A Brief History About LWSB
“The blind do not want the pity or the sentimental gushing of sympathetic people. They want to work and be self-supporting.” – Roy Kumpe, founder of Lions World Services for the Blind.
The History of Lions World Services for the Blind
Lions World Services for the Blind began in 1939 as a program that trained and employed people who are blind to operate vending stands in government buildings. The program was started by the late Roy Kumpe, an Arkansas lawyer who had been blind since the age of eight. Soon after starting the vending stand program, Kumpe came to the realization that not enough blind and visually impaired people were independent enough to be successfully employed. |
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This kindled his dream to create a training and rehabilitation center for people who are blind or visually impaired. One of the first steps toward the fulfillment of his dream was to persuade an Arkansas statewide convention of Lions Clubs to sponsor such a training and rehabilitation center. In 1946, he persuaded the Little Rock Founders Lions Club to provide $10,000, and in 1947 the first rehabilitation center to open under non-governmental auspices in the country was incorporated as Arkansas Enterprises for the Blind. |
In 1989, the name was changed to Lions World Services for the Blind to better reflect the range of services and the international scope. Now, LWSB is the largest, most complete center of its kind, and its programs are being emulated throughout the world.
