Bill Schuldt smiles into the camera with green foliage behind him.
Dear Friend,
I am excited to be welcoming participants back to our Denville and Ridgewood locations this month, and I’m looking forward to meeting more of the VLANJ community. (It was a pleasure meeting more than two dozen people over Zoom back in May.) While our virtual programming kept staff and students connected during the pandemic, there’s nothing like gathering in person, to learn with and support one another.
In my first months as president and CEO, I find myself impressed by the drive and commitment of our staff, students, and trustees. We are busy developing plans for robust offerings going forward, a combination of in-person and online classes. This will be a work in progress, as we learn what works and strike a balance for using our current resources.
We resumed in-person Better Health and Wellness classes this month, with COVID-19 protocols in place. Rather than have all students attend on a single day, we will host two weekly sessions, with roughly half of participants attending each. Everyone will be required to wear masks. As always, our goal is to keep us all healthy.
Virtual classes have been invaluable during the pandemic, and we were proud to roll out new programs for healthy aging. We have Atlantic Health System’s Morristown Medical Center Community Health Committee to thank for the grant that funds LIFT, STRIVE, and the newest addition, ARISE, a virtual speaker series which will feature a variety of topics designed to motivate and inspire people with vision loss to achieve their best selves.
I want to acknowledge a generous — and unexpected — bequest we recently received from the estate of a VLANJ supporter. We are honored to be remembered in her will. VLANJ is so grateful to donors who contribute monthly and annually but hope more supporters will also include us in their estate planning. Over VLANJ’s 78-year history, bequests have played an important role in our funding. We are establishing a legacy society so supporters can inform us of their intended gift, allowing us to plan accordingly.
Know that VLANJ’s work of empowering people with vision loss in all aspects of life could not happen without our supporters. I look forward to getting to know more of you in the coming months. Please feel free to reach out to me by phone or email with your ideas and questions. Wishing you well.
Sincerely,
Bill Schuldt
VLANJ President and CEO
wschuldt@vlanj.org
(973) 627-0055 ext. 1333