Category Archive

LightHouse News

LightHouse Walks the Walk for White Cane Awareness Day

LightHouse clients and staff have a great time and make a statement at the same time on White Cane Awareness Day.

On October 15th over 30 blind and low-vision San Francisco LightHouse clients joined LightHouse staff and volunteers to celebrate White Cane Awareness Day with a lively walk around City Hall and post-walk party in the “Please Touch Community Garden.” Both participants and onlookers were seen sporting ear-to-ear grins as white cane users took to the sunny streets of San Francisco, canes and signs in hand, as a friendly reminder to the public of just how important the white cane is to a blind person’s independence, equality, and personal safety.

Established in 1964, White Cane Awareness Day is a national observance celebrated each year on October 15. It honors the many achievements of blind and low vision individuals, as well as the symbol of the white cane as a signifier of blindness and as an essential tool for independence. In 2011, White Cane Awareness Day was also named Blind Americans Equality Day by President Barack Obama.LightHouse White Cane Awareness Day participants line the stairs of San Francisco City Hall in a show of unity, action, and pride.

 

LightHouse Information and Referral Specialist Frank Welte reminds the public that a white cane equals equality.

Holiday Shopping?

Give the Gift of the LightHouse, a gift that keeps giving all year long! Your gift will help the LightHouse provide life changing programs for low vision or blind children, adults and seniors.

Donate in honor of a friend or loved one, and we’ll send that person a special card or email letting them know about your generosity in their name. They will be listed in the next issue of the LightHouse News and your contribution is tax deductible to boot! Donate at www.lbvi.staging.wpengine.com.com and click GIVE!

Note: With speculation that there may be changes to the Federal treatment of tax deductions for charitable donations in 2013, giving a gift to the LightHouse this year may be even more to your advantage than ever.

Donate Your Car to the LightHouse and get an Itemized Tax Deduction for its Full, True Value

Donating a car is easy! Support the LightHouse by donating your car (or just about any motor vehicle: trucks, sport utility vehicles, motorcycles, RVs, boats, airplanes, go-carts, scooters, mopeds, golf carts, dune buggies, forklifts, trailers and more).

Our agent, Charitable Auto Resources, will take care of everything, from picking up your vehicle and processing the DMV paperwork to arranging for its sale. Part of the proceeds of the sale goes directly to the LightHouse to support our programs and services.

To donate your car, call 1-877-537-5277 and tell them that you want your donation to benefit the LightHouse for the Blind. If you wish to speak to the LightHouse about a vehicle donation, please call 415-694-7365 or write to giving@old.lighthouse-sf.org.

Napa Rotary Looks to Ways it can Build Enchanted Hills

Napa Rotary Club President Kent Gardella and key members of the Rotary Club of Napa joined Enchanted Hills Camp Director Tony Fletcher in a tour and discussion about our camp program. For many years the Rotary has supported Enchanted Hills Camp through its Cycle for Sight bicycle ride. This event raises tens of thousands of dollars for camperships to our summer sessions. In addition, the group is looking at helping Enchanted Hills Camp in other ways, including partnering with other groups to build an outdoor amphitheater in our lower camp program area. We are truly grateful for the Napa Rotary’s ongoing interest and support.

Tony Fletcher with Rotary Club of Napa members Rick Taggs, LightHouse Volunteer Linda Fonseca, additional members Auty Hayne, past club president Gary Rose, Elizabeth Rose, club president Kent Gardella, Joni McDaniel and Gary McDaniel

Enchanted Hills Retreat – The Perfect Place for Your Meeting or Event

Enchanted Hills is a rustic retreat center located on beautiful Mt. Veeder in Napa.This affordable wine country retreat boasts a small lake, several rushing creeks, miles of nature trails for hiking, a heated outdoor swimming pool and a variety of breakout rooms for groups from 30 to 150. Year round, it can be used for family reunions, yoga workshops, weddings, spiritual retreats, company off-site meetings or seminars. There are flexible service options including tasty, home-style meals and more.

For information and reservations, contact Tony Fletcher at afletcher@old.lighthouse-sf.org or 415-694-7310.

Read more about Enchanted Hills Retreat.
One of the distinctive red-painted cabin sitting next to the woods at Enchanted Hills Retreat

Marc Grossman Becomes a Force Behind FinancialForce

We offer our hearty congratulations to Marc Grossman, one of our recent Employment Immersion graduates who in August took the job of Business Development Representative for FinancialForce.com, at a salary of $50,000 plus. FinancialForce is an independent software vendor that makes financial applications used in conjunction with SalesForce software. During his day Marc qualifies prospects and networks with potential customers and introducing people to FinancialForce products.

Marc grew up in Los Angeles and went to the University of Wisconsin. He was diagnosed at age 19 with Retinitis Pigmentosa and after graduating he moved to Manhattan to take advantage of the robust transportation system. Through the following years his work included a stint teaching English in South America to business executives and a number of years working in New York for the American Foundation for the Blind as an Accessibility Specialist.

He and his wife moved to San Francisco in 2009 and in December 2011 he got his Master’s in Business Administration from San Francisco State’s College of Business. While in between jobs, Marc enrolled in our Employment Immersion program. His biggest take-away from the program was the opportunity to hear different points of view from classmates and guest speakers, which helped guide his job search.

Employment Immersion Program Leader Kate Williams commended Marc, saying “Marc was a role model for the other students in the Employment Immersion Group. He came prepared, shared his wealth of knowledge and fully participated in every aspect of the program. Rarely have I seen an individual as focused on his goal as he. We are all extremely proud of his success.”

Marc has strong advice for anyone who wishes to work in a business environment: “It’s really, really important that you know your assistive technology inside and out. You can’t be trying to learn it on the job – you must know the applications everybody has access to, [and if you don’t] you need to request training.”

Would you like to join the ranks of our Employment Immersion success stories? For information call Kate Williams at 415-694-7324 or email kwilliams@old.lighthouse-sf.org.

If you are ready to improve your training on the latest technology, look no further than the LightHouse for technology training. Our Access Technology Center is brimming with training opportunities for anyone interested in learning Windows-based assistive technology as well as Apple products such as the iMac, MacBook, iPad and iPhone. For more information, please contact Rehabilitation Services Specialist Debbie Bacon at 415-694-7357 or dbacon@old.lighthouse-sf.org.

 

Come Party in Wine Country! Napa Valley Film Festival Post-Film Event to Raise Funds for Enchanted Hills Camp

Come Party in Wine Country! Napa Valley Film Festival Post-Film Event to Raise Funds for Enchanted Hills Camp

Join us for the post-party celebration of Make A Hero’s documentary film The Movement featuring longtime Enchanted Hills Camper Mike May, who holds the world record for fastest blind downhill skiing. Come for wine, an amazing auction and live music to benefit Enchanted Hills Camp for the Blind and Make A Hero.

When: Friday, November 9, 7:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m.
Where: Redd Wood, a sophisticated and stylish pizza restaurant,
6755 Washington Street, Yountville, CA

Auction items include a seven day luxury vacation to one of 20 select locations by the Inspirato Club, and a trip for two to the lavish Viceroy in the Aspen/Snowmass, Volkl skis with Marker bindings, private Silver Oak winery tours, magnums of fine wine and more. Proceeds benefit Enchanted Hills Camp for the Blind and Make A Hero.

Special VIP ticket price for the LightHouse and Enchanted Hills Camp community, $75 for two tickets and one goodie bag valued at over $300. Regular admission for one is $20.

“The Movement” film is showing at the Napa Film Festival on November 9th, 5:30 p.m. at the Yountville Community Center. Tickets for the film can be purchased separately at napavalleyfilmfest.org.

Proceeds benefit Enchanted Hills Camp for the Blind. Please RSVP to fundraising@lighthouse-sf.org or 415-694-7333.
Logos for AspenSnowmass, Viceroy Hotels and Resorts and Inspirito Poster for the film The Movement

Take A Survey and Be Part of A Research Study On Siblings

Carolyn Shivers, a graduate student at Vanderbilt University, in Nashville, Tennessee, is conducting a study of adolescent siblings of children with and without disabilities. She needs a nationwide sample and would like your help.

If you are a family with two children between the ages of 12 and 18 then you are eligible to participate in this survey. Parents are asked to take a 20 minute survey while children are asked to take a 15 minute survey. Participants will be entered in a drawing for one of 40 $50 Target gift cards. You will have approximately a 1 in 10 chance of winning a gift card.

Description
We are interested in how having a brother or sister impacts adolescents. We invite parents and siblings to fill out an online survey. Families with and without children with disabilities are welcome to participate. One adolescent and one parent will be asked to take the survey and respond to questions about himself or herself and his/her family.

For more information please contact Carol at 330-704-6291 or via email at:
carolyn.m.shivers@vanderbilt.edu.