'Joy on those children's faces' as Tampa nonprofit hosts holiday event for visually impaired kids

Santa spreads cheer to visually impaired kids

FOX 13's Ariel Plasencia reports on Lions World Vision Institute, a local nonprofit that hosted a special holiday celebration for Hillsborough County elementary school students who are visually impaired.

YBOR CITY, Fla. - A local nonprofit hosted a very special holiday celebration on Wednesday, Dec. 18, for Hillsborough County elementary school students who are visually impaired.

The global nonprofit Lions World Vision Institute (LWVI) is headquartered in Ybor City. That’s where staff members hosted their VIP² Holiday Party for Very Important People who are also Visually Impaired People.

A child meets Santa at the VIP² Holiday Party Lions World Vision Institute hosted.

A visually impaired child meets Santa at the VIP² Holiday Party Lions World Vision Institute hosted.

"Christmas is such a visual holiday," LWVI Foundation Executive Director Sharon Boyes said. "We want to give children who have that visual impairment that feeling and that joy of Christmas."

READ: Visually impaired children experience holiday magic in Ybor City

Kids put together special crafts, listened to live music, and chatted with Santa at Wednesday’s event.

"So these are the kids that have genetic visual impairments. Some of them are totally blind. Some of them have other disabilities as well," Boyes told FOX 13 News. "And so it's a very specific division of the Hillsborough County school system, but we’ve been partnering with them for about 30 years."

Visually impaired children do activities at the VIP² Holiday Party Lions World Vision Institute hosted.

Janice Bryan attended the event with her great-grandson, Elijah, who has Alstrom syndrome, "which causes him to go blind and deaf."

"It is something to help get him out of the house to be able to associate with other people, other kids his age with the same problems," Bryan said of Wednesday’s event.

READ: Operation Toy Soldier brings smiles to military families, veterans ahead of Christmas

Iishia Godwin told FOX 13 News that her 11-year-old son, Brian Harrell, has vision issues after he was born a micro preemie.

"Kids like him, who can't see, can feel like they are part of a group so that they can feel as normal as possible," Godwin said.

Children opening holiday presents at the VIP² Holiday Party Lions World Vision Institute hosted.

Kids also received personalized gifts purchased off their wish lists by LWVI staff members.

"Our whole mission is tied to serving children like this: Whether it's the research we're doing downstairs, whether it's in the corneal transplants, and we are just really dedicated to it," Boyes said. "So to be able to be in this tremendous historic building, to do something fun, to be able to see the joy on those children's faces is really what this is all about."

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