VIDBE-Q Volume 68 Issue 3
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beginning with a strong commitment. FBC started as the solution to a problem, and
that mentality has been its guiding principle ever since. FBC looks for needs and
solves problems.
Over the next couple decades, the school slowly grew, serving more students
and addressing more needs. By 1975, FBC was teaching students with multiple
disabilities and had begun its Early Intervention Program. As the school continued
to expand, it repeatedly found itself outgrowing the spaces in which it operated.
That is until, in 1993, a permanent home was established at the Rose Mofford
Building in central Phoenix. Since then, two satellite campuses have been
established in East and West Phoenix, and the central campus has grown to include
a second, state-of-the-art building.
Though the name hearkens back to its origins as simply a preschool, FBC
provides services to people of all ages who are blind and low-vision, from
newborns to the oldest client at 103-years-old. The Foundation's mission is to
provide education, tools, and services that enable all persons with vision loss to
achieve greater independence. The 19 programs offered at FBC were all conceived
out of the need to solve some specific problems and are designed to fulfill the
conviction that vision loss is a diagnosis, not a barrier.