Group help visually impaired children

Sometimes, even angels need help. Ken and Becky Rowin of Mesa have seven kids. Six of them are adopted. Three are visually impaired, including one who is blind.

The Rowin children, who range in age from 8 to 24, are doing beautifully. A lot of the credit for that belongs to the Foundation for Blind Children. "My kids wouldn’t be where they are today without the foundation,’’ Becky Rowin said. Founded in 1952, the Foundation for Blind Children has become a national model for agencies serving the blind.

As the only Arizona agency of its kind, the Foundation for Blind Children is an essential resource to families and children with blindness or low vision. Otherwise, blind children might not get the opportunities that should be available to every child: To learn, play sports, participate fully in the world around them and become successful, productive adults. Tribune readers can help ensure that programs such as the Foundation for Blind Children are always there to lend a helping hand.

If anyone knows the impact that the Foundation for Blind Children can have on the quality of life for visually impaired kids, it is the Rowins. Their association with the foundation began almost 14 years ago, shortly after they became foster parents to twins Caleb and Sarah, then 6 months old. The Rowins later adopted the children. Caleb is visually impaired. Sarah is blind. At every step, from infancy to adolescence, the foundation was there, Becky Rowin said.

Beginning with an infant program and continuing with preschool and school-age programs, the foundation provides education, therapy, assistance, testing and support for the child and the parents. The foundation also helps blind adults with job training, education and programs geared to help them live independently. The foundation, which has three Arizona locations including a campus in Chandler, is the largest organization for blind children in the nation.

Last year, it provided services for 1,800 Arizona children and 400 adults. Rich Kenny, the foundation’s community relations coordinator, said the demand for services is increasing. Toward that end, the foundation is looking to expand its operations. The foundation faces a unique opportunity to achieve that goal this month. "Earlier this year, we received a matching gift donation of $500,000 from an anonymous donor,’’ Kenny said.

"For each dollar we raise by Dec. 25, this donor will match it dollar for dollar.’’ No one is more excited about that than the Rowins. "Really, I can’t imagine what families who live somewhere else, where they don’t have an organization like this, do,’’ Becky Rowin said. "We would have been completely lost without them.’’ How to donate • Contributions can be mailed to Our Children Matter, 137 E. University Drive, Mesa, AZ 85201.

Checks should be made payable to Our Children Matter. • The Tribune will match 50 percent, up to $10,000 total, on contributions from the community. • Agencies that wish to apply for funding can call Mesa United Way at (480) 969-8601 to be put on the list to receive a request for funding. Requests will go out once the campaign is completed in early January. • This is the third year the Tribune has held the Our Children Matter campaign. More than $27,000 was raised the first two years, which went to programs that help low-income, disabled, foster and other children.