Tag Archive

Enchanted Hills Camp

A Few Spots Still Open in Our Innovative Introduction to Blindness Group at Our Napa Retreat

03/27/2015 LightHouse Staff 1 Comment

Immersion students and teachers pose next to Lake Lokoya on a crisp, chilly day Are you an adult who is experiencing changing vision? We invite you to join us for this week-long training in the fresh air and verdant grounds of our Enchanted Hills Retreat. You’ll learn a boatload of best practices for maintaining your independence while enjoying this beautiful setting.

In the last three years the Lighthouse has offered the pioneering Changing Vision Changing Life immersion training programs at our Enchanted Hills Retreat in Napa. Each training session brings together up to 25 adult students of all ages, from Northern California and the Central Valley, who are either new to low vision or blindness, or have had a significant change in vision and have requested additional training. We invite adults to join us for this week-long training in the fresh air and verdant grounds of our Enchanted Hills Retreat. You’ll learn a boatload of best practices for maintaining your independence while enjoying this beautiful setting.

These sessions are always free to participants 55 years or older, but you’ll need to make arrangements by calling Debbie Bacon by April 6, 2015.

Dates of our next session: April 12 through 17, 2015
Transportation is provided from San Rafael, San Francisco, Emeryville Amtrak and Ashby BART
There is no cost to attend if you are 55 or older and living in San Francisco, Alameda, Marin, Humboldt or Del Norte counties.
For more information please contact Debbie Bacon, LightHouse Rehabilitation Counselor, at 415-694-7357 or dbacon@old.lighthouse-sf.org

Some of the areas we’ll cover during the week include ways to read printed materials; understanding how lighting, contrast and magnification can help you every day; suggestions for organizing and labeling in your home or office; best methods for taking notes and keeping a calendar; basic cooking skills; traveling and moving safely and confidently in your home and in the community; managing finances; the joys of an accessible computer and other low tech equipment and more. We’ll also make suggestions on how to talk to your family and friends about what would help you best.

While gaining new skills and confidence with changing vision is the overall theme of the week, the experience of coming together with other adults, both students and teachers, who are low vision or blind, to learn or relearn skills, and to get back into the stream of life remains a pivotal part of the week long experience. And it doesn’t stop there – we will also follow-up with you to see how you are doing and help keep you focused on what you’ve just learned.

Our next Changing Vision Changing Life session is April 12 through April 17. Just call or email Debbie Bacon by April 6 at 415-694-7357 or dbacon@old.lighthouse-sf.org for more information. We look forward to seeing you at Enchanted Hills.

LightHouse News

Shop for a Cause: Stella & Dot Fundraiser is a Fun Way to Support Enchanted Hills Camp for the Blind

03/19/2015 LightHouse Staff

Join LightHouse Board Member Gena Harper and her guide dog, Yulie, at a Stella and Dot fundraiser in Davis, CA. Proceeds will go towards the transformative programs of Enchanted Hills Camp for the Blind. Can’t make it to the party? Shop online between now and April 24th and proceeds will go to Enchanted Hills. Check out the jewelry and other items to adorn the fashionista.

When: Friday, April 3, 2015 from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m.
Where: Vini Wine Bar, 611 2nd Street, Davis, CA

LightHouse News

New Extra Teen Track at Enchanted Hills: Wild Science with WizKidz

03/16/2015 LightHouse Staff

Attention parents of young campers. This summer at Enchanted Hills we’re collaborating with WizKidz Science and Technology Centers, offering an exciting tactile TouchSTEM breakout session to our Youth campers. The session includes cool activities such as building your own robot, unearthing fossils and best of all, taking the controls of an airplane during a one-on-one supervised flight.

We are so thrilled to be able to offer one of the most outstanding accessible STEM programs being offered in the USA at this time. Award-winning WhizKidz will offer a camp within a camp during our Youth Session this summer. This TouchSTEM program will run from July 15 to 18 and will provide students ages 11 to 15 with an unforgettable, hands-on learning experience in Science and Technology.

As one of the pioneers of Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) initiatives for disabled youth, WizKidz Science and Technology Centers developed the S.T.E.A.D.Y Academy initiative to spark and enhance students’ with disabilities interest in science and technology education, two areas that fall short for servicing students with disabilities. In 2014, WizKidz were selected as a 2014 Google RISE Awardee and were nominated for the 2014 Presidential Award for Excellence in Science, Mathematics, and Engineering Mentoring. Read more about WizKidz.

Parents and guardians who wish to register their children for the TouchSTEM program can do so on a supplemental section which is included with the Youth Session application.

When: July 15 through 18
Where: Enchanted Hills Camp for the Blind

To find out more about this session, contact Camp Director Tony Fletcher at afletcher@old.lighthouse-sf.org or 415-694-7319, or visit www.enchantedhillscamp.org.

LightHouse News

New Track at Enchanted Hills: Wild Science with WizKidz

03/16/2015 LightHouse Staff

We are thrilled to be able to offer one of the most outstanding accessible STEM programs being offered in the USA at this time. Award-winning WhizKidz will offer a camp within a camp during our Youth Session this summer. This TouchSTEM program will run from July 15 to 18 and will provide students ages 11 to 15 with an unforgettable, hands-on learning experience in Science and Technology.

Parents and guardians who wish to register their children for the TouchSTEM program can do so on a supplemental section which is included with the Youth Session application.

When: July 15 through 18
Where: Enchanted Hills Camp for the Blind

To find out more about this session, contact Camp Director Tony Fletcher at afletcher@old.lighthouse-sf.org or 415-694-7319, or visit www.enchantedhillscamp.org.

LightHouse News

Springtime in Napa – Enchanted Hills Retreat in the Prettiest of Seasons

03/13/2015 LightHouse Staff

Due to some (vary rare) cancellations, Enchanted Hills Retreat is available the weekend of March 21 to 23rd and May 15, 16, and 17th. Snatch up these prime dates and enjoy the comfortable accommodations, great food and extravagant beauty of Napa in its vernal glory.

Spring has sprung and Enchanted Hills is donning its rich tapestry of the season. The hillsides have gone green, wildflowers are beginning to bloom and the birds are singing. What a great time of year to reunite with friends, family, colleagues or any group in need of a get-together.

A stay at Enchanted Hills Retreat will make you feel renewed and virtuous. Why? The clean air and babbling springs will make you feel refreshed. But also your retreat sojourn supports the unique programs of Enchanted Hills Camp for the Blind. This summer these offerings include a new session of horse camp for blind horse aficionados, the first ever STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) camp for budding blind scientists and hands-on wood working in our new Arts Barn.

To reserve Enchanted Hills for your get-together of 30 to 120, please call (415) 694-7310 or go to www.enchantedhillsretreat.com.

LightHouse News

AmeriCorps Volunteers Start Long-Term Relationship with Enchanted Hills

03/13/2015 LightHouse Staff

This April and May, and with an expected return for three months next winter, Enchanted Hills Camp for the Blind will benefit from the hard work of a large group of AmeriCorps volunteers. The LightHouse was chosen out of many applicants as an AmeriCorps worksite and these volunteers will assist us with a myriad of campground improvements.

AmeriCorps is a core program of the federal agency, the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS). Per their website, “AmeriCorps places thousands of young adults into intensive service positions where they learn valuable work skills, earn money for education, and develop an appreciation for citizenship. They are committed to seeing positive change in their country, and are devoting ten months of their lives to work towards this end.”

Some of the many projects AmeriCorps Volunteers are slated to tackle at Enchanted Hills are building and installing benches for the Redwood Grove Theater, replacing water pipes, building an accessible pathway and deck to the Studio, painting the inside and outside of all buildings, constructing two new campfire areas and participating in the Cycle for Sight fundraiser.

Enchanted Hills Camp Director Tony Fletcher said, “This is a great thing. I know AmeriCorp receives more requests for teams than they have available and so I feel very fortunate and honored that we have been chosen. We have a long list of projects to accomplish, some that have been on the back burner for a while, and I’m really looking forward to having the people power the AmeriCorps volunteers bring to help get this work done.”

LightHouse News

Meet Margie, A Cyclist in This Year’s Cycle for Sight

03/13/2015 LightHouse Staff

Margie Donovan holds Cycle for Sight 2013 trophy surrounded by members of Team LightHouse Meet Longtime Enchanted Hills supporter and Cycle for Sight Rider Margie Donovan.

Margie Donovan makes Cycle for Sight a priority every year. “I absolutely love the event,” she says. “It is well-organized and I love how Team LightHouse brings visibility to the blind community.” This year she will ride 25 miles on a tandem bike with her significant other, RC, as her captain. The pair is popular out on the course due to all the work they do with Enchanted Hills Camp.

Margie started off as a camper and has volunteered at family camp for at least twelve years. She and RC started the kayaking program, and she has run support groups for parents and teens. She especially enjoys working with female campers and mentoring them as they grow up. She’s made lifelong connections with many of the campers she’s met at Enchanted Hills.

Two years ago, Margie, along with the rest of Team LightHouse, took the cup for having the largest team at Cycle for Sight. It was an emotional achievement after all her years of service. Last year, she decided to raise money for another rider, one of her campers at Enchanted Hills. One of her favorite things about the ride is “seeing all the campers out on the course and then racing them in little spurts along the way.”

Go, Margie! We can’t wait to see what she does this year.

Support Margie Donovan in this year’s Cycle for Sight by donating to her campaign. Simply go to our donation page and select Cycle for Sight as your giving designation. You’ll want to put Margie’s name in the “I want my donation to be dedicated” field.

Join Team LightHouse and ride in Cycle for Sight on Saturday April 18! Register at www.cycle4sight.com. Be sure to designate “Team LightHouse” when you register.

For more information contact Tony Fletcher at afletcher@old.lighthouse-sf.org or 415-694-7319.

LightHouse News

Blind Immersion Training Week Jump-Starts Eleven Students to Success

02/26/2015 LightHouse Staff

Immersion students and teachers pose next to Lake Lokoya on a crisp, chilly day Last month students from the Bay Area and North Coast came together for Changing Vision Changing Life Immersion week at Enchanted Hills Camp for the Blind. The Immersion is a week-long session where students have a real workout on the skills that will keep them as independent as possible with changing vision, whether it be improving their use of the technology that brings the print world to them or walking with confidence through our beautiful campgrounds.

Why come to Changing Vision Changing Life Immersion? As one student said, “It was time for me. Time to learn how to do things differently, time to become more independent, time to start living.” Each day during Immersion is a long one, but highly fulfilling. Guided by our talented teaching team, participants work individually or in small groups. Bonds of peer support develop, some lasting well beyond the week. The days are punctuated by delicious, healthy meals and bookended by morning yoga and late night walks in the fresh air of Enchanted Hills. The Immersion program is powerful, propelling people forward in their lives, like a rocket booster into the future.

Rocky Camp and his sister, Jane Micks, both have low vision caused by the same eye condition. Rocky told us, “I felt tremendous trepidation before I arrived at camp…But from the moment I arrived, I felt as if I was with my compatriots; those who, from their own personal experience, shared my journey. Your staff was amazing. Right from the very beginning there was just this wonderful lightness, a sense of humor, which really made me feel comfortable. I learned so much…my assessment of the week can be encapsulated in one phrase; life changing.”

The days during Immersion are filled with opportunities for connection. Our new mentor trainers, Gail McGaster and Jeff Buckwalter both have low vision and they shared their experiences and learned from the students’ stories. Six of the students, all who have changing vision due to retinitis pigmentosa, found this commonality led to good conversations and rapport. And LightHouse Board member Jerry Kuns, who was at camp for another project, stopped by to share his experience. The group found it heartening to hear about some of the challenges this seasoned and successful member of the blind community still deals with, reminding us that this journey towards independence is ongoing and ever enriching.

Is your vision changing? Are you ready to make a commitment to yourself, to be the director of your journey? Our next Changing Vision Changing Life Immersion Training at Enchanted Hills is Sunday, April 12 through Friday, April 17. To participate, contact Debbie Bacon at 415-694-7357 in San Francisco; Janet Pomerantz at 707-268-5646 in the North Coast or Jeff Carlson at 415-258-8496 in Marin. Immersion students come from all over Northern California. Join us!

LightHouse News

Open House – Spring into Training with the LightHouse Connect Series

02/26/2015 LightHouse Staff 1 Comment

For our third installment of the LightHouse Connect series, we’re having an Open House to showcase all the ways you can become more independent and successful as your vision changes. If you’ve been interested in finding out more about our programs including technology training, cane travel training, cooking, braille, our Youth Program, Enchanted Hills Camp and more, our Open House is a great opportunity to chat informally with our friendly staff. As a special bonus attraction, Adaptations will be open late and we’re offering a 10% discount on store sales during Open House hours.

When: Thursday, March 26, 2015 from 4:00 to 7:00 p.m.
Where: LightHouse San Francisco Headquarters
Light refreshments will be served

For more information and to RSVP, please contact Lisamaria Martinez at info@old.lighthouse-sf.org or 415-431-1481.

LightHouse News

Who Stays at Enchanted Hills Retreat?

02/13/2015 LightHouse Staff

Sign Post for Half-Moon Circle at Enchanted Hills Retreat You know that Enchanted Hills Retreat is situated on a rugged mountain awash in natural beauty; you know that it is the most affordable place to get a group together in Napa; you know it is less than ten miles to the world famous restaurants and wineries of the Napa Valley and that the rental of the facilities supports the life-changing programs of Enchanted Hills Camp for the Blind. But who stays at Enchanted Hills Retreat?

The diversity of groups that come to Enchanted Hills is astounding. From the Scottish Fiddlers to the Affordable Screen Writers contingent to Body Flows yoga retreat, Enchanted Hills is a place for everyone. Wellness groups, weddings, musician get-togethers, cyclists, family reunions and a variety of spiritual groups are just some of those who have had memorable stays at Enchanted Hills Retreat in the last year.

Would you like to book Enchanted Hills Retreat and get away from it all? To reserve Enchanted Hills for your group of 30 to 120, please call (415) 694-7310 or go to www.enchantedhillsretreat.com.