The Iris Network has been endorsed by, and awarded a $4,500 grant from, the Maine200 Bicentennial Committee (through the Maine Arts Commission) as part of a celebration of 200 years since Maine became a State on March 15, 1820. Grant monies will be used to support our 25th annual White Cane Walk for Independence event to be held Saturday, October 10, 2020 at 10:00am on The Iris Network campus in Portland. At the Walk event, we will highlight Maine’s history for people with disabilities and our founding supported by Helen Keller and Joshua Chamberlain (whose wife, Frances, was visually impaired). Each year proceeds from the Walk go to support our services for people who are blind or visually impaired as we have for 115 years (since our founding at The Maine Institution for the Blind on June 23, 1905). Lots of anniversaries to celebrate!
The Iris Network – White Cane Walk for Independence will be funded in part by a grant from the Maine Arts Commission, an independent state agency supported by the National Endowment for the Arts.