Skip to main navigation Skip to footer COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT – LCI LCI Home Who We Are What We Do Careers Community Involvement News/Events Shop Search for: Contact Linkedin Facebook Twitter YouTube COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT Empowering the blind and visually impaired through meaningful employment is the soul of who we are. But our community is bigger than us. For the greatest impact, we must look beyond. EMPLOY EMPLOY Providing training and employment opportunities needed to build talent pipelines in the communities we serve. BUILD BUILD Investing in developing resources for the community. SERVE SERVE Supporting the BVI community in advocacy. SUPPORT SUPPORT Investing in programs to support our mission. THE WILLIAM L. HUDSON BVI WORKFORCE INNOVATION CENTER THE WILLIAM L. HUDSON BVI WORKFORCE INNOVATION CENTER Due to a lack of accessibility and workplace accommodation, 70% of blind or visually impaired people are unemployed. In 2018, we partnered with Envision, Wichita KS, to help change that. Named after our former CEO, Bill Hudson, the Workforce Innovation Center, with locations in both Wichita and Durham, focuses on increasing and improving career opportunities for the blind and visually impaired. Here, we train blind and visually impaired workers in technology, health care, sustainability, and other growing fields with the goal of realizing their potential as qualified and productive employees. Another major reason for low BVI employment is a lack of understanding or accommodation on the part of employers. The Workforce Innovation Center challenges this norm through political advocacy, accessibility education, and promotion of assistive technology. As the world moves forward, we mustn’t leave the blind or visually impaired behind. The Workplace Innovation Center is a crucial part of that goal. DUKE UNIVERSITY EYE CENTER DUKE UNIVERSITY EYE CENTER Duke University – based in our hometown of Durham, North Carolina – hosts one of the leading medical research centers in the world. Their work on glaucoma, cataracts, and macular degeneration is at the forefront of science, and in 2015 we helped move forward their dream of bringing sight to all. LCI was proud to donate $16 million to the Duke University Eye Center for a new clinical pavilion. The new, state-of-the-art Hudson building – named after our former CEO, Bill Hudson – more than quadruples faculty capacity and expands patient visits by over 15,000 per year. The building’s accessibility features were developed with Chris Downey, the only blind architect in the United States. Other features of the new building include new exam and operating rooms, an occupational therapy center, and new technology to treat glaucoma, retina, low-vision, and cornea patients. Read Video Transcript Skip back to main navigation Home Who We Are What We Do Careers Community Involvement News/Events Linkedin Facebook Twitter YouTube Contact Shop Search Sitemap Employee Resources LCI 4500 Emperor Blvd. Durham, NC 27703 Phone: (919) 596-8277 Accessibility Statement LCI is committed to providing a website that is accessible to everyone. To further this commitment, we’ve been using Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.0, which provides standards. Read More ISO 9001 Certified © Copyright 2021 LCI | All Rights Reserved Back To Top