If you, or people you know, are impacted by LCA or other rare blinding eye diseases, more information can be found at www.project3000.org or you can reach Joe Schmidt at The University of Iowa at 319-384-8529 or via e-mail at joe-schmidt@uiowa.edu.

Testing can be conveniently arranged through local physicians and financial aid is available for people with LCA who need assistance with the cost of testing.

Dr. Horton is respected both as an outstanding clinical neuro-ophthalmologist as well as one of the leading neuroscientists in the country. His contributions can be broadly categorized under three headings: clinical neuro-ophthalmology; amblyopia and strabismus; and the function of the visual cortext and how it mediates visual perception.

Dr. Horton's important contributions are numerous, and they all share a similar goal, which is to bring state-of-the-art neuroscience from the laboratory and apply it to important clinical problems facing the clinician, especially in the case of amblyopia and strabismus.

Under the terms of the contract, The Guild's Assistive Technology staff, with the support of the Academic Rehabilitation staff, will provide assessment and training to CBVH-referred consumers who are either attending college or other vocational training, who are working or who are seeking employment.

Other training available under the terms of the contract will be for CBVH counselors, so that they can keep up to date with the latest in adaptive technology, as well as training for CBVH-referred persons who will become job coaches to visually impaired clients. On-site technical consultation to employers who have hired clients who are blind or visually impaired is also covered under the new contract.

As part of a continuing effort to expand and enhance its broad array of services designed to improve the health and well-being of people who are blind and visually impaired, The Guild announced in November that it has entered into a collaborative arrangement with Jewish Home & Hospital Lifecare System to create The Guild Institute for Vision and Aging. The Institute is a new, state-of-the-art residential facility dedicated to the care of elderly persons who are blind or visually impaired.

The new Guild Institute will be located in a soon-to-be-renovated building on the Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Campus of the Jewish Home & Hospital, located in the Bronx.

As part of this arrangement, residents at the Guild Home for Aged Blind are relocating to the Jewish Home, or to another facility of their choice. The Home for Aged Blind, a Yonkers landmark since 1937, will close.

A Wide Range of Benefits

Dr. Alan R. Morse, President and CEO of The Guild, said, "This new program will provide a wide range of benefits and address several important issues. Above all, we have created a new facility equipped with the latest amenities and features, all of which conform to the most modern standards of residential nursing care. We ar pleased to work with the Jewish Home & Hospital, one of the foremost residential care providers in the nation, whose Bronx campus is just a few miles from our present facility." (See Winter 2007/2008 Guild Newsletter for further details.)

This year, for the first time, teachers of some of the winners are being acknowledged for their role in encouraging and bringing out the best in their students. Each applicant was asked to write an essay about a teacher who is of great importance to them. The three teachers chosen from among the applicants' essays will each receive a prize of $2,500.

The committee chose the 15 winners after a rigorous application process that included criteria such as academic excellence, community involvement, legal blindness, financial need and US citizenship. The 2008 GuildScholar Program scholarship winners are:

Zoe Anthony, High Tech High School, North Bergen, NJ

Derek J. Czajka, San Ramon Valley High School, CA

Spencer DeSena, Garden City High School, NJ

Matthew David Devcich, Chantilly High School, VA

Eric Glasser, Paul D. Schreiber High School, Port Washington, NY

Rachel A. Hockenberger, Harpeth High School, Kingston Springs, TN

Lauren Long, Deer Park High School, TX

Steven Maxfaults, Queens High School for the Sciences at York College, Jamaica, NY

Sean O'Keefe, St. Joseph High School, Metuchen, NJ

Patrick Saley, Jonathan Law High School, Milford, CT

Caitlin Sarubbi, Dominican Academy, New York, NY

Katelyn Schuit, Oak Forest High School, IL

Emily Townsend, Mainland High School, Daytona Beach, FL

Jordan Walters, Air Academy High School, USAFA, CO

Craig Warren, Scotts Valley High School, CA.

The three teachers chosen to receive a prize are:

Roberta Goldman of Brookfield Elementary School, Chantilly, VA

Maureen E. Owens, PhD, of Queens High School for the Sciences at York College, Jamaica, NY

Deborah Dunnel of Alstead, NH

For information on the GuildScholar Program's scholarships for the 2009 academic year, contact Gordon Rovins at 212-769-7801 or e-mail guildscholar@jgb.org.

Approval for the expansion was recently received from the New York State Department of Health. A GuildNet office that will serve members living in Nassau and Suffolk Counties is being established in Melville. GuildNet draws on The Guild's broad continuum of health, vision and rehabilitation services, as well as The Guild's many years of experience in addressing the needs of people who are blind or visually impaired.

Within the plan, GuildNet nurse case managers work with members who are dealing with complex health issues such as complications of diabetes, mental health issues including substance abuse, extensive rehabilitation needs or end-of-life issues among others.

For more information, including eligibility questions, call Michael Simone, GuildNet Assistant Vice President, Marketing and Medicare Project Manager, at 212-769-7854.