congressional_record: CREC-2026-10-01-pt1-PgE1010-5
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| granule_id | date | congress | session | volume | issue | title | chamber | granule_class | sub_granule_class | page_start | page_end | speakers | bills | citation | full_text |
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| CREC-2026-10-01-pt1-PgE1010-5 | 2026-10-01 | 119 | 2 | 172 | 156 | RECOGNIZING VISIONCORPS FOR A CENTURY OF SERVICE | HOUSE | EXTENSIONS | RECOGNIZING | E1010 | E1011 | [{"name": "Lloyd Smucker", "role": "speaking"}] | 172 Cong. Rec. E1010 | Congressional Record, Volume 172 Issue 156 (Thursday, October 1, 2026) [Congressional Record Volume 172, Number 156 (Thursday, October 1, 2026)] [Extensions of Remarks] [Pages E1010-E1011] From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov] RECOGNIZING VISIONCORPS FOR A CENTURY OF SERVICE ______ HON. LLOYD SMUCKER of pennsylvania in the house of representatives Thursday, October 1, 2026 Mr. SMUCKER. Mr. Speaker, I rise to recognize VisionCorps on a century of service. VisionCorps was founded in 1926 as the Lancaster County Branch of the Pennsylvania Association of the Blind. Located in downtown Lancaster, the agency's mission was to help blind veterans from World War I, and others who were blind, learn a trade. In the following years, the agency grew in its manufacturing capabilities, ranging from leather work and basket weaving to subcontracts for toy manufacturing. What has defined VisionCorps throughout the past century is its collaboration with other organizations. It had an early partnership with the Lancaster Lions Club, which promoted fundraising and educational efforts. For the first fifty years, every president of its Board of Directors was a member of the Lions. Through its partnership with local hospitals, VisionCorps held free vision clinics for children who lived in low-income households. In 1980, the organization began a partnership with the military through the National Industries for the Blind to make military products, and in 2009, it began providing contract closeout support for military bases. After numerous name changes over its history, the agency became VisionCorps in 2017. Since then, the organization began its signature rappel fundraiser, the Eye Drop, and in 2023 expanded its footprint to include a dry foods packaging facility in Little Rock, Arkansas. Today, VisionCorps serves more than 2,000 individuals across five Pennsylvania counties through rehabilitation services and screens more than 11,000 children for vision loss annually. I thank VisionCorps for its tremendous impact on Lancaster County and Pennsylvania's 11th Congressional District. Through its advocacy and partnership with the community, VisionCorps has changed the lives of thousands and made independence and autonomy for people who are blind possible. [[Page E1011]] ____________________ |