Center for Vision Loss, a nonprofit agency that empowers people living with visual impairments and promotes healthy eyesight through education in the Lehigh Valley and Monroe County, has changed its name to Sights for Hope.

“We have been working on this transition for quite some time now, and we are very pleased with the end result,” said Dennis Zehner, executive director and CEO of Sights for Hope. “We are the same organization we have always been, advancing personal triumphs over visual impairments, and our new name now better reflects our guiding philosophy of hope over loss.

“It’s the positive outlook we want to express to our community.”

Sights for Hope will continue to empower people to live fulfilling, independent lives while advancing healthy eyesight for everyone in its communities.

By combining a service tradition motivated by Helen Keller in 1928 with contemporary practices and advanced technologies, it supports those with visual impairments through programs, services, and initiatives that provide better access to education, transportation, assistive technologies, health care and more.

Visual screenings for children throughout the region will continue to be a mainstay of Sights for Hope programming.

The organization has also adopted the slogan “Seize Independence Now.”

Deciding on the new name and slogan included deliberation of more than 200 names for more than 18 months.

Zehner said the transition is well-timed after a year of coping with the COVID-19 pandemic and the hope everyone is looking for.

The nonprofit will pursue the same mission and provide the same programs and services with a new name that better reflects the optimistic, supportive environment that community members have come to know.

To help the community become better acquainted with the name, Sights for Hope is decorating the organization’s vehicles that transport clients who have visual impairments to medical appointments, grocery stores, and to in-person agency services.

A Sips 4 Sight promotion is getting underway at participating restaurants and businesses that will sell Yeti ramblers emblazoned with the new Sights for Hope logo.

Billboards and other public-facing advertising will be placed throughout the service area, touting Sights for Hope, and the Lehigh Valley IronPigs minor league baseball team is supporting a campaign to publicize the nonprofit’s work.

The new website is sightsforhope.org.

“Many organizations like ours across the country are committing to similar name changes in the interest of championing and empowering people instead of focusing on a challenge they face,” Zehner said.

“We want to lead from that perspective too as more people age and face changing vision health.

“We believe we can make life better for them by offering innovative programs and initiatives that meet their needs and enhance their quality of life.

“Losing eyesight is not easy, but by anticipating what can make life easier and better is what Sights for Hope is committed to doing on a daily, individual basis with our services, programs, and enduring support for our clients and the community at large.”