The Foundation sponsors a number of other programs and projects designed to aid in the intellectual and social development of blind and visually impaired children.
From 2009 through 2025, the Lied Learning and Technology Center for Childhood Deafness and Vision Disorders at the Boys Town National Research Hospital in Omaha (“BTRNH”) sponsored an annual Beeping Easter Egg Hunt for blind and visually impaired children. During most of those years, the Foundation provided financial, logistical and other support for this engaging activity. Beginning in 2026, the Foundation will assume primary sponsorship responsibility for the Beeping Easter Egg Hunt, with BTRNH providing facilities, institutional continuity and support.
2026 Beeping Easter Egg Hunt. The 18thAnnual Beeping Easter Egg Hunt will be held from 2 until 4 PM on Saturday, March 28, 2026 at the Boys Town Hall of History in Omaha. A copy of the invitation to the 2026 Beeping Easter Egg Hunt can be downloaded here.
This family-friendly event for blind and visually impaired children (and their siblings) is designed to be fully inclusive, featuring special eggs that emit a beeping sound. Children receive braille or large print books, stuffed animals, prizes, treats, and refreshments. The event allows children to experience the same thrill of discovery as any other child would in a traditional egg hunt. It’s a chance for these kids to feel safe, seen, and celebrated.
The event isn’t just meaningful for the children—it’s also a source of connection and support for their families. Parents will have the opportunity to meet others navigating similar challenges, share stories, and build a community rooted in understanding.
Registration. You may register a child for the 2026 Beeping Easter Egg Hunt by completing the registration form immediately below this section. Registration opens on Monday, February 23, 2026, and closes on Monday, March 23, 2026. The registration form requires the child’s name, birth date, home address, phone number, parent or guardian’s name, school, grade, name of the school vision teacher providing vision services and reading medium preference (Braille, print or both). The website registration also contains a consent and waiver as described in greater detail in the checkbox. Once a registration is accepted, you will get a confirmation e-mail in return.
Please complete this form to register a child for the 2026 Beeping Easter Egg Hunt for Blind and Visually Impaired Children, to be held at the Boys Town Hall of History in Omaha on March 28, 2026 from 2:00 PM until 4:00 PM. Please be certain to complete all required sections of the form, and to mark the consent and waiver checkbox on the bottom of the form. All registration forms must be received by Monday March 23, 2026. You will receive an e-mail confirmation of your registration when it is accepted.
The success of blind and visually impaired children is highly dependent upon the support they receive from adults, especially parents or guardians and the educators who work with these children on a daily basis.
In recognition of that role, the Foundation offers to partner with parents and educators by providing grants to enable them to pursue continuing education, development of skills and understanding of technology. These grants can take the form of tuition reimbursements, payment for the costs of distance education, continuing education or conferences, or payment for the costs of technology training or education.
The Foundation is always open to suggestions of other ways that it can assist parents or educators in obtaining the skills necessary to help their blind or visually impaired students. The Foundation has no specific application process for parent and educator grants. If you are interested in pursuing a parent or educator grant, please contact us and we will be happy to pursue it with you.
We provide Janice Anderson Memorial Scholarship grants annually to blind or visually impaired high school seniors who want to pursue post-secondary education. Scholarship grant amounts are typically $1000-$2000, depending on the number of applicants and available funding. If you wish to apply for a Janice Anderson Memorial Scholarship, please download a copy of the scholarship application guidelines, complete a scholarship application letter and submit it to the Foundation by mail or e-mail.
The 2024 Janice Anderson Memorial scholarship winners were Grace Lepin, Halle Christenson, Aidan Dunlap and Damian EBY. Congratulations! The 2025 scholarship application deadline is May 31, 2024.
Beginning in 2023, the Foundation has presented the annual Dr. Benton and Harriet Kutler Outstanding Vision Teacher Award to a deserving Nebraska vision teacher. The award includes a grant to the recipient of $10,000, as well as a commemorative plaque presented to the recipient at a school-based ceremony.
The award is given in May of each year to a Nebraska vision teacher of selected by the Foundation’s Board of Directors from vision teachers nominated in the spring of that year. The award recognizes outstanding contributions as a teacher of and mentor to the teacher’s students.
Vision teachers may be nominated by students, colleagues or parents or guardians of visually impaired children. Nominations for a year’s award can be made by a letter submitted to the Foundation’s Board of Directors by April 15 of that year. Letters should include contact information for the writer, and describe the writer’s relationship to the TVI, personal experiences with or anecdotes about the vision teacher and the vision teacher’s strengths in working with those who are visually impaired. Letters should be submitted to NFVIC by e-mail or by US Mail as described at contact us. The Foundation will acknowledge your letter upon receipt.
The Dr. Benton and Harriet Kutler Outstanding Vision Teacher Award has been established in memory of Dr. Benton Kutler and Harriet Kutler by their son, Howard Kutler, who is a Foundation board member. Dr. Kutler was a long-time member of the Foundation’s Board of Directors, and he and Harriet were staunch supporters of the Foundation’s mission and other initiatives designed to benefit blind and visually impaired children.
The 2023 winner of the Kutler Outstanding Vision Teacher Award was Lori Maestas of the Omaha Public Schools. The 2024 winner of the Kutler Outstanding Vision Teacher Award was Cynthia Barr-McNair, a vision teacher with the Millard Public Schools. The 2025 winner of the Kutler Outstanding Vision Teacher Award was Megan Macy of Educational Service Unit 13 in Scottsbluff. You can read the press release for Megan’s award at https://www.nfvic.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Press-Release.docx.
If you have questions regarding the Kutler Outstanding Vision Teacher Award and the nomination process, please contact us .
We regularly provide financial and other support to other organizations engaged in activities that benefit blind or visually impaired Nebraska children. For example, we have provided financial support of the annual Braille Challenge sponsored by the Nebraska Center for the Education of Children who are Blind or Visually Impaired. And we regularly help parent advocacy groups sponsor events that benefit blind or visually impaired children. If you have an event that might benefit from our support, please contact us to discuss how me might help you.