Montana Association for the Blind 

PO Box 465, Helena, MT  59624 
406-442-9411 
gailb@mt.net

There are more than 4,000 Montanans who are legally blind and an additional 17,000-plus who are visually impaired.  The MAB provides programs that teach and develop skills which allow the visually impaired to live independently, be self-sufficient and give volunteer time to community organizations.

What is the Montana Association for the Blind?
The Montana Association for the Blind, Inc., is a statewide, nonprofit, self-help consumer organization founded by visually impaired persons and their friends in 1946.

The purpose of the Association is to work for the social and economic improvement of every blind person in the state.  The organization has been an affiliate of the National Federation of the Blind since 1956.

Between annual conventions an elected, nine-member Board of Directors conducts the MAB’s business.  The state office is in Helena.

There are approximately 400 dues-paying members in the Association, the majority of whom are legally blind.  Local chapters are active across the state – Anaconda, Billings, Bozeman, Butte, Dillon, Great Falls, Helena, Kalispell, Lewistown, Livingston, Missoula and Polson.  Not all MAB members belong to a Chapter.

The Mission of the Montana Association for the Blind is to promote social and economic self-sufficiency for blind Montanans through the facilitation of quality education, learning, training and employment services and opportunities, and to foster a positive understanding of blindness.

Our Vision is of a Montana in which blindness is perceived and understood to be an ordinary and respectable part of life, and in which the skills and tools of blindness are readily available to all who may benefit from them.  We envision an environment in which blind Montanans have ample and equal opportunities to learn, to achieve, and to contribute in our homes, communities and nation.

The Summer Orientation Program – What It Is
This adjustment and training program is designed to help people with failing eyesight acquire the skills and attitudes that will enable them to remain independent and self-reliant.

Participants learn different and safer techniques in mobility, in accomplishing personal daily living activities, in cooking, performing household tasks, and in getting more enjoyment out of living.  Group discussions often result in more constructive attitudes towards one’s situation.  In fact, this group interaction may be the most important aspect of this program.

Time and Place of Session
Montana State University in Bozeman has been the site of the annual Summer Program since 1948.  The time and place of the next session is usually known by January.  The program covers a four-week period and generally will not begin earlier than mid-June nor run past August 1st.