Blindfolded and hungry, the parents and friends of visually impaired students in Chester County got to see life from a new vantage point, thanks to the Chester County Intermediate Unit’s Dining in the Dark event at Applebee’s in Thorndale.

“It really puts in perspective what they’ve got to go through the rest of their life,” parent LaToya Thomas said in a Philadelphia Inquirer report by Michaelle Bond. “I commend these kids.”

Eating a meal without seeing — or with blurry or significantly limited vision — gave them each a taste of what they often take for granted.

But more than just for empathy, CCIU organized the gathering to provide a vision for resources and best practices that can help support the visual needs of loved ones.

CCIU supports the 350 (0.5 percent) public school students who endure life with a vision disability.

“It’s a huge comfort when you recognize you don’t have to figure everything out,” said another parent, Tim Ogden from East Bradford.

Read more about the unique CCIU event in the Philadelphia Inquirer here.