DISCLAIMER: This publication contains announcements from the Silicon Valley Council of the Blind and is also a forum for opinions relating to blindness issues. Signed articles reflect the views, and research, of their authors.
STATUS: SVCB is a 501(c)3 non profit, tax-exempt organization under the California Council of the Blind.
CHANGES OF ADDRESS
Contact Julie, database@svcb.cc
MEETING LOCATION
SVCB's monthly meetings are held in the dining room of the Monte Vista Terrace Apts. at 1101 Grant Road, Mountain View. Meetings run 9:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. the third Saturday of the month and are open to all. Monte Vista Terrace is one block from the intersection of Grant Road and El Camino Real and is accessible by bus #22.
A few months ago my stepson went to Japan for a conference. He brought back some Japanese money to show us. Increasing denominations of paper bills are progressively shorter in length, in steps of about half an inch. What I found particularly interesting was that I still had to be sure that the ends of one end of a group of bills were even, else I wouldn't know how much shorter one was from the other. So the bottom line is that when accessible currency is a reality, I still have to be on my toes or I'll confuse myself. Ah for the free lunch!
We have a big event coming up on Saturday, March 7: the Braille Challenge at Stanford University in Palo Alto. Eight SVCB members, with spouses and friends, are participating; Michelle McGrew will make the keynote speech; Susan Schulter will bring her girl scout troop to help; and SVCB will have an informational table. It all started last year when the membership agreed to donate $500 for the event. This kind of support from the blind community makes braille the viable medium it needs to be.
At our February meeting, Travis Hyatt, Susan Hyatt's dad, talked about sailing on Lake Cunningham in San Jose and the classes for children and adults throughout the summer. They cost $80 per class, but scholarships are available. You'll have the opportunity to sail--a wonderful feeling! Remember that you can hear the program speakers by accessing www.svcb.cc and checking out the SVCB program page.
During the business session, Susan Schulter was elected as SVCB's delegate to the spring CCB convention. Ruben Armenta was elected as alternate delegate, and Roger Petersen will represent SVCB to the nominating committee.
This year the spring convention will be in Sacramento, and I know of six SVCB people who are going. Why not go yourself? SVCB is a chapter of CCB, and knowing what's going on at the state level and what other CCB chapters and organizations of and for the blind are doing helps us all effectively implement the advocacy goals of SVCB.
Unfortunately Lorraine Brown has had to resign as membership chair due to time constraints. But I have the pleasure of announcing that Rob Turner has volunteered to take her place. If you know friends or acquaintances who are struggling with vision loss, why not encourage them to contact Rob or come to a meeting. If you know they have a hearing impairment, tell them that there are assistive-listening receivers they can use to hear the meetings better. And be on the look-out for the new SVCB business cards, which will be produced soon.
Our August picnic is taking shape. The membership voted to have the event at Historic Park in San Jose. Not only can you come to the picnic, but you can also go on tours, many of which are tactile. Stay tuned!
Return to the Table of ContentsOur speaker at the March 21 meeting will be Dr. Lyn Saunders, Systems Change Advocate at the Silicon Valley Independent Living Center. As you may know, SVILC is an agency that serves the disabilities community with multiple services and individual and systems advocacy. Historically, we have not always agreed on issues, but Lyn is blind herself and has been looking for this opportunity to talk with us. I thought this might be a good time, because I have just been selected to be on their board. Also, you may recall, we just gave $100 to their cooking class, which is taught by our own Carol Silveria.
Return to the Table of ContentsHappy March birthdays to our members Rebecca Bender, Marni Brown, John Buck, Sam Chen, Cathy Olson, Eleanore Prisant, and Jack Syvertsen.
As you can see on the masthead, we are now the proud owners of a toll-free phone number, 888-652-5333. You can call it and ask for anyone in the chapter, and someone will forward your message to them. Our new email address, SVCB@onebox.com, works the same way.
Return to the Table of ContentsIt's time to begin placing your orders for See's Easter candy! This year, Easter is on April 12. I will have your orders available for pick-up at the March meeting. To ensure timely delivery, please place your orders with me by Tuesday, March 17. You may choose from the following items: Dark Chocolate Butter Egg (no nuts), Bordeaux Egg (brown sugar buttercream surrounded by milk chocolate and topped with chocolate sprinkles), Peanut Butter Egg, Chick Box (assorted milk and dark chocolates), and Milk Chocolate Foil Wrapped Bunny (in sitting position). Each item weighs four ounces, and costs $5. The flavor of the Bordeaux Egg is hard to describe, but it is very good. The brown sugar buttercream adds a wonderful complex flavor, reminiscent of toffee or caramel, to enjoy along with the chocolate.
Please be aware that SVCB must purchase each item in blocks of 24, so if we do not receive enough requests for a particular item, I will check with you to see if you have another preference. If you are interested in purchasing candy or would like to help sell some, please contact me (no email yet, please).
Want something a little more special or extravagant? I can also get you gift certificates for one-pound boxes of See's candy (including some sugar-free candy which is not available through their fund-raising program), or I can get various one-pound boxes of candy! Gift certificates for one-pound boxes of candy cost $15.60 each. Contact me (as listed above) for details.
We received 15 sweepstakes tickets from CCB. Proceeds will benefit the Blind Californian. The drawing will be held at the banquet on Saturday, April 4, at CCB's upcoming spring convention. First prize is a Franklin Language Master Dictionary and second prize is a SIRIUS Satellite Radio. Winners need not be present to win. Tickets are $5 each. I'll have the tickets at the March meeting, but if you cannot make it then and wish to get some tickets, contact me to make other arrangements.
As I said in last month's report, I'm currently looking into the feasibility of doing a T-shirt. We have a rough draft of the artwork that I hope to share with you at our next meeting. (I was going to bring it to the February meeting, but unfortunately, I was ill and couldn't attend.) We still have lots of other details to sort out. LeeAnn has graciously volunteered to assist with these details. Thanks, LeeAnn! In the meantime, we can start thinking about what T-shirt style, color(s), etc., we might want. We'll need to know these things when we are determining how much we'll need to pay to have the shirts made. So if you have information you would like to contribute, please do.
You may recall that I announced at the January meeting that I had one of See's Sugar Free Dark Bars to divide up into sample pieces to share with the diabetic clients at the Blind Center since we didn't have many diabetics present at our meeting. Everyone who tried the samples said they were very good. Unfortunately, See's does not make these bars available as part of their regular fund-raising programs, but we can get them at a slight discount if we purchase them using gift certificates. We've already redeemed three gift certificates for these candy bars. If you would like to purchase some of these sugar-free bars, please let me know in advance how many you want so I can have them available for you at the meeting. Each bar is 1.5 ounces and costs $1.75.
Remember to continue saving your recyclable aluminum cans and plastic water bottles. Donna Sanchez collects plastic water bottles, and Charlie Stein collects aluminum cans. You may bring these items to an upcoming meeting or call the appropriate contact to make other arrangements. Donna and Charlie redeem the bottles and cans for funds which are then used to support SVCB activities.
Only five large print/braille calendars for 2009 remain! They feature artwork by blind and visually impaired people of all ages and are $9 each. And, at this writing, we have five white cane safety awareness T-shirts remaining: two small in black with white lettering and two small and one large in white with black lettering. They cost $15 each.
See's candy bars and 5-ounce boxes of peanut brittle are also available from SVCB! Dark chocolate with almonds, milk chocolate with almonds, milk chocolate with toffee, and plain milk chocolate cost $1.50 each, and walnut squares and nut and chew bars cost $1 each. The five-ounce boxes of See's peanut brittle cost $5 each. Contact meto place your orders for candy, T-shirts, or calendars.
Finally, if you have any suggestions for other possible fund raisers, please pass them along. We will not be participating in The Human Race this year. The organizer of this event, Volunteer Center of Silicon Valley, has had to cancel the walk-a-thon for financial reasons.
See you at the March meeting!
Return to the Table of ContentsAre you a member of a local Lions Club, or do you know someone who is? I am inviting all Lions to become a part of the American Council of Blind Lions.
ACBL gives Lions from across America a chance to come together and share ideas and experiences. It also gives us a chance to encourage others in ACB to become Lions, and thus to participate in many service projects in local communities throughout the United States. What a great opportunity to educate others about the capabilities of blind and visually impaired people, and to let others know about our ACB family!
As a member of ACB Lions, you are invited to join our monthly telephone conference calls. Held on the first Wednesday of each month at 9 p.m. Eastern time, these calls give ACBL members a chance to share ideas and news about their activities. Callers can also ask questions and seek help from fellow Lions.
To join the American Council of Blind Lions for 2009, please complete the form below. You may either return the form by email to adamcarla@bellsouth.net, or print it out and send along with your check, payable to ACBL for $15.00, to:
American Council of Blind Lions, 148 Vernon Avenue, Louisville, KY 40206
ACBL welcomes new members. Tell others about ACB Lions and feel free to forward this message to other email lists. Just complete a form and submit $15.00 dues for each new member.
Join now and help us increase our Lions' roar!
Name:
Address:
City/State/ZIP:
Phone:
Email:
Local Club:
Sighted: ____Yes ____No
ACB Lions newsletter (check one): ____cassette ____large print ____email
____none
Braille Forum (check one): ____braille ____large print ____cassette ____e-mail
____none
Here's the important information:
March 24, 2009; Panel Presentations 10 a.m ž noon; Vendor Exhibits: 12 p.m.-1 p.m.; LightHouse for the Blind and Visually Impaired, 214 Van Ness Avenue, San Francisco, CA 94102
Get in touch with the newest PDAs, cell phones and calling options for the visually impaired! Learn about products that are ready to use out-of-the-box, third party software that provides navigation on many phones, and services that help you connect like AT&T's National Center for Customers with Disabilities. We will feature phones and PDAs such as the Pantech Breeze, Verizonžs Samsung Knack, the KNFB Reader and more!
You can participate in one of three ways: Live audio stream on our website, free telephone conferencing service or, in person and stay for the post-seminar demonstrations.
The LightHouse is wheelchair accessible. Accommodations are available upon request.
RSVP at 1-888-400-8933 or info@lighthouse-sf.org. Conference call and live stream instructions will be provided.
Beth Berenson, Program Coordinator, LightHouse for the Blind and Visually Impaired, 214 Van Ness Avenue, San Francisco, CA; Direct Line: 415-694-7322, Toll Free:1-888-400-8933 Email: bberenson@lighthouse-sf.org; Website: www.lighthouse-sf.org. Return to the Table of ContentsHave you heard of the annual Candle in the Window conference? If yes, then you know about this exciting opportunity for blind people to discuss issues of common concern to us, in a safe environment that encourages us to explore new territory and risk change. We also have fun doing this, and many lasting friendships have sprung from our conferences.
If you have not heard of us, then here is your opportunity to join in the wonderful experience that is "Candle."
Where: Wooded Glen, Henryville, IN;
When: Wednesday, August 5 thru Sunday, August 9, 2009
Our topic this year will be: "Facing our fears and effecting positive change."
We will send out further details in the near future. Registration is limited to the first 20 people who sign up, so we hope you will give serious thought to joining us for a truly unique and powerful conference.
If you would like to know more about Candle in the Window, and get future updates on the details of this year's exciting conference, send an email to: Nancy Trzcinski: baxman@adelphia.net, phone 413-441-2305. Jonathan Ice: Jkice@mwci.net, phone 319-298-2919. Feel free to forward this announcement to friends, email lists or others who might be interested.
Return to the Table of Contents