Our Mission
VisionLink is dedicated to assisting all who are living with vision loss to achieve greater independence through excellence in education and wrap-around support services that advance necessary skills and establish meaningful community connections. VisionLink is committed to collaborating with local, regional and national partners to broaden access to resources and opportunities that enable those we serve to live their lives to the fullest.
Our Vision
VisionLink seeks to inspire all who are living with vision loss to thrive.
Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Statement
VisionLink is fully committed to diversity, equity and inclusion. We embrace the diversity within our organization and within the multi-faceted community we serve. We embrace the principles of equity, fairness, and inclusion and we remain committed to best practices for providing anyone, anywhere on the vision loss continuum with the education, tools, and wrap-around services that they need to navigate their communities, manage their specific visual challenges, and live their fullest lives.
At VisionLink we realize that there are many forms of diversity including racial, gender, sexual identity, cultural, religious, economic, ability and disability, and we work diligently to be open and welcoming to all. Our work is collaborative – with those we serve, with our professional staff, with healthcare professionals, with community partner organizations, and with other human services agencies regionally and nationally. We believe that this collaborative framework, across disciplines and communities, as well as our commitment to serving those with vision loss makes our organizational efforts more diverse, more equitable, more inclusive, and more sustainable over time.
Castner, Samuel, Jr., 1843-1929 – Compiler. Pennsylvania Working Home for Blind Men. [Scrapbooks]. Retrieved from Free Library, (opens in a new tab).
Our History
VisionLink’s roots date to 1874 when the Pennsylvania Working Home for Blind Men opened. For more than 100 years, the entity continued on through a series of mergers and recast itself many times until it became Associated Services for the Blind and Visually Impaired (ASB) in 1983. On February 1, 2022, the organization was rebranded as VisionLink to better reflect its role as a bridge and connection to community resources, educational and enrichment programming, and local providers; the role it plays in strengthening an individual’s access to care and supportive services when facing vision loss; and its commitment to creating a more accessible city and region.
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Staff
Karla S. McCaney, MBA, President and Chief Executive Officer
karla.mccaney@visionlinkphl.org
Beth Deering, Chief Program Officer
beth.deering@visionlinkphl.org
Sarah DeLaurentis, Chief Advancement and Philanthropy Officer
sarah.delaurentis@visionlinkphl.org
Ally Richman, Chief Administrative and Financial Officer
ally.richman@visionlinkphl.org
Board Officers
Sarah Glick Johnson, Chairperson
Kevin E. Brown, First Vice Chairperson
Tom Teesdale, Treasurer
Jacqueline Candido, PhD, Secretary
Board Members
William J. D. Jordan
Dr. Ranjoo Prasad, OD
Thomas J. Wlodkowski
Generous Foundation Support Provided By:
BNY Mellon Mid-Atlantic Charitable Trusts
Broughton Foundation
Caroline J. Sanders Charitable Trust #2 c/o Wells Fargo
Christian R. and Mary F. Lindback Foundation
Dolfinger-McMahon Foundation
Harriet G. Fredericks Foundation
Independence Foundation
Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia
Lydia K. Feidler Charitable Trust
Mary Gourlay Charitable Trust
Meshewa Farm Foundation
Muriel F. Siebert Foundation
PNC Charitable Trusts
The Connelly Foundation
The Honickman Foundation
The Joseph Kennard Skilling Trust
The Louis N. Cassett Foundation
The Philadelphia Foundation
2020 – 2021 Fiscal Year
VisionLink has earned a 2021 Gold Seal of Transparency.