A Breakfast with Champions

In celebration of National Blind Sports Month and National Disability Employment Awareness Month, Lighthouse Guild, at West 64th Street, hosted a breakfast for the 13th annual U.S. Association of Blind Athletes’ (USABA) Breakfast with Champions. During the event, the USABA’s Breakfast with Champions was simulcasted live into Lighthouse Guild’s technology center from the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Museum in Colorado.

Speakers at the Lighthouse Guild program included: Dr. Calvin W. Roberts, President and CEO of Lighthouse Guild; USABA Board Chair Mark Ackermann; four-time Paralympic goalball athlete and two-time Paralympic medalist Tyler Merren; and members of Team USA bronze medalists of the 2022 WBSC Blind Baseball International Cup.

The Breakfast with Champions simulcast featured USA Goalball Paralympic medalists John Kusku and Eliana Mason. U.S. Paralympics Track & Field gold medalist David Brown joined the simulcast from the first USA Blind Soccer Team Selection Camp in California. Brown, a three-time Paralympian in track and field, is attempting to qualify for the inaugural USA Blind Soccer National Team.

In the United States, 2.4 percent of the population has a visual impairment. That equates to almost 8 million Americans and more than 500,000 school-age children. Nearly 70 percent of blind people do not participate in even a limited physical education curriculum.

“Breakfast with Champions is a fantastic yearly event hosted by the U.S. Association of Blind Athletes that consistently showcases some of the world’s top Paralympic athletes,” said Ackermann. “We are excited to expand Breakfast with Champions this year to include virtual experiences around the country, including the one hosted by Lighthouse Guild in New York.”

“Lighthouse Guild is dedicated to helping people who are visually impaired attain their goals, and sports can be a powerful way to cultivate a sense of self-reliance and social inclusion, as well as a tool for physical and psychological health for people of all backgrounds,” said Dr. Calvin W. Roberts, President and CEO of Lighthouse Guild. “Lighthouse Guild is honored to virtually host the USABA’s Breakfast with Champions to help bring this inspirational event to the community of those we serve and beyond.”