WHITEHALL, Pa. – At 43, Bryan Shumway was diagnosed with a degenerative eye condition and the future he imagined changed radically.
“I mean, was losing my home, lost my career, lost my second marriage. I mean, it. I lost everything,” he said.
But the Whitehall man found new purpose at Sights for Hope. The Lehigh Valley non-profit helps the visually impaired gain independence.
“I joked that he could have been a NASA guy, an early NASA guy, helping us get to the moon,” said Executive Director Dennis Zehner has he looked at his grandfather’s photo.
Zehner says his grandfather, George, who struggled with his vision, never got the chance. A $30,000 Trexler Trust grant will help clients afford assistive devices and pursue opportunities his grandfather never had.
“Funding like this is sometimes the difference between them getting a device that can help them conquer everyday life or not,” he said.
From higher education to the arts, to community services. Eighty-four Lehigh County non-profits were given grants totaling $6.3 million.
All stem from General Harry Trexler’s trust, which has awarded more than $200 million since 1935.
“You can see the thumbprints, if you will, of the Trexler Trust spread across the entire county, concentrated in the city, and we’re proud of that,” said Trustees’ Chairman Scott Pidcock.
Shumway is one of those lives. The 60-year-old not only plays guitar in the non-profits band, but is also a life coach, counselor and a minister.
“If it wasn’t for Sights for Hope, I wouldn’t have discovered that I could do those things,” he said.
Nearly a century after his death, Trexler’s legacy continues helping people like Shumway discover new possibilities.