The Low Vision Project is a joint venture between area Lions Clubs, the New Ulm Public Library, Minnesota State Services for the Blind, and the River Bend Chapter of the National Federation of the Blind. Their goal is to have a variety of vision aids available to sight-challenged people who need them. Instructor Monica Buboltz, who’s worked with Low Vision Project since 2010, said they have a wide range of tools.

“There’s large print measuring devices, tools to continue sewing,” she said. There are tools to be able to continue reading if it’s you know, a free resource like a Digi Talkie book, or if it’s a CCTV, or if it’s using an app on your phone. There are large print items that are in for everyday use, like calendars and planners. There are all kinds of kitchen tools out there available like a talking meat thermometer to tell you how well your steak is done.”

Buboltz said the project’s work begins when someone comes to their office within the public library. From there, the different aides they have are tested and discussed with the person. After options are discussed, select aides are brought to the person’s home and set up for use. Buboltz said they are not a buy, sell, or trade organization. The aides are loaned out and then given back to the Low Vision Project.

For Buboltz, working with the Low Vision Project is personal. Born with aniridia, which is a partial or complete absence of the iris, she has been legally blind her whole life. As someone with vision loss, Buboltz said she can relate to people who turn to the Low Vision Project for help.

Dorothy Lundquist sits with her dog Duke. Lundquist’s daughter-in-law Susan Lundquist said the Low Vision Project gave Dorothy her life and independence back.

“I do have some remaining vision but I don’t ever compare people,” she said. “Everybody is at a different level of vision loss. I get [what it feels like]. Bright lights are terrible for me because my pupils are always dilated. My sunglasses are always a part of me. This is the cross I’ve been given.”

Buboltz said the biggest struggle the Low Vision Project faces as a donation-funded program is money. While their aides are functional, some are several decades old and are replaceable. An example Buboltz provided is their box CCTVs, which they use to greatly enlarge text so people can continue to read. She said there are drawbacks to the ones they currently have.

“The flat screens are by far better,” Buboltz said. “When you have someone five feet tall, they’re looking up and your eyes are supposed to be on the middle of the screen.”

New Ulm Lions Club president Bob Schirlinger said one of the new reading machines can cost around $2,000 because they’re not in high stock.

Buboltz said bringing the joy and spark back into many people’s lives has been the most rewarding part of her work. She said one memory in particular stood out to her over her many years of volunteering.

Low Vision Project instructor Monica Buboltz shows some of the smaller aids she has in a bag of goodies. She said aides come in all types of shapes and sizes.

“I got done teaching a class in Rochester for eight weeks,” Buboltz said. “There was a veteran and we went into a lab where they had CCTVs. We’re talking about a grown man in his late 70s. I didn’t know if anyone had ever shown him one of these devices. I said sit down here and [when he used the device] he looked at it and he started crying on me. I go, ‘What’s the matter?’ ‘I can see it.’ he said as he hugged me. You can’t put words on that.”

This joy has inspired some to donate to the cause. Erik and Susan Lundquist donated $520 to the project after his mother Dorothy Lundquist died on July 3rd, 2023. Susan Lundquist said she and Erik were inspired to donate based off of the positive experience Dorothy Lundquist had and the amount of helpfulness received from the project.

Dorothy Lundquist was helped by the program for several years after she was diagnosed with macular degeneration after previously having perfect vision. Susan Lundquist said the project was a lifesaver for her mother-in-law.

“I can’t even tell you how amazing this was for Dorothy,” she said. “She thought Monica was the best and she was beside herself with joy because she could do things she never thought she could do again because of the aids provided. She saw her iPad to do what she loved to do, communicating with family and playing games. Making things in the kitchen and using appliances. She couldn’t make anything fancy but even heating things in the microwave she was able to do. Reading books was huge because she was an avid reader.”

Susan Lundquist said she did not know of the program until five years after her mother-in-law was diagnosed. It was only after an inquiry to state services did she find there was help so close by. She said in the future, she hopes more people can be connected with the project as soon as possible.

Erik and Susan Lundquist (left, right) present a $520 check to Instructor Monica Buboltz for the Low Vision Project. Susan Lundquist said she and her husband were inspired to donate because of all the good the Low Vision Project and Buboltz had done for her mother-in-law Dorothy Lundquist.

“I wish we had known about it earlier to have helped Dorothy sooner. I hope other people know about it and can donate, as the project runs on donations. I want them to be able to continue providing their services to more and more people.”

For more information, visit https://www.newulmmn.gov/376/Low-Vision-Project. Any donations should be sent to the Lions Club of New Ulm at P.O. box 23, with the Low Vision Project written in the attn. section on the envelope.