ABOUT US
ABOUT BLINDSTART
Helping the Blind & Deaf
CROSS FINISH LINES
BLINDSTART was founded in 2006 by Brian Tom, a visually impaired entrepreneur. Always wanting to be first, he and his growing team of supporters offered the first blind/blind-folded mud run in 2009. The next year, BLINDSTART became the first blind dragonboat racing team at the Long Beach Dragonboat Festival. This year 2018 our BLINDSTART Dragon Boat Team consisting of blind, deaf and sighted paddlers will be representing the USA at the International Dragon Boat Federation World Championships in Szeged, Hungary. Our events bridge the gap between the blind and sighted, and give our participants an insight into two different worlds. We liberate blind individuals by having events through which they can participate in mainstream activities and raise awareness of blindness in America.
OUR MISSION
Our mission is to provide scholarships for blind and visually impaired persons (VIPs) to develop job skills to enable them to ultimately lead lives of independence. These scholarships provide education, training, communication, transportation, adaptive equipment and technology.