Well, every day, organizations across our region, help people turn challenges into new beginnings.

For those living without sight, that journey takes extra strength.

Nearly 7 million Americans live with vision impairment, and one nonprofit is helping them rediscover purpose and possibility.

"Carolina Impact's" Dara Khaalid and Videographer Marcellus Jones, take us inside a place where hope and hard work go hand-in-hand.

(page swishing) - [Dara] Lights off... - [Volunteer] Alright, you and go ahead and put your blindfolds on.

- [Dara] Blindfolds on... - Go ahead, and we eat, we start, - [Dara] And it's time for this group to eat breakfast, without relying on their eyesight.

- I thought it would be good experience to come and try and eat breakfast, you know, blind, and kind of step into the shoes of someone who, you know, doesn't have perfect vision like myself.

- [Dara] It's an eye-opening experience for these folks attending the nonprofit Lion Services', Breakfast in the Dark, as they use their other senses to peel oranges, and feel around their plates for blueberries.

- [Matthew] That's something that we take for granted, is wake up and we have it, and we can see perfectly, we can hear great, and, you know, one day that can go.

- [Dara] Lion Services holds the quarterly event to give sighted people a chance to really understand the daily challenges the blind and visually impaired face, whether that's eating breakfast or working.

Since 1935, the nonprofit has been doing exactly what their motto says, "Helping the blind help themselves through employment."

Out of its 270 employees, 120 of them, including Raven Joiner, have a visual impairment.

- Prior to me having vision loss, I would not touch a sewing machine.

It was difficult, it was challenging at first, but something in me wanted me to learn how to do it.

- [Dara] Throughout the warehouse, there are five different departments where workers create textile products for the US Department of Defense, you'll see them assembling camelbaks, the backpack soldiers use to carry water and other essentials, plus.

This is a helmet beam, and here, one, the actual band, there are two flares and it's for our Military servants, when they're in the field, they, at nighttime, you can see these flares light up.

All throughout the building, you'll find these yellow tactile mobility strips.

Now, the whole point of these are to help guide employees as they navigate throughout the building, and these are just one of the many accommodations made for employees.

Other accommodations include this guide on Raven's machine, she makes about 200 to 300 helmet bands a day, and this helps her get them in the correct form.

(upbeat whistling music) - And I place it down here at the top, and I can bring this sticker up, even the sticker has a place on the machine that makes it easy to fold, and, sha-boom, there it is.

- [Dara] Once having a successful career as an event planner, this isn't the job Raven ever saw for herself, but a diagnosis in 2021, forced her to pivot.

- It began with my vision, just became a little bit blurry, and from there, it just became more blurred and more blurred, I remember driving and not being able to see the traffic lights until I got close enough to see them, it was kind of just like someone started dimming the lights.

- [Dara] She didn't know it at the time, but she was battling diabetic retinopathy, which is a complication people with diabetes can have that affects their eyes.

In Raven's case, she have total blindness, so she can still see light, but she is legally blind, which means she doesn't get to see precious moments anymore.

- The hardest part, I would say, is feeling as if I'm missing out on seeing my children grow up.

When I had the diagnosis, I had just gave birth to my second daughter, and I didn't really have a chance to see her fullness, you know, the way that she looked.

I have an idea, but it wasn't, you know, as clear as my first child.

However, I just turned to other ways that I can experience my children.

- [And just how she's had to find new ways to parent... - Yes.

- Well, I'm really enjoying getting into the ambassador work here.

- [Dara] She's also had to find new ways to make friends, but her job at Lion Services provides an environment that makes it easy.

- One of the things that we've heard for the past several years, is how we treat each other with respect, number one, and then number two is, how we want to ensure that everyone is successful.

And I've heard so many people say in the past year, of what a difference the company has made in their life.

- [Dara] Another way the company makes a difference in Raven's life, is by allowing her to be involved with a project that started last year, called the Charlotte Braille Trail.

- The Braille Trail will be an experience through art, large art exhibits, and partnerships throughout our neighborhood.

In addition to that, we are hoping to make this neighborhood the most accessible neighborhood in Charlotte, and maybe even the nation.

- [Dara] Still in the works, and expect it to cost at least $250,000, the Charlotte Braille Trail will be a path through the city that's inclusive for those with visual impairments.

It'll have features like Braille signage, artistic installations, and tactile guides.

- We don't have a lot of access to things, as far as going to a restaurant and it being fully accessible or getting to the light rail to get downtown, the whole idea with the Braille Trail is to just be that path in the middle that connects all of these things.

- [Dara] With each step Raven takes on the concrete path that'll soon be part of the Braille Trail, It uplifts her, Knowing her perspective and involvement will help create a brighter future, not only for herself, but also for everyone else who has to experience life through a different lens.

For "Carolina Impact", I'm Dara Khaalid.