Merlin’s magic is helping others see more vividly these days.
The reading enhancement machine officially arrived at the Auburn Senior Activity Center last Friday. The user-friendly, $3,000 desktop video magnifier comes courtesy of the Auburn Noon Lions, a long-established service club committed to helping the visually challenged.
“It’s going to be magical,” said club president John Partridge, who joined city and community leaders and center staff for a ribbon-cutting ceremony and Merlin demonstration. “I’ve seen the impact this machine has had on others.”
The power of Merlin will allow those with vision problems to easily scour books and magazines, read and write letters, study and fill out ballots, manage financial records, view color photos, even tackle crossword puzzles.
Low-vision users simply place the item on a large, movable tray-top. The image is then projected and magnified onto a large, 19-inch LCD screen that easily pivots, horizontally and vertically.
The Merlin delivers great magnification (up to 60 times the standard print) and great contrast. It is also much lighter, compact and more accessible to use. Merlin is just one of several leading manufactures of closed-circuit televisions.
The machine has done wonders for those beset with various vision problems, including degenerative cases and those brought on by disease.
“I recently delivered a donated video magnifier to somebody with a chronic illness, HIV-AIDs,” said Jeffrey Gerhardstein, a social worker for Community Services for the Blind and Partially Sighted (CSBPS). “The man lost most of his vision and was unable to read or look at photographs for a number of years.
“So introducing him (to the video magnifier) allowed him to see the face of his grandmother from a color photograph for the first time in a long time,” he said. “And that’s a neat thing.”
CSBPS, a nonprofit vision rehabilitation agency, works with individuals, families and communities to restore, maintain and enhance the independence and well-being of people with impaired sight. CSBPS works with a wide range of clients in King, Snohomish and Skagit counties in providing low-vision aids and services. It rents and sells a variety of video magnifiers and other devices from many manufactures to help the visually challenged, some of them low income.
The Lions approached the center about obtaining the Merlin. The Lions then worked with CSBPS to make it happen.
“It’s a great machine,” said Radine Lozier, senior center supervisor. “It will be great for those in need.”
Veta Howard, the center’s enhance wellness social worker, was instrumental in putting the project together. Lynn Martz, a center patron, donated the portable table for the Merlin.
In December, the Lions provided a $3,000 grant to the senior center to purchase the Merlin. The money comes from the club’s activity fund.
The video magnifier not only provides a needed tool, but hopefully will attract more seniors to the center.
The Lions are glad to be a part of it. The club’s efforts keep in line with what the organization is all about – helping those in need.
“As Helen Keller said, ‘You’re the Knights of the Blind in this crusade against darkness,'” Partridge said.
