ST. LOUIS, MO. – Whether it’s on the mound or in the community, the St. Louis Cardinals are always pitching in. This season, alongside Bally Sports Midwest, the Cardinals are recognizing people and places pitching in to make a difference in the community. On Friday, July 28, MindsEye will be honored for providing programs and services to support the Greater St. Louis and Central Illinois communities. The pre-game ceremony will occur at 6:45 p.m. at Busch Stadium before the Cardinals host the Chicago Cubs. Bally Sports Midwest will broadcast the ceremony live and highlight six individuals representing MindsEye including volunteers, clients, and members of the Gateway Archers Beep Baseball team.
MindsEye founded the Gateway Archers in 2020 as part of the Adaptive Athletics Program. The team is comprised chiefly of 12 home-grown players from across St. Louis and the Metro East. They are a nationally competitive team participating in the Beep Baseball World Series hosted by the National Beep Baseball Association.
The recognition from the Cardinals comes on the heels of the Gateway Archers’ 2nd place finish at the Gateway Beepball Regional Tournament hosted by MindsEye and St. Louis Lighthouse for the Blind at the beginning of July. After the Cardinals game, the Archers will embark on a trip to Oklahoma for the 2023 BeepBall World Series. St. Louis will serve as the host for the BeepBall World Series in 2024 and 2025.
Additionally, MindsEye strives to build a more inclusive community by translating vision into audio for individuals who are blind or have low vision. This year marks MindsEye’s 50th anniversary of serving the community through various programs:
The Adaptive Athletics Program raises awareness and provides educational and competitive opportunities for athletes who are blind or partially sighted. The program consists of BeepBall, Goalball, and Blind Soccer and is available for educational demonstrations for a wide variety of schools, events, and corporate team-building activities.
The Broadcast Information Program provides listeners access to long-form journalism and local news. Since 1973, MindsEye has used technology to bridge this gap and make print accessible by broadcasting audio recordings of print material 24/7 through free technology. Broadcasts can be accessed through a live stream on the MindsEye website, the traditional SCA radio, an Amazon Echo device, and more with select content available in five languages.
When storms passed through the region in June, the program almost came to a temporary halt since volunteers could not access the organization’s office to record content due to exterior damage. Thanks to a rallying cry, the community stepped up by providing nearly 50 volunteers to record programming until the office and studio were habitable. As a result, MindsEye was able to expand programming to include more local news outlets that can’t be accessed anywhere else on the radio.
The Audio Description Program enables every person who attends a sporting event, theater production, or museum exhibit to enjoy a rewarding experience. Attendees with a visual disability join family and friends for the exhibit, performance, or event. Then, using a MindsEye headset, they listen to a trained audio describer relay the visual information in real-time.
Since 2019, MindsEye has worked with Enterprise Center and Stifel Theatre to provide audio description for events including St. Louis Blues games, Trans-Siberian Orchestra, Baby Shark Live!, and more. This year, the organization partnered with the newly formed Major League Soccer team St. Louis City SC to provide the service at their home matches. Other partners include Metro Theater Company, Repertory Theatre of St. Louis, St. Louis Shakespeare Festival, Ignite Theatre Company, and many more.