CONNECTING THE BLIND AND VISUALLY IMPAIRED COMMUNITY TO CLB

June 2011 E-Newsletter

Consumer Spotlight

Attitude is Altitude – Donald Lucas’s Story

Over the years, 42-year-old Donald Lucas II has taken pride in being an intellect. Instead of using his size to pursue physical talents, he’s always buried himself in books! Donald loves to read, write poetry and participate in anything mentally stimulating.

In August of 2010, Donald began to lose his vision to glaucoma and retinal detachment, due to diabetes complications. Although he still has some remaining vision in his left eye, Donald viewed his vision loss as daunting and oppressing. “I felt like everything I loved to do was taken away from me,” said Donald. “I had a “give-up” attitude. I stopped doing normal things and even stopped using the word look,” reflects Donald. He had lost all confidence and limited his travel to the day time. Donald’s fiancé’ and support system, Jamette Barnes, saw the change in him and recognized he needed help. After some internet searching, Jamette reached out to Columbia Lighthouse for the Blind (CLB) for assistance. Having done some work for CLB at age 17, Donald was familiar with the organization and knew this would be a great start for him. “Gail Snider, from CLB, was warm, inviting and seemed genuinely concerned about my situation. She affected me in a real way,” says Donald.

Consumer Spotlight

• Attitude is Altitude - Don Lucas's Story

CLB News

• Save the Date, Saturday, September 10, 2011, Light the Way 5K

• Order your Braille Business Cards Now!

• Circle of Friends Support Group Keeping Busy This Summer

• BISM Hosts Life Enhancement Workshop at CLB

• CLB is Now Hiring

Community Corner

Since his introduction to CLB, and with the help of his fiancé, Donald has regained his confidence and is beginning to better transition into life without full vision. He is a member of CLB’s support group, Circle of Friends, where he is surrounded by individuals with similar, or even worse, eye conditions that are learning to live normal and happy lives. “I now know that I can do anything that I did with sight; it’s just about learning to do things in different ways”, says Donald. He looks forward to Wednesdays for the Circle of Friends meetings and is changing his outlook on his situation. “Don’t consider me a guy with no sight, consider me the slightly blind guy with swagger!” says Donald. He advises anyone facing vision loss to get connected to organizations like CLB. He also feels that it’s very important to get any and all feelings about your condition off of your chest. “Holding in my emotions was the most oppressing part of facing vision loss,” said Donald. “If a person doesn’t have a support system, I’d be glad to be a mentor. Having a solid support system is very important when transitioning from having full sight.”

If you or anyone you know is facing vision loss and in need of resources, contact CLB today at 240 737 5100.

CLB News

Save the Date, Saturday, September 10, 2011, Light the Way 5K

LIGHT THE WAY 5K is a family-friendly, non-competitive 5k walk/run being held at

National’s Park in Washington, DC as a fundraiser for the Columbia Lighthouse for the

Blind. There will be live music, refreshments, and activities for children, vendors and much

more! Tickets to the National’s game will be included for certain sponsorship levels, so come out and make a day of it! Online registration will open on June 1, 2011 at www.clb.org. Everyone that registers will receive a ticket to the Nationals game that evening.

• CLB Turns 111!

Helpful Information

• May is Ultraviolet Ray Awareness Month

• Braille and Audio Reading Download (BARD) Seminar

• Join CLB on Facebook below

8:00 Registration 9:15 Warm up and Remarks 9:30 Ribbon Cutting and Fun Run & Walk Start Post Celebration on Half Street!

Order your Braille Business Cards Now

Make sure your information is accessible to all! CLB now produces braille business cards. For more information on this and other braille services, click here or visit www.clb.org.

Circle of Friends Support Group Keeping Busy This Summer

Saturday, September 10, 2011

CLB’s senior support group, Circle of Friends, is participating in lots of fun activities this summer including: dance, exercise, and cooking classes. If you are, or know of, a senior with vision loss that is in need of a support group and/or activities to do this summer, please contact Victoria Hamilton at 240 737 5156 or vhamilton@clb.org.

BISM Hosts Life Enhancement Workshop at CLB

On May 11th, Blind Industries and Services of Maryland (BISM) hosted their Life Enhancement workshop at CLB. This workshop is one of three one-day workshops BISM hosts, free of charge, for seniors experiencing significant vision loss. In the Life

Enhancement

workshop, CLB’s Circle of Friends support group learned skills that required no vision. Participants were included in lots of hands-on activities including: preparing their own lunches, being instructed on proper cane traveling techniques, introduction to helpful aids and devices, braille training and instruction on computer technology. BISM also offers one-day workshops on Healthy Lifestyles, Self-Care and Diabetes Management and Financial Independence for Daily Living.

BISM also offers their BISM Silver Retreat, for blind or visually impaired seniors age 55 and over, on June 7th – June 10th in Baltimore, Maryland. This Retreat offers more in depth skills training. Hotel accommodations, meals and activities are included, all at no cost! There is an application process, however and space for the Retreat is limited. For more information, please visit www.bism.org. You can also contact Ruth Sager at 410-737-2649 or rsager@bism.org.

Download the application here. Completed applications can be faxed to 410-737-2689.

CLB is Now Hiring

CLB is actively recruiting for the following positions:

• Workforce Development Manager - responsible for will working directly with consumers to recruit, assess, and place visually impaired and blind consumers in jobs.

Orientation & Mobility Specialist - responsible for planning, quality and continuity in the orientation and mobility services provided by the Columbia Lighthouse for the Blind. Occupational Therapist – provides life skills training to adults with vision-related disabilities to foster skills for greater independence.

For more details on these positions, please contact Human Resources at 202 454-6413 or helmore@clb.org.

Community Corner

CLB Turns 111!

May 17th marked Columbia Lighthouse for the Blind’s (CLB) 111th year. For more than a century now, CLB has served the community of people who are blind or visually impaired. Tony Cancelosi, K.M., President and CEO, said, “As we emerge to our 111th year, CLB is more committed than ever to serving the community because of the increase in vision loss among seniors and persons with diabetes. As you know, diabetes is one of the leading causes of vision loss. It is imperative that we form partnerships with agencies such as Emmaus in an effort to meet the need.” Thank you to the volunteers, board members, donors, and staff who have worked alongside CLB through the years.

Helpful Information

Braille and Audio Reading Download (BARD) Seminar

You are cordially invited to participate in a welcome to the Braille and Audio Reading Download (BARD) seminar sponsored by the National Federation of the Blind, Potomac Chapter and the Arlington County Library, Talking Book Section. The seminar will be held on Saturday June 11 from 1:00 pm to 4:00 pm in the auditorium of the Arlington County Main Library 1015 North Quincy Street, Arlington, Virginia. There is no cost to attend. Learn about the following:

• Using your National Library Service player • Accessing and navigating the BARD collection of

downloadable books and magazines

• Searching the collection, downloading books to your computer, and transferring them to your player

• Scheduling /downloading any of 300+ daily newspaper publications to your email inbox from NFB Newsline and playing them on your NLS Player

• Using your player to listen to other content.

The final hour of the seminar will consist of hands-on practice with the NLS Player as well as an opportunity to practice downloading books from the BARD website. If you wish to download your first book, bring a USB thumb drive. Also, it is strongly recommended that you bring your player to the seminar. In order to practice downloading on your own player. If you are unable to bring your player a limited number of players will be available. If you do not have an account with BARD, it is strongly recommended that you sign up for the BARD service prior to the seminar. If you are unable to do so, library staff and NFB volunteers will be able to assists you in signing-up. To inform of your attendance, or for further information contact John Halverson at johnh50@verizon.net, 703-379-1141 or 202-260-7162 or contact the Arlington County Library Talking Book Section 703-228-6333 or talkingbooks@arlingtonva.us.