Page 16 - Donor and Family Recognition Program 2022
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Helen Keller: Champion of the Blind
Born in Tuscumbia, Alabama, in 1880, Helen Keller contracted a fever at 19 months of age that left her both blind and deaf. She lived in darkness and silence until a miraculous teacher, Anne Sullivan, broke through 7-year-old Helen’s isolation and taught her sign language, Braille, and speech.
All her life Helen was a tireless advocate for people with disabilities. In 1925, she attended the Lions Clubs International Convention and gave a short speech asking the 8-year-old service organization to help the blind. This speech so moved Lions club mem-
bers that they have worked to assist the visually-impaired and to eradicate preventable blindness ever since.
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I suppose you have heard the legend that represents opportunity as a capricious lady, who knocks at every door but once, and if the door isn’t opened quickly, she passes on, never to return. And that is as it should be. Lovely, desirable ladies won’t wait. You have to go out and grab ‘em.
I am your opportunity. I am knocking at your door. I want to be ad- opted. The legend doesn’t say what you are to do when several beautiful op- portunities present themselves at the same door. I guess you have to choose the one you love best. I hope you will adopt me. I am the youngest here, and what I offer you is full of splendid opportunities for service....
Try to imagine how you would feel if you were suddenly stricken blind today. Picture yourself stumbling and groping at noonday as in the night; your work, your independence, gone. In that dark world wouldn’t
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Dear Lions and Ladies:
