Organization Profile: Visually Impaired Preschool Services, (VIPS)

Join Visually Impaired Preschool Services (VIPS Indiana) at Walking for Dreams Family & Pet Walk on Sunday, May 23, 2021! All funds raised at the event will help VIPS continue to provide critical early intervention services to Indiana's babies and toddlers with blindness/low vision and comprehensive support to their families. This event will be virtual AND in-person, so that you can participate however is best! Walking for Dreams has become our largest annual fundraiser, in fact, VIPS Indiana raised more than $20,000 last year and we hope to do even better this year- but we need your help! HOW YOU CAN HELP- *Sign up to walk! By signing up, you are committing to walk--on the canal with us, or in your own neighborhood, at a park or wherever you choose--on behalf of VIPS and/or raise funds to support our critical programming. So what's next? Set a goal amount and start asking family, friends, co-workers, and neighbors to donate on your behalf!  *Start a team! When you sign up, you have the option to start a team and build your own profile. If you select this option, you can start your very own fundraising team that your family and friends can register to walk on and/or make donations to. This is a great way to get your family and friends excited about raising money to support our VIPS families! *Make a general donation. We get it. Not everyone will want to attend this fundraiser or participate virtually but making a donation will make an impact. Every dollar counts! IN-PERSON PARTICIPATION- Please register online prior to the event to minimize gathering at the check-in table. Register at www.walkingfordreams.org. The walk kicks off at the canal from Buggs Temple in downtown Indianapolis.  (337 West 11 Street between Meridian and Dr. Martin Luther King Drive. ) You can even bring your dog! Event Schedule 1:30 – 1:45 Registration begins for those who do not register online 1:45 – 2:00 Greetings and announcements 2:00 – 3:00 Walk around Canal (also live-streamed on the VIPS Facebook) 3:00 – 3:30 Raffle prizes awarded--all in-person attendees will receive a ticket for a chance to win raffle items! To ensure everyone's safety, there will be masks passed out to all walkers, hand sanitizing stations, and separate start times for participating nonprofits to space out walkers along the canal. Fortunately, VIPS will be the first group to start. VIRTUAL PARTICIPATION- To join the walk virtually, you can watch the VIPS Facebook live stream that will begin promptly at 2 PM. We will be live-streaming the walk from the canal downtown Indianapolis. Be sure to take pictures of you and your family and friends walking where ever you choose to participate; whether in your neighborhood. community, etc. you can tag VIPS and use #VIPSWFD2021 so we can see ALL the walkers supporting Indiana's youngest children with blindness/low vision! If you cannot join us at 2 PM on May 23, you can walk whenever you can! The walk is typically about 45 minutes or 3K. Still remember to tag VIPS in your photos, no matter what day you walk!