A Message from APH President Craig Meador

A child who is blind or has vision loss is like any other child – eager to explore the world around them, be a part of it, make friends, learn, have fun, grow up to realize their dreams. But they can find themselves facing a number of barriers that deny them access and leave them feeling as if they are living in a world where they aren’t welcome. This year, the American Printing House for the Blind celebrated 160 years of working to change that reality for our nation’s students. We’ve been making classrooms a place where children can learn without limits, by providing accessible textbooks, and adapted learning materials, technology, and tools. This year also marked our efforts to take that legacy of commitment to learning access and move it out of classrooms and into the world. We’ve expanded our mission to people who are blind and visually impaired across the lifespan, when and wherever they learn. We’ve worked to demonstrate how communities can be accessible, by implementing a number of initiatives in our home community of Louisville. We took on the stewardship of FamilyConnect, CareerConnect, and VisionAware from the American Foundation for the Blind, and staffed a resource and referral line to support information needs. We also expanded our resources for professionals by becoming the caretakers of AFB Press. We’re reaching more people, in more places – and this is just the beginning. We refreshed our brand, and out of that work came a clear and resonating message: Welcome Everyone. APH is creating a world where everyone feels welcome, and there are no barriers standing in the way of learning, living, and earning. We invite everyone to participate in that world – our employees, our generous donors, and our partners. We all have a role in building a future that belongs to everyone. You can read more about 2018’s achievements and 2019’s upcoming innovations in this report. You’ll see that our beginning as a printing house is just one chapter of our incredible story.

Craig Meador, Ed.D., APH President