Steven M. Fulop, Mayor of The City of Jersey City, is proud to recognize New Jersey’s Blindness Awareness Month on Wednesday, October 2, 2024 during our flag raising ceremony and urge all our residents to publicly reaffirm our City’s strong and continuing commitment to enhancing awareness about ways to prevent, treat and cure blindness and other serious visual impairments.
Blindness Awareness Month in New Jersey was established in 2009 to acknowledge the vital importance of Braille literacy and to build awareness about the prevention treatment and cure of blindness and other visual impairments. Throughout the state of New Jersey, especially in Jersey City, programs have been created in order to educate the public about eye disease and eye care as well as ways to address the rising trend of blindness and severe visual impairment.
Rocco Fiorentino, the ambassador for The Little Rock Foundation, was the source of inspiration for dubbing October as Blindness Awareness Month. The Little Rock Foundation is a non-profit organization named for Rocco who is blind due to retinopathy of prematurity, and is dedicated to improving the lives of children who are blind or visually impaired and their families.
St. Joseph’s School for the Blind is committed to the educational, psychological, social and physical development of persons with special needs. St. Joseph’s School for the Blind was founded in 1891 by the Sisters of St. Joseph of Peace and is the only school for the blind in New Jersey that provides comprehensive services to more than 175 individuals with visual impairments and multiple disabilities from birth through adulthood.
In recognition of Blindness Awareness Month, we would like to honor the wonderful Staff and Students of St. Joseph’s School for the Blind and all those who dedicate their time to enrich the lives of our students.
