20 causes, 20 days

Cause #20 – Society for the Blind December 20, 2009

Posted by 20causes20days in Causes, Charities, Volunteer.
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Imagine for a second that you were blind. Close your eyes and think about doing the things you may take for granted every day. Walking to the fridge to grab a snack. Choosing a coordinating outfit from your closet. Reading the latest news via newspaper or a news website. Driving to work.

This is something that I deal with every morning as my vision is far from stellar (20/250), but thanks to technological advances my contact lenses and eyeglasses help me overcome this impairment.

However, the ability to see these things, along with countless others, have become second nature to most of us in today’s fast paced society. Well, there’s another society out there that is thriving despite not being able to visually see that which we overlook every day.

I had the privilege of volunteering with the Sacramento Society for the Blind this afternoon. I wore my glasses today to be able to put myself as close to their perspective as I possibly could. I checked in and immediately noticed the delicious smells emanating from the kitchen near the back of the building.

There was a lot of hustle and bustle going on around the kitchen area. Program Manager Joseph Hamilton introduced himself to me in the lobby, and we made our way to the administrative office where I would read articles for their Access News program.

I saw the kitchen and there were a dozen or so people busily working on preparing a variety of foods. It was a typical scene for any group of people preparing a holiday feast for an open house – except for one noticeable difference.

Every single one of them was blind.

This was amazing to me in and of itself, but as Joseph would explain to me, this was just another typical day. The people cooking the feast were all over 55 years old, and celebrating their graduation from the Senior Impact Program, a program the SSB provides to help people adjust to blindness via processes to help people improve their Orientation & Mobility skills.

We headed back into the office, where I was introduced to Regina Brink, volunteer coordinator. A couple things I noticed off the bat were Regina’s special braille computer keyboard, and in place of the monitor on Joesph’s computer, there was a plant.

We all chatted for a bit about the Society for the Blind, and I was astounded to learn that 100% of their instructional staff is visually impaired. This is purposely done to help provide that actual perspective and experience to people new to blindness. Joseph has glaucoma and Regina had lost both her eyes at a very early age.

But they both were very mobile and perceptive. I’ve heard it before, but today saw it first hand, that upon losing one’s sight, one’s other senses become keener. They explained to me that blind people were just as capable as those with sight, that the main hurdle people face is overcoming the fact that they had lost their vision.

Once people overcame that significant change in their life – which is no easy task – they learn that they are able to live their lives as efficiently as they had before. Granted, there are adjustments to make, but that’s what the Society for the Blind is here to assist with.

My role today was to provide content for the Access News program, which transcribes articles from paper sources to audio so visually-impaired people can stay caught up with news, entertainment, sports, politics, and anything else to be found in printed media.

Joseph showed me to their specially-made soundproof booths, and got me all set up. He gave me a couple publications to read from, I filled up a cup of coffee, and I was on my way.

I started out with the Spectrum, a local newspaper directed toward senior citizens. I read five articles which took me about a half hour, once I figured out how to effectively read an article without awkward pauses and saying the wrong words. It was an adjustment for me to make too!

We won’t even bring up the fact that I can’t stand the sound of my voice in a recording. But again, a theme of this 20 Causes, 20 Days project is working outside of my comfort zone, so I forged ahead.

Next, I grabbed the sports section of the Sacramento Bee. I read nine articles ranging from NHL Hockey to NCAA Basketball to NFL Football to NASCAR to an emotional read about the death of Cincinnati Bengals Wide Receiver Chris Henry.

All told, 14 articles read in about an hour and a half. The automated system made it very easy to log each article separately and be able to re-record ten seconds ahead when I made a mistake.

Most importantly, I felt a strong sense of comfort in knowing that I was helping people who couldn’t read these same articles receive this information. I could feel myself reading certain sentences and quotes with more passion to help bring the story alive for those people listening to my reads on Access News.

I finished up and overheard Joseph on the phone passionately talking to the person on the other end about Goal Ball. It’s a sport developed by – and for – visually impaired people. He said he was a part of the Sacramento River Bats team and since he was such a huge sports fan, this was a great way to stay active and competitive in a sports-related environment.

After hearing Joseph explain the sport with such passion, I’m thinking I’ll go participate in a pickup game soon.

Joseph and I headed out to the main area, where the Senior Impact Program had set out their feast. It was a nice spread of pinwheels, mushroom quiche, cornbread muffins, cheeses, crackers, cookies, and other finger foods.

I prepared a plate, removed my glasses, and soaked in the scene. Everyone was in a great mood, people were enjoying their meals, and everyone was moving around the room with ease. I met Christella Garcia, coach for the River Bats, and the fire in her personality shone as she described the thrill of not only Goal Ball, but the martial arts she participated in as well.

The food was delicious in taste, but in my opinion it tasted even better on this day because of the well-deserved sense of satisfaction the cooks must have felt from preparing this meal on their own.

Upon my departure, I thanked Joseph for allowing me to bring printed articles to life in this small part to help visually impaired citizens. However, I also really learned a lot of perspective about people who thrive despite what most of us would consider a detrimental life-changing situation.

Volunteer opportunities are always available with the Society for the Blind. Anyone can come in and read articles for Access News, and there are community events throughout the year. Take an hour and read some articles for people who wouldn’t be able to have that otherwise. It’s a fun and rewarding experience. Volunteer information can be found below.

I have a newfound respect for my ability to see, as well as for those people who are succeeding despite not being able to see. I strongly suggest assisting the great folks at the Society for the Blind to learn a valuable lesson in perspective and overcoming adversity.

Special thanks to Christine at the Volunteer Center of Sacramento for helping set up this opportunity for me today.

Sacramento Society for the Blind

Website

916.452.8271

Volunteer Information

Volunteer Center of Sacramento

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