Helen Keller National Center for DeafBlind Youths and Adults

09/15/2026

As Maricar Marquez crossed the finish line in 2024, her running partner signed one word into her hands: finished.

Maricar ran with her guide dog Cliff and her Support Service Provider (SSP), who ran beside her as her running partner.

Maricar is HKNC's Supervisor of Independent Living and captain of this year's Helen's 5K Run/Walk. What you're watching is communication access in action: the same interpreting and SSP services every registration supports at Helen Keller National Center.

The race is this Sunday. There's still time to register.
www.helenkeller.org/5krunwalk

Sunday, September 20 | Check-in 7:45 AM | Start 9:30 AM
Sands Point Preserve to the HKNC campus, Sands Point, NY
USATF-certified course. Medals for every finisher.
Music, food, and a post-race celebration with activities.
Family-friendly. All ages and abilities, strollers, and leashed dogs welcome.
Can't make it Sunday? Run or walk virtually through September 26.

Maricar's running. Are you in?

Register at www.helenkeller.org/5krunwalk



Video transcript with audio description:

This video features race footage from the 2024 Helen's 5K Run/Walk. It contains no spoken dialogue. Upbeat instrumental music plays throughout. Audio description is included.

[Audio description: Slow motion footage of Maricar approaching a finish line with her guide dog and an SSP running partner.]
Scene: A sunny autumn morning on a paved road lined with trees turning orange and gold. Maricar Marquez wears a maroon zip-up jacket, black leggings, a black cap, mirrored sunglasses, and race bib 111. Her black Labrador guide dog, Cliff, runs at her left side in a bright yellow harness marked GUIDE DOG. Her running partner and Support Service Provider (SSP), dressed in a black top and navy leggings with race bib 177, runs at her right side with their arms linked. Another runner follows a step behind.

[Audio description: They cross the finish line and her SSP signs "finished."]
Scene: Just past the line, the SSP turns toward Maricar and signs "finished" into her hands. Maricar breaks into a wide smile.

[Audio description: They communicate in tactile sign language.]
Scene: Maricar and her SSP continue signing hand to hand in the foreground, with the blue FINISH LINE arch behind them. Cliff stands beside Maricar on his leash. A table of drinks sits nearby.

[Audio description: They pose for a photo.]
Scene: A still photo. Maricar and her SSP stand side by side, smiling, their hands clasped together at chest height. Maricar holds Cliff's harness handle in her other hand as he stands in front of them.

[Audio description: Photo of Maricar and her guide dog with text that reads "I'm running. Are you in?"]
Scene: A campaign graphic. Maricar, wearing bib 111, reaches into her waist pack as Cliff looks up at her, with autumn foliage behind them. Bold white text reads: I'm running. Are you in?

[Audio description: Helen's 5K RunWalk logo with a QR code to helenkeller.org/5krunwalk. September 20, 2026.]
Scene: End screen on a white background. The Helen's 5K RunWalk HKS 2026 logo. Below it is a QR code linking to registration, the web address HelenKeller.org/5KRunWalk, the date September 20, 2026, and the Helen Keller Services logo.

08/26/2026

From Maricar, HKNC Supervisor of Independent Living:

That's me and Cliff at the finish of Helen's 5K Run/Walk in 2023. A Support Service Provider (SSP) ran it with us.

I'm back on September 20 and I want you at Sands Point with me. Run it, walk it, push a stroller, bring the kids. Whatever pace is yours.

Every registration supports communication access at Helen Keller National Center, including ASL and tactile interpreting, SSP services, and assistive technology, along with the programs that help DeafBlind adults live and work on their own terms. This is the work I do every day, and it's why I run this race.

Register by September 1 to guarantee your shirt size. Not on Long Island? Run it virtually anywhere in the country, September 14 through 26. Start a team or join one that's already going.

I'm running. Are you in?

Register: www.helenkeller.org/5krunwalk

Image Description:
A graphic for the Helen Keller Services 5K Run/Walk. The left half is dark navy with the HKS logo and large white text reading "5K RUN/WALK," followed by "Sept 20, 2026, Sands Point Preserve," "All Ages & Abilities Welcome," "Register: helenkeller.org/5krunwalk," and "I'M RUNNING. ARE YOU IN?" The right half is a photo of Maricar crossing the finish line at a past Helen's 5K on a rainy day. She wears a black jacket, black cap, and race bib 136, with her black Labrador guide dog Cliff at her side in a yellow Guide Dog harness. A Support Service Provider in a teal jacket and bib 181 runs alongside her with a hand on her arm. A "FINISH LINE" banner and race clock hang overhead.

08/26/2026

How does iCanConnect provide free equipment and training to individuals who are DeafBlind? This guide outlines the straightforward process. Learn the disability and income requirements, what specialized distance communication equipment is available, and how local iCanConnect contacts help you throug...

08/21/2026

Helen Keller Services is hosting a Job Expo on Thursday, October 1 at our Sands Point campus, bringing employers and hiring agencies together with job seekers who are blind or DeafBlind.

Booths include a morning workshop led by blind and DeafBlind professionals on workplace etiquette, terminology, and what allyship looks like day to day, plus private interview space on site.

Register: https://www.helenkeller.org/events/hks-job-expo/

Job seekers, information on attending is coming soon.

Image description: A graphic announcing the Helen Keller Services Job Expo. The HKS logo appears at the top, with the HKNC and HKSB division logos side by side beneath it, separated by a vertical line. Below that, "JOB EXPO" appears in large navy letters, followed by "Connect with job seekers who are blind or DeafBlind." A photograph shows two people seated across a desk, one reviewing a document with a pen while the other rests folded hands on the surface. An open laptop sits to the left. Beneath the photo, "OCTOBER 1, 2026" appears in large navy text above a link icon and the URL HelenKeller.org/HKS-Job-Expo.

08/12/2026

Join us Sunday, September 20 at Sands Point Preserve for Helen's 5K Run/Walk.

Bring the family. Kids, strollers, and dogs welcome. Run it, walk it. All ages, all abilities, all paces.

Maricar Marquez will be on the course with her guide dog Cliff. She's HKNC's Supervisor of Independent Living, and she races road 5Ks and triathlons. Her invitation is a simple one:
I'm running. Are you in?

Not on Long Island? The virtual window runs September 14 through 26, anywhere in the country.

Every registration supports communication access at Helen Keller National Center, including ASL and tactile interpreting, SSP services, and assistive technologies, plus the programs that help DeafBlind adults live and work independently in their communities.

Register: www.helenkeller.org/5krunwalk

Image Description:
A graphic announcing the Helen Keller Services 5K Run/Walk. The left half is dark navy with the HKS logo and large white text reading "5K RUN/WALK," followed by "Sept 20, 2026, Sands Point Preserve," "All Ages & Abilities Welcome," "Register: helenkeller.org/5krunwalk," and "I'M RUNNING. ARE YOU IN?" The right half is a photo of Maricar Marquez in a maroon jacket and black cap wearing race bib 111, standing beside her black Labrador guide dog Cliff in a yellow Guide Dog harness.

07/31/2026

HKNC’s Summer Youth Vocational Program's adaptive surfing week made the front page of the Long Beach Herald. Six SYVP participants spent a week in Long Beach with certified adaptive surf instructors from Surf For All, Skudin Surf's adaptive surfing initiative, working with boards on the sand before heading into the Atlantic each day.

"Towards the end of the week, they didn't even need the interpreter. They were just like, 'We got this,' and they figured it out." Erin Columbus, Coordinator of Vocational Services at HKNC.

Read the full cover story: https://www.helenkeller.org/adaptive-surfing-long-beach-herald-cover

ID: The front page of the Long Beach Herald featuring a large photo of a Summer Youth Vocational Program participant sitting on a surfboard in the waves, smiling, with an adaptive surf instructor swimming in the water behind her. The headline below reads "Skudin Surf offers lessons to deaf-blind young adults."

07/28/2026

Last week we celebrated the opening reception of Touch of Our World at The Art Guild, and we're still thinking about it. Thank you to everyone who came out.

It was a wonderful turnout, and we were especially proud to have several of the featured artists from Helen Keller National Center there to share their work and connect with the community. During the evening, two participants addressed attendees in sign language, sharing their experiences at HKNC, the stories behind their artwork, and what creative expression means to them.

Thank you to The Art Guild for being such a great partner, and to HEARTS PW for the generous grant that made this exhibit possible.

If you missed the reception, there's still time. Touch of Our World runs through August 4 at The Art Guild, 200 Port Washington Blvd, Manhasset. Stop by and yes, please touch the art.

Image description: Photo collage from the Touch of Our World opening reception at The Art Guild. Top left: a young man reaches up to read the braille label beside a large circular woven fiber piece in bright yarns. Top right: a participant / artist feels the braille label beside a piece of artwork on a gallery wall. Middle right: a framed drawing of a butterfly with intricately patterned wings. Bottom left: a group photo including two HKNC participants whose artwork is featured in the exhibit, alongside HKNC and Art Guild staff. Bottom right: a woman holds a piece of paper while speaking into a microphone.

| The Art Guild

07/24/2026

Earlier this year, Scott Davert spent 2.5 days on the CSUN 2026 exhibit floor, and Part 2 of his coverage is all about braille.

Our Lead Research and Training Specialist goes hands-on with new displays and notetakers from Orbit Research, Humanware, Selvas, Dot Inc., and Tactile Engineering, including multi-line devices that put text and tactile graphics on the same surface.

Read Scott's full review: https://www.helenkeller.org/csun-2026-braille/

Scott Davert reviews braille displays and notetakers from CSUN 2026, including new devices from Orbit Research, Humanware, Selvas, Dot Inc., and Tactile Engineering.

07/15/2026

Yesterday, HKNC’s Summer Youth Vocational Program (SYVP) spent the day at Long Beach with Skudin Surf and Surf For All for adaptive surfing. News 12 came out to cover it.

SYVP is a four-week residential program at HKNC for DeafBlind youth ages 16 to 24, focused on career exploration, workplace readiness, and independent living skills. Adaptive surfing is part of the enrichment side of the program, and the confidence students build in the water carries back into everything else they're working on this summer.

Thanks to Skudin Surf and Surf For All for a great day in the water, and to News 12 for the coverage.

Video transcript:
News 12: Students with physical limitations got a chance to conquer their fears and hang ten today in Long Beach. Students ages 16 to 24 years old took part in an adaptive surfing lesson. The students worked with certified adaptive surf instructors to try something new and build self-confidence and independence.

Skudin Surf: It doesn't matter who you are. When you go in the ocean, there's a, there's elements of the ocean that provide healing and, and therapy, for anybody that, that has a relationship with it. So we're here to, you know, help that relationship grow.

News 12: And the surf lessons were a part of a summer program that includes STEAM projects, self-advocacy workshops, and real-world work experience. That doesn't look like work. That looks like fun out there for them today.
[end transcript]

| Surf For All Skudin Surf

07/14/2026

Mark your calendars. Helen Keller National Center (HKNC) is partnering with The Art Guild to present Touch of Our World, a tactile art exhibit celebrating the creativity of DeafBlind participants at HKNC and the powerful ways they experience, interpret, and express the world around them. This exhibit is made possible thanks to a generous grant from HEARTS PW (Helping Enrich the Arts in Port Washington), a local nonprofit dedicated to supporting the arts in Port Washington's schools and community.

Join us for the Opening Reception:
Wednesday, July 22, 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM
The Art Guild, 200 Port Washington Blvd, Manhasset, NY
Exhibit runs July 20 through August 4, 2026.

Every piece in this exhibit was created by participants in HKNC's Creative Arts department, an important part of our Comprehensive Vocational Rehabilitation Program (CVRP). Creative arts therapy gives participants a space to build confidence, develop communication, and discover meaningful pathways for self-expression alongside the vocational, independent living, assistive technology, orientation and mobility, and communication training that shapes their time at the National Center.

The exhibit features paintings, sculpture, mixed media, and interactive works that invite visitors to slow down and engage through touch, texture, and story. Each piece reflects the artist's own perspective, identity, and lived experience.

Open your imagination and come into our world of touch. And yes, please touch the art!

Image description: Promotional flyer for Touch of Our World, presented by Helen Keller National Center and The Art Guild. Three stacked close-up photographs show hands engaged in tactile art: fingers spreading yellow and green paint across a canvas, hands shaping a clay bowl on a pottery wheel, and a hand holding a paintbrush with blue paint on the fingers. White text over the images announces the exhibit dates of July 20 through August 4, an opening reception on Wednesday, July 22 from 6 to 8 PM, and the location at 200 Port Washington Blvd, Manhasset, NY. Logos for The Art Guild, Hearts PW, and Helen Keller National Center appear at the bottom.

| The Art Guild Hearts PW