CENTER STRUGGLES TO AID VISUALLY IMPAIRED.

Byline: Jenifer Hanrahan Daily News Staff Writer

Like best girlfriends do, Belinda Zelickson, Marcy Preciado and Mildred Lopez spend hours on the telephone, talking about life - but mostly about men.

They never forget one another's birthday. They make sure no one spends a holiday alone. And, if money is tight, they don't hesitate to chip in what they can.

The three women span three generations. Zelickson is 44, a divorced mother of two sons. Lopez, 70, is a mother of eight children, grandmother of 26 and great-grandmother of 24. Preciado, 25, is single and can't stop talking about one of Lopez's sons.

They were brought together in a ceramics class sponsored by Visually Handicapped Adults of the Valley, where about two dozen adults meet three days a week to share laughs and friendship.

At St. Andrews Lutheran Church in Van Nuys, the agency offers blind and visually impaired residents of the San Fernando Valley classes in Spanish, typing, macrame, ceramics, music appreciation, exercise and current events, as well as group and individual therapy.

``It's given me something to look forward to, some reason to get up in the morning,'' Zelickson said. ``It's been a long time since I had best friends. I don't know what I'd do without them.''

But recently, the center lost a $92,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation which pays for the five vans that shuttle clients to class, to medical appointments and to the bowling league every Thursday.

Also, the city Community Development Department, which provided nearly $85,000 a year to help pay office expenses and salaries for the staff of nine, notified the agency that it could guarantee funding only for the first three months of 1997.

``We are trying to make an appeal to the public,'' said Joe Crise, executive director of Visually Handicapped Adults of the Valley. ``There's a possibility the school could close, but there's a lot we have to do yet before we let that happen.''

Visually Handicapped Adults of the Valley is among 15 agencies being profiled this year in the Daily News' seventh annual Season of Sharing Project, which has raised nearly $200,000 for local charities. Readers can use the attached clip-out coupon to donate money or goods directly to the agency or sign up as a volunteer.

Crise says the agency is in need of cash donations and volunteers to pitch in with kitchen duty, read to students, help them fill out social security forms, and help them get around on outings. The median age of the clients is 72.

``Life just pushes them aside, but they're here and they have feelings,'' Crise said. ``Ordinarily a lot of people would just be sitting at home with their disabilities.''

In ceramics class on a recent morning, about two dozen students brushed paint on piggy banks, napkin holders and coffee mugs.

``Has anybody heard from Jeannie?'' 79-year-old Sydney Carter shouted above the din, inquiring about a classmate who missed several sessions.

When glaucoma robbed Betty Loving, 57, of her eyesight six years ago, she spent most days sitting alone, too afraid to leave the house.

All that changed after the van came to pick her up just a few months ago.

``I think it saved my life,'' Loving said. ``I started opening up and laughing again. I don't have to be ashamed of being blind anymore.''

Lopez, who lives in Pacoima, lost her eyesight in a car accident 25 years ago. Preciado of Mission Hills has a detached retina. She is legally blind but can see with the help of glasses.

Zelickson has been blind since she was an infant, the result, she says, of receiving too high a concentration of oxygen when she was placed in an incubator shortly after birth.

Although she is rearing two sons, now ages 10 and 15, she doesn't consider herself extraordinary.

When the children were toddlers, Zelickson said, she put bells on their shoes to keep track of them. She matched her children's clothes by marking the colors in Braille on the tags. She bought a ``talking thermometer'' and took the kids to the doctor on the bus with the help of a guide dog. When they learned to read, she ordered them books that were also available in braille.

Feeding time was a challenge, but Zelickson took it in stride.

``Getting the spoon into their mouths was messy, but I never worried about it,'' she said. ``There was soap and water and plenty of it.''

She labeled her credit cards in braille and folded bills in her wallet differently so she could tell them apart.

Only occasionally did she dwell on being blind.

``When my children were born, or when my children were running the bases on the field or on stage singing, I would love to be able to see for that moment,'' Zelickson said.

Now that her kids are older, Zelickson is taking typing class at the West Valley Occupational Center in the hope of getting a job as a receptionist.

Crise said students like Zelickson keep him going.

``You can hear her singing sometimes at the top of her voice, like she hasn't got a care in the world,'' Crise said. ``It's really good for me to see someone like that. It's really good for everyone to see someone who isn't just moping around saying, `Poor me.' ''

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Photo: Belinda Zelickson plays the piano. Through the Visually Handicapped Adults of the Valley program, she's made new friends.

Tina Gerson/Daily News