The organization began when the founder, Rachel Doyle, met a severely depressed elderly woman in a senior home. She came to learn that nearly 60 percent of seniors living in these homes never receive visitors. She created the foundation so that the elderly feel a sense of companionship and also so the volunteers feel like they are doing something valuable.<\/p>\n
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Visions at Selis Manor offers a variety of services for blind youth as well as adults. Located on West 23rd Street, it is a short distance away from many of the major train lines that allow for the members of the center to commute easily if they don\u2019t live on site. \u201cI met a resident who lives in Forest Hills and commutes here to take classes. It\u2019s amazing how someone who has no vision is able to navigate around a big, busy city,\u201d says Duarte.<\/p>\n
Karen Smith, a resident of the Visions center for more than 17 years, is a regular attendee of the GlamourGals events. \u201cI take two classes here to keep me busy but I like to listen to baseball with my boyfriend when he visits me,\u201d she says. Smith was not always blind; she was the first in her family to attend college and even taught computing classes after graduating. After moving to the center, she said she can feel alone on the weekdays, since her boyfriend only comes to visit on weekends. It\u2019s situations like this where GlamourGals hope they can make a bit of a difference.<\/p>\n
\u201cI love putting on these events because every time I go, I learn something new,\u201d said Karen Duarte, president of the GlamourGals Hunter chapter. \u201cWhether it\u2019s about people who are visually impaired, or different cultures or about their lives growing up, it\u2019s just interesting and helps you appreciate the little things.\u201d<\/p>\n