IN THIS ISSUE
* President's Message
* Membership Corner
* Fund-Raising Report
* Snack Shack
* Tidbits
* Event Calendar
PRESIDENT's MESSAGE
by Susan Glass
John and I send greetings from the Midwest where we are vacationing and visiting family. One highlight was our trip to Yankton South Dakota to meet our newest great-nephew Owen, who is 8 months old, and enjoys having us hold him under his arms while he attempts to stand. He loves Omni, and based on the panting and giggling and head butting that I heard, I think that the feeling is mutual.
The town of Yankton is on the Missouri River, and we walked across the river on what is called the Meridian Bridge, which straddles the South Dakota Nebraska border. At one point, we had a foot in each state without having to do the splits.
We also enjoyed spending time with John's aunt and cousins in Lincoln, and in Nebraska City. This coming Thursday, we'll fly to St. Louis to attend the Acb Conference and Convention. Keep enjoying summer, and we'll see you at the July meeting.
MEMBERSHIP CORNER
by Mike Keithley
We said goodbye to Pam Row, who passed away on June 4 following a prolonged struggle with kidney disease. She was an SVCB member for over 20 years, and was instrumental in moving the meetings to the Monte Vista Terrace Apartments. There was a formal memorial service on June 20, but we had our own event in her honor at our June meeting.
Let's wish happy July birthdays to Carol Silveria, Kathryn Hoag, Joe Silveria, and James Brown. And let's wish happy times for those going to the ACB convention. I'm sure we'll hear about their adventures at the July SVCB meeting.
You haven't registered for the SVCB picnic? Well, you still can, by coming to the July meeting. You can also send your check to the SVCB PO box address, but coming to the meeting will be more fun.
The date of the picnic is August 18, it's at Hellyer Community Park in San Jose, and our picnic site is called Yerba Buena. Access drivers will know how to find this site, and we hope to avoid the pickup confusions we had last year.
Registration is $20 for SVCB/CCB members, and $25 for guest. Register at the July meeting by contacting Victor Clifford.
The chapter will be providing hamburgers, hot dogs, and veggie burgers, along with condiments. Be sure to tell Victor what meats you want.
Bev Clifford is coordinating desserts, snacks, and drinks. Contact her ⠊⠋ you want to bring something.
And speaking of the July meeting, the program segment will be about online shopping and grocery delivery.
Our June program featured a staffer from the office of Jim Beale, California Senator representing east San Jose. We learned much about local and state legislation, and Senator Beale's office presented SVCB with a framed resolution of commendable performance. The plaque plus the text is on our website at http://svcb.cc. Want to hear it? Access http://svcb.cc/psaudio/18/ps0618.mp3.
FUND-RAISING REPORT
by Michelle McGrew
First, a reflection: A speaker at a meeting I attended recently asked, “Who has made a difference in your life?” For me, one of those people was Pam Row. Many years ago, Pam attended meetings as part of a fund-raising program called Points for Profit. I don’t remember all of the details anymore, but at some point she asked if other SVCB members could attend with her. And thus began my regular attendance at SVCB meetings, my work with the Fund-raising Committee, and so many other roles within SVCB! I don’t know why we don’t always realize how much of a difference someone has made in our lives until after they have passed on, but Pam was definitely someone who made a difference in my life. Thanks, Pam! I’ll miss you.
And now, for my report: As you know, Charlie Stein has been collecting aluminum cans for recycling for several years. He then redeems them and donates the funds to support SVCB. Joe and Carol Silveria recently helped him get the cans he’s been collecting for the last few years to the recycling center. Thanks to Charlie, Carol, Joe, and all who contributed cans! We received $195.50!
Thanks to all who donated items for our auction at the June meeting! We auctioned a rolling suitcase, two duffel bags, a purse, a crocheted basket, a music CD, and a mini vac (for cleaning computers). Thanks to all of our participants and to our auctioneer, Ari. Congratulations to our highest bidders: John V., Mike, Gail, and Perla. We raised $107, plus we received a $40 donation from one of our volunteers!
We have one item, a Prodigy Voice Blood Glucose Monitoring System (with case and instructions) that received no bids at the auction, but we’d still love to find a home for it. If you are interested in this item, please contact me by calling 888-652-5333 (leave a message to be forwarded to me, or look me up on our Membership List to call me directly), or send email to fundraising@svcb.cc. A donation for this item would be appreciated.
In July, we’re having another 50/50 raffle! Tickets will be $1 per ticket or $5 for six.
Our June Cookies of the Month fund-raiser, benefiting our tech grant, featured lemon cookies baked by Suzanne Smith. You can find the recipe for these cookies in the “Snack Shack” column of this issue of the newsletter. So far, we sold 27 bags of cookies (18 at our meeting and 9 at the Blind Center), and we hope to sell more at the Blind Center in late June. Also, the last of Lorraine’s cookies were sold at the end of May, so altogether since my last report, we raised another $36 for our tech grant! Thanks to all of our supporters!
For July, Diane Wetzel, a client at the Blind Center, has graciously volunteered to bake our Cookie of the Month. She will be baking Sugar Cookies. Each bag of cookies will sell for $1. If you would like to volunteer to bake cookies this year for this fund-raiser, please contact me as listed above.
We are now sold out of chocolate. We will restock our candy bars and Meltaways in the Fall once the weather begins to cool down. In the meantime, we hope you will enjoy one of our other snacks! The following options cost $1 each: bags of Welch's Fruit Snacks (2.25-oz bags of chewy fruit-flavored candies), Kirkland Nut Bars (contains a sprinkle of salt and a little chocolate), or as part of our Summertime Snack Sale, nut mix with cranberries or with chocolate. To place an order for nut bars, Welch’s Fruit Snacks, or either nut mix, please contact me as listed above.
I will not make it to July’s meeting, but stay tuned to the Phone Tree to know who will be filling in for me!
SNACK SHACK
Lemon O. V. Cookies (aka Easy Cookies)
Submitted by Suzanne Smith and Michelle McGrew
Suzanne doesn’t know what the “O. V.” stands for, but her sister had the recipe for Lemon O. V. Cookies since Suzanne was a child. She remembers her sister making these cookies to take to various events. Michelle acquired a very similar recipe called Easy Cookies when her husband brought home the “Cookie Monster Travel Bug Cookbook” as part of one of his geocaching adventures. And now, we’d like to share the cookies with you!
1. box cake mix, any brand, any flavor (Suzanne’s recipe specifies lemon)
2. cups (4.5 ounces) Kool Whip
1. egg (Michelle beats it first)
Powdered sugar (for rolling cookie dough in)
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease cookie sheets.
Mix together cake mix, Kool Whip, and egg in a bowl until well mixed (dough will be sticky). Roll small balls of dough in powdered sugar. Place 1-1/2 inches apart on cookie sheet, and bake for 12-15 minutes. Makes about 4 dozen soft cookies.
Notes: This recipe is quite adaptable. The Easy Cookies recipe suggests variations such as mixing in chocolate chips or crushed candy cane. And Michelle suggests that instead of rolling dough in powdered sugar, try rolling in cocoa powder, chopped nuts, cinnamon-sugar, or unsweetened flaked coconut.
Suzanne also has discovered that you can use more Kool Whip if you wish. However, the more you use, the softer the dough will be. Using 8 ounces of Kool Whip instead of 4.5 ounces will give you a cookie batter instead of a dough. If dough is too soft to work with, put it in the refrigerator to firm up a bit before making cookies. And be aware that the softer the cookie dough, the more the cookies spread.
TIDBITS
Compiled by Mike Keithley
Online Writer's Group for the Blind, Join Us for Our First Meeting
Date: Saturday, July 14
Time: 5 PM Pacific, 6 PM Mountain, 7 PM Central and 8 PM Eastern.
Enter the Book Nook room at conference321.com/masteradmin/room.asp?id=rs7867a2369e0e.
Our goal is to improve the quality of our writing by sharing and discussing our work with each other. If you are a lover of fine writing, we encourage you to join us. Even if you're not an author yourself, you can help by ⠉⠗⠊⠞⠊⠟⠥⠬⠲
We have created a mailing list, Writersretreat on groups.io. There you can post any writing you wish the group to discuss.
To subscribe to the group, send email to writersretreat+subscribe@groups.io. The link to the group is groups.io/g/writersretreat/topics.
EVENT calendar: July through August, 2018
Compiled by Mike Keithley
Notes
Tabard Theatre shows: To order tickets, call the Tabard box office at 408-679-2330 and speak to Marilyn Watts, or visit tabardtheatre.org. SVCB members and Blind Center clients should use Discount Code BC27 when ordering. Performances take place at The Tabard THEATRE, 29 North San Pedro Street, San Jose.
Shows described by AudioVision: For all San Francisco productions (Golden Gate and Orpheum theatres), tickets are generally on sale four weeks before the production opens. To charge tickets and reserve receivers, call 888-746-1799 (SHN Theaters), or fax your order to 415-581-2121 and ask for AudioVision tickets. If you have any questions, please email didisalvo@msn.com.
The monthly "Let's Talk Low Vision" conferences from CCLVI can be accessed as podcasts at www.airsla.org/cclvidd.asp.
Bay Area Association of Disabled Sailors: Departs every Sunday at noon from Pier 40 in San Francisco. Call 415-281-0212 for information and reservations, or visit www.baads.org.
Bay Area Outreach and Recreation Program (BORP): BORP believes that everyone should have access to the unique challenges that outdoor recreation provides, and makes every effort to accommodate each person's needs, including providing transportation and volunteer support. For event listings, call Lori Gray at 510-843-4398, or visit www.borp.org.
Calendar
Jul 1 at 2 PM: TheatreWorks, FINKS, described by the Visual Voice, MVCPA.
June 29 to Jul 6: ACB Conference and Convention, Union Station Hotel, 1820 Market Street, St. Louis, Missouri, 60123.
Jul 12, 7 to 9 PM: SVCB Board meeting. If you're not on the Board but wish to attend this meeting, please contact President Susan Glass.
Jul 14, 2 PM: THE SCHOOL OF ROCK, Orpheum Theatre, described by AudioVision, see notes.
July 17, 5:30 to 7 PM: Let's Talk Low Vision, From High Tech to Low Tech, 712-432-3447 with ID 145330.
Jul 21, 9:30 AM to 1 PM: Monthly SVCB meeting. Begin plans for White Cane Safety Day and Employment of People with Disabilities Awareness Month, appoint Holiday Party Committee chair.
Jul 27, noon: August newsletter deadline.
Jul 29, 1:30 to 3 PM: Ye Olde Towne Band free concert, Shoup Park, 400 University Avenue, Los Altos.
Aug 2, 7 to 9 PM: SVCB Board meeting.
Aug 18: Picnic in lieu of monthly meeting.
Aug 24, noon: September SVCB newsletter deadline.
Aug 25, 2 PM: LES MISÉRABLES, Orpheum Theatre, AudioVision, see notes.
Aug 26, 1:30 to 3 PM: Ye Olde Towne Band free concert.