From Feb. 10-16, the Indiana Blind Children's Foundation (IBCF) will team up with several community partners while giving back to students and staff at Indiana School for the Blind and Visually Impaired (ISBVI) as part of the foundation's annual "Share the Love" Week. These festivities will kick off on Saturday, Feb. 10, when IBCF will host an in-person "Shop For Good" event from noon to 2 p.m. at the Kendra Scott store in the Fashion Mall on Keystone, where customers can have 20% of their purchase price donated to IBCF by simply mentioning the foundation at checkout. This fundraiser will also be valid from Feb. 10-11 at KendraScott.com, where customers can have 20% of their online purchase price donated to IBCF when they enter "GIVEBACK-FSPBX" in their cart at checkout.

Those shopping in person at the Fashion Mall who spend over $100 in store will also be entered in a drawing to win one of six custom jewelry pieces made by Leadership Club students at ISBVI. In the spirit of Valentine's Day, financial support raised through this two-day Kendra Scott fundraiser will benefit the 2024 ISBVI Prom as well as IBCF's mission.

As "Share the Love" Week continues, IBCF will shift its focus to showing appreciation to the students and staff at ISBVI, as well as our steadfast supporters and community partners. On Tuesday, Feb. 13, the foundation will gift all students at ISBVI with heart-shaped sugar cookies that have the word "Love" written on them in braille sprinkles. Having become a recent IBCF tradition, these cookies are made each year by Noblesville-based bakery Debbie's Daughters.

"We bake a lot of cookies for events and groups, but these are special because they say 'Love' in braille on them," says Debbie's Daughters head baker and co-owner Jessica Walls. "I think it's wonderful that we can take something as simple as a cookie and make them more inclusive. We hope the students feel the care and love we put into each one."

On Valentine's Day, IBCF will then treat ISBVI staff to pizza from longtime community partner Lou Malnati's and students to pizza from Papa John's. To close out the week, the foundation will have guest artist Erin O'Rear of Wandering Peacock meet with ISBVI art classes on Feb. 15 as they take part in a hands-on ceramics workshop using pottery wheels that were recently purchased for the school by IBCF.

In addition to all of these in-person "Share the Love" efforts, IBCF will also send out nearly 3,500 printed and digital Valentine's Day postcards to all ISBVI students, families, and staff, as well as all IBCF supporters. Each of these postcards features artwork from ISBVI students Virginia, Quentin, Karter, Melanie, and Arabella, as well as a beautiful poem from No Limits Leadership Club student Jazmine.