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New Web Site Launched for Guiding Eyes for the Blind
Thanks to the generosity of SAP Global Marketing, Inc., a subsidiary of SAP AG (NYSE: SAP), a leading nonprofit guide dog school has a new web site. Guiding Eyes for the Blind, renowned for its superbly bred and trained guide dogs, is the beneficiary of the talents of the Global Web Design team from SAP Global Marketing, who donated the redesign of the school's web site: www.guidingeyes.org.
Guiding Eyes for the Blind is a 501(c)(3) organization that breeds and trains dogs for guide dog work, and then partners them with a blind or visually impaired person. The school has trained over 6,500 Guiding Eyes teams since its inception in 1952.
Guiding Eyes' site serves several constituencies, including volunteers, prospective students, graduates, and donors. Like many nonprofits, Guiding Eyes uses the internet to help donors make their contributions online. This is particularly important, given that the school does not charge its blind students for its dogs or training programs.
The blind and visually impaired use adaptive technology to access web sites; one of the most widely used software programs, Jaws, audibly reads the user's screen. Guiding Eyes finds that many students visit its web site while choosing which guide dog school to attend, just as do college-bound students.
Guiding Eyes also uses its site as a volunteer recruitment tool. Its volunteer program offers a wide range of opportunities, including raising a puppy for eventual guide dog work and helping with fundraising events. Guiding Eyes is currently seeking volunteers for its upcoming golf event, which will be hosted by Super Bowl MVP Eli Manning on June 23.
The new site offers several innovations that were not available on the school's former site, including a Graduate Center. The school is also launching two e-stores: Guiding Eyes Official Apparel by Lands End, and the Guiding Eyes Specialty Gift Shop. Both e-stores offer merchandise designed for those who love dogs, with sales proceeds supporting the school's mission and work.
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