”
The first iteration of BlindWays was released in fall of 2016, providing users with crowdsourced landmark clues to help them navigate the last 30 feet of frustration standard GPS models leave between users and their exact destinations.

Entertainment

Perkins Teams with Revels Singing Group for A Celebration of Spring Concert

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Revels and Perkins School for the Blind’s 18th annual presentation “A Celebration of Spring.” Directed by Patrick Swanson; Music Direction by Megan Henderson

WHEN: Thursday, May 31, 2018, 7:30 p.m.

WHERE: Perkins School for the Blind, Dwight Hall – 175 No. Beacon Street, Watertown, MA

Admission is FREE

Join us for a joyful and inspirational concert of traditional music, dance and song as we celebrate spring with the talented students from Perkins School for the Blind. Revels directors Megan Henderson and Paddy Swanson lead this special one-hour program featuring Perkins’ talented singers with Revels’ adult and children’s choruses, a children’s morris team, and a great band of musicians. Enjoy music and songs from South Africa, Croatia, England and America, plus a wild visit from that ancient harbinger of spring, the Padstow ‘obby ‘oss, all the way from Cornwall, England!

Perkins School for the Blind

Perkins Hosts 24-Hour ‘Hackathon’ to Create New Technology for the Blind

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{The following report was provided by Perkins School for the Blind}
After 24 hours of non-stop problem-solving, collaboration and software development, Perkins School for the Blind crowned the winners of its first-ever hackathon on Saturday. The grand prize winning design, a tactile lever device that allows coders with visual impairment to feel what their data trends look like, was one of 22 entries from college students across the United States and Canada who gathered at Perkins’ campus to develop innovative tech-based solutions to problems facing the visually impaired community in work, education and daily life. Throughout the event, more than 100 students worked in teams to solve one of six challenges inspired by the real-life experiences of blind individuals. A panel of expert judges scored the resulting designs. Other prize-winning designs included accessible apps like SonifEye, which allows coders with visual impairment to hear changes in data; Seats, which helps students locate empty seats in a cafeteria; Ezform, which allows individuals who are blind to fill out paper forms electronically; OvenBot, which helps users locate buttons on a digital display; B-Fit, which connect people with visual impairment with “spotters” at the gym; and iSee, which provides information on dining hall menus and allows users to connect with friends.

Business

Perkins Partners with Company to Provides High Tech Assistance for the Blind

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Some employees at Perkins School for the Blind have been testing some high tech glasses that give the blind and visually impaired new independence. They don’t let users see better, per se, but instead they have a camera that allows someone to watch a live stream video and give the wearer instant descriptions and directions. The technology was developed by San Diego-based startup Aira, which this week announced a partnership with the school in Watertown – the first of its kind in the country. One of those who piloted Aira was Kim Charlson, executive director of the Perkins Library. Charlson is visually impaired and uses her seeing-eye dog Dolly to help her get around.

Entertainment

Revels Teams with Perkins School for Free Celebration of Spring Concert

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Revels will once again perform with Perkins School for the Blind for the Celebration of Spring Concert. The concert will be held Thursday, May 25, 2017, at 7:30 p.m. at Perkins School for the Blind’s Dwight Hall – 175 North Beacon St., Watertown. Admission is FREE. Revels sent out the following announcement:

Join us as Revels partners with Perkins School for an inspiring, music-filled Celebration of Spring. Enjoy traditional English songs, songs from the Islands, and from Early America performed by the talented Perkins School Secondary Program Chorus (Arnie Harris, director), aRevels chorus of adults and children, musician/song leader David Coffin, a youngrapper sword dance team, plus a great band of Revels musicians.  Last but not least, expect a wild visit from the ancient and venerable Padstow ‘Obby ‘Oss, all the way from Cornwall, England!

Schools

Perkins School for the Blind Hires Veteran Fundraiser as Chief Development Officer

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Perkins School for the Blind has brought on a veteran fundraiser for non-profit organizations. David Whalen brings his 25 years experience to his new role as Chief Development Officer. He will oversee the Perkins Trust – which raises funds from a variety of sources to support Perkins’ programs and initiatives – and work with the Perkins leadership team to develop new funding opportunities that will allow Perkins to expand its mission, according to the announcement from the school. He previously worked with the New England Aquarium, Partners in Health and the Union of Concerned Scientists. Whalen said he enjoyed the energy he found when visiting the Perkins campus, and likened it to a start-up company.