3 start-ups owned by blind, visually impaired win funding

BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) - Three start-up businesses with blind or visually impaired owners have won funding in a contest that invited them to pitch their ideas.

The winners are from Buffalo and Clifton Park in New York and St. Paul, Minnesota.

The contest was run by the Hadley Institute for the Blind and Visually Impaired's Forsythe Center for Employment and Entrepreneurship. The Winnetka, Illinois-based center was launched in 2011 to address the 75 percent unemployment rate among blind Americans.

The contest winners include Eileen Vasquez of Minnesota, for her plans to bring organic food to the marketplace. She received $12,500 in seed money.

Karen Richardson-Moore of Buffalo won $10,000 for her Innovative Back Office Solutions, which supplies businesses with accountants, marketing people and other support staff.

Satauna Howery's Clifton Park voiceover business received $5,000.