Envisioning Youth Empowerment Retreat

12/17/2025

We’re back! Planning for the 19th annual EYE Retreat is underway. Mentors with visual impairments we are calling on you! Join us July 24th to August 1 to teach about college life and entrepreneurship skills. Apply online at www.eyeretreat.org!

The Envisioning Youth Empowerment Retreat was born after passage of the North Carolina Disability History and Awareness Month Act. This legislation mandated that public schools teach disability history, famous people with disabilities, and disability characteristics. Specifically, the legislatio.....

09/06/2025

We're excited to help cross-promote a fantastic new program! Own Your Light is all about building a more inclusive community for youths with low vision through mentorship. They're looking for mentors and mentees!

Check out their website to learn more!

https://sites.google.com/view/own-your-light/own-your-light?authuser=0

08/02/2025

The 2025 EYE Retreat has come to a close! We had a great group of participants and staff who created a great environment of learning and fun. From pitching business ideas to learning to navigate a college campus we packed a lot into one week. EYE Retreat 2026 can't come soon enough!

08/02/2025

The capstone of the 2025 EYE Retreat! Our entrepreneurship participants presented their business pitches while our college participants presented their research on their preferred college! We finished the day with our participants exploring Raleigh!

08/01/2025

An exciting day for the 2025 EYE Retreat! North Carolina State University welcomed our college track participants to learn about the Disability Resources Office and financial aid. Meanwhile, our entrepreneurship track visited the Albright Entrepreneurship Garage! Later, back at the Governor Morehead School, we hosted a talent show where our participants sang, played music, performed sketches, demonstrated Taekwondo, and so much more! Come back tomorrow for the update on the final day of the 2025 EYE Retreat!

07/31/2025

📢 Exciting Scholarship Opportunity! 📢

We're thrilled to announce The Envisioning Youth Empowerment (EYE) Paving the Way Scholarship, a $10,000 award designed to support blind or visually impaired students pursuing their first four-year undergraduate degree!

The opportunity will be available to participants and mentors of the 2025 EYE Retreat who have a passion for mentoring others! We believe in empowering future leaders and paving the way for your academic success.

Key Details:

Award: $10,000

Eligibility: Blind or visually impaired individuals, pursuing their first 4-year undergraduate degree, a participant or mentor of the 2025 EYE Retreat, with a passion for mentoring.

Application Available: Starting August 31st!

A link to the application and deadline for applications will follow soon!

Don't miss this incredible chance to fund your educational journey and continue making a difference!

07/31/2025

Day 4 of the 2025 EYE Retreat! Our participants spent the day finishing up the courses for the week and prepared for a visit to NC State University tomorrow and some adventures in Raleigh on Friday! A special thanks to KLove Leigh Miller for presenting on the use of guide dogs. We also want to thank the SAVVY program for inviting us to attend their annual dance. Come back tomorrow to find out what our participants were up to!

07/30/2025

Another great day at the 2025 EYE Retreat! Today, the participants in the college track learned about financial aid and school-life balance, discussed ethical dilemmas in part 2 of our mock college course, and much more. The entrepreneurship track spent the day practicing pitching their businesses, learned about intellectual property, and explored use of AI in business. Stay tuned for updates on the rest of the 2025 EYE Retreat and a very special announcement!

07/29/2025

Day 2 of the 2025 EYE Retreat! Our college track had the first of three mock college courses on ethics, learned about transitioning from high school to college, study skills, and more! Our entrepreneurship track learned about adaptive business strategies, finances for entrepreneurs, and scheduling for entrepreneurs. We're excited for another great day of learning and fun tomorrow. Stay tuned!

07/28/2025

We're excited to kick off the 2025 EYE Retreat! Our staff and participants had a full day of registration, recognizing our staff, learning about independent living, entrepreneurship, and so much more! We finished the day with a visit to Lifetime Archery with Coach John and his fantastic team of volunteers for indoor archery. Stay tuned for more exciting updates on the 2025 EYE Retreat!

05/29/2025

Last Call! The 18th annual EYE Retreat is almost full this summer. Applications for our College Transition and Entrepreneurship camps for students with visual impairments closes June 15 or while space is available. Applications and draft schedules are online at eyeretreat.org. Learn from successful blind adults in our peer mentoring and real world experiences model. See you July 26 to August 2 at Governor Morehead School!

The Envisioning Youth Empowerment Retreat was born after passage of the North Carolina Disability History and Awareness Month Act. This legislation mandated that public schools teach disability history, famous people with disabilities, and disability characteristics. Specifically, the legislatio.....

08/03/2024

That's a wrap on the 2024 EYE Retreat! A huge thank you to all of our staff for making this retreat a success. Our participants learned a lot about self-advocacy, navigating a college campus, entrepreneurship, and so much more. We're excited to come back again next year for 2025!