History of Montgomery County Association for the Blind
Founded in 1945, the Montgomery County Association for the Blind (MCAB) has been the only local organization to provide continuous specialized services to county residents with visual impairments. While the organization has gone through many changes over the years, our mission has remained constant: to enhance the quality of life for people coping with blindness or vision impairments through education, support and advocacy and to strive to prevent blindness through education and screening programs.
The first organizational meeting took place on June 14, 1945. At that meeting, community leaders and members of the local Lions Clubs decided that a local organization was needed to address the unique needs of members of the community who were blind or visually impaired, including our veterans returning from World War II.
MCAB was first located in a small house in Norristown, serving less than 300 adults. Growing from this beginning, one of the early services was the creation of a sheltered workshop. Some other early services also included social groups, social work help, Braille transcribing and vision screening programs for young children. Many county residents may remember that for many years MCAB was also located in an old movie house on Marshall Street in Norristown. MCAB subsequently moved to rented office space in East Norriton, outside of Norristown.
In 1996, the organization purchased our own building in North Wales. Now services are extended not only to Montgomery County residents but to Chester County as well.
Over time, many other services have been added with the goal of offering more comprehensive services to those with vision loss.
While our history demonstrates reliable services over our 65 year history, the services have also grown to incorporate changes and increasing needs.
MCAB is proud to continue to provide expert support for our community residents with vision loss.
