The Curating Ability Gift Shop’s doors opened to clients and members of the public during its grand reopening and ribbon-cutting on July 21. Its shelves feature items for and made by people with impaired vision.
The ceremony also celebrated New Vision for Independence’s 21st anniversary and one year of being in its downtown office, where the gift shop is located, 901 W. Main St., Leesburg.
“It’s amazing the stuff you can do when you’re put in a difficult situation,” Ruzbarsky said. “This room by itself can help people realize that there are still things they can do, even with a visual impairment. Visual impairment shouldn’t stop you from doing things you want to do.”
In Florida, there are more than 2 million people living with severe visual impairment, including more than 2,000 children, according to Florida Agencies Serving the Blind.
After contracting shingles about five years ago, Ruzbarsky completely lost vision in his right eye. Also, as a result of the shingles virus, the Connecticut native suffered a stroke and lost peripheral vision in his left eye.
“It was confusing, because I didn’t know what was going on and it took the doctors a while to figure out what was going on,” he said. “It was scary, but I’ve always been a fighter. I was immediately questioning, ‘What can I do to work around this? How can I keep living as close to normal as possible?’ I have never looked at limitations as that.”
After moving to The Villages, Ruzbarsky connected with New Vision for Independence, a nonprofit that helps provide rehabilitation services, community education, activities and resources to individuals of all ages living with vision loss in Lake and Sumter counties.
The nonprofit’s mission is to eliminate barriers to independence by offering training through its Adult Blind Living in New Dimensions (BLIND) Independent Living Program for adults 55 years and older. The program educates its clients about kitchen safety, offers low-vision device training and braille lessons, and provides adjustment to blindness counseling.
Ruzbarsky said he enjoyed the services and connections he gained as a client of New Vision for Independence so much that he wanted to assist in the nonprofit’s mission.
In December, Ruzbarsky, who has 20 years of retail experience, began working as a greeter for the nonprofit’s Downtown Leesburg office Monday through Thursday.
“People going through the experience of vision loss may feel insecure or unsure about life, but New Vision for Independence gives them the tools to work around limitations and help build confidence with living independently,” he said.
Ruzbarsky leveraged his experience in retail to become the proclaimed curator of the Curating Ability Gift Shop by organizing and stocking it. He said he also worked to create access to the online, so items can be shipped out.
Items that can be found in person and online include braille T-shirts, tactile puzzles, a low-vision calendar, Blind Barbie and Mitsy Kit Fleece Pillow Case, which has a tactile sewing kit that guides sewing by touch.
In 2021, the nonprofit began selling organic White Cane Coffee, which was made by a blind person with autism to support people with disabilities. After the brand was discontinued in 2024, Chantel Buck, president and CEO of the nonprofit, said they wanted to explore ways to take the shop in a new direction.
“The gift shop’s grand opening evolved from the question of, ‘How can we missionize it,’” she said. “Our goal is to eliminate barriers to independence. One way to do that is to combat the nuisance that vision loss is the end. You can still show your creative abilities and still have a mind for entrepreneurship.”
“Paul brings so much experience from before his vision loss that he has been able to apply,” she said. “Paul has always been willing to learn, researching new additions that could be added to the shop.”
Ruzbarsky’s goal for the updated shop is to help people feel a sense of accomplishment and provide an easy shopping experience that helps those experiencing vision loss feel comfortable.
For more information about New Vision for Independence or the Curating Ability Gift Shop, visit newvisionfl.org.
Staff writer Brea Jones can be reached at 352-753-1119, ext. 5414, or brea.jones@thevillagesmedia.com.
