During a trip to
Florence, Italy, at the turn of the 20th century, sisters
Winifred and Edith Holt learned of a free service that provided concert tickets to blind schoolchildren. Inspired by the notion, the sisters established the similar Lighthouse Free Ticket Bureau in New York City in 1903. The organization was incorporated in 1906 as
The New York Association for the Blind and offered home counseling and instruction program for the visually impaired. An early meeting for the board and the public, including blind men and women, was held at the
Waldorf-Astoria hotel. Also in attendance were Secretary Miss Winifred Holt, Recording Secretary Miss Edith Holt, President
Richard Watson Gilder, Vice-President
Helen Keller, with honorary vice presidents Dr.
Nicholas Murray Butler and
Samuel Langhorne Clemens. The advisory board consisted of Dr.
Felix Adler,
Joseph H. Choate,
John Farley,
Bishop David Greer, Dr. William H. Maxwell and Dr.
Charles H. Parkhurst. Lighthouse became international with the onset of
World War I, when Winifred Holt in 1915 established Le Phare de Bordeaux, in France. Other overseas offices opened in Paris; Rome;
Warsaw;
Canton, China; Japan, the Middle East, India, South America, and elsewhere. an organization which provided services for the partially sighted. In September 2013, a merger was announced with Jewish Guild Healthcare, under the name
Lighthouse Guild International. ==Branches and services==