All meetings are via Zoom unless otherwise noted.

Confirm these dates when you receive your monthly calendar.

MARCH CALENDAR

12, 26-Chat on the Porch

15-Mini-Grant applications due

APRIL CALENDAR

15-Mini-Grant applications due

23-Chat on the Porch

MAY CALENDAR

2-Board Meeting; 6:30 pm

9-General membership meeting, 7:00 pm

RSVP by 4/28

14, 28--Chat on the Porch

15-Mini-Grant applications due

IS NEW THIS MONTH ON OUR BLOG PAGE?

PARIS HILTON AND ME

What could John and Paris Hilton possibly have in common? Read on

COMMENTS

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SUBSCRIBE

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CONTRIBUTIONS FROM VIBES

BRAVO: BLUE RIDGE ADVENTURES

A recently established non-profit has as its mission statement "To provide outdoor enrichment programs to youth with blindness and low vision". The founders are Jay Hardwig and Nita Smith who have been offering camps and outdoor activities in the Ashville area for blind and visually impaired kids for thirteen years under the umbrella of another organization. Several Vibes members have attended the camps and have loved the experience. Though based in Ashville, the camps are open to blind and visually impaired kids from anywhere. There are summer overnight camps for grades 9-12 as well as summer day camps for grades K-12. Club Vibes has made a donation to help get Bravo started. We want to encourage students from East Tennessee to take advantage of these great experiences. To get more information, click on their website, https://www.blueridgebravo.org

ASSISTING SIDRA

Several years ago, Sidra, a blind student from Pakistan, was attending classes at Maryville college. She learned about Club Vibes and participated with our group while she was here. She was totally surprised to learn that blind people can lead productive and independent lives which is not the case in Pakistan. She has remained in touch with John and Sue. Her goal, interrupted by Covid, has been to return to the US and receive training in independent living. She has been accepted by the Colorado Center for the Blind to attend the Independence Training for Adults program which begins in June and runs for about nine months. Upon completion and her return home, Sidra plans to start a program to teach these skills to other blind persons in her community. Club Vibes is providing her with the funds for her airfare to Colorado and return to Pakistan.

SPOTLIGHT

WANT TO SKI?

by Marian

(Image to the left is a whimsical cartoon of a skier wearing a purple ski outfit, green beanie, and goggles).

Three weeks of cross-country skiing this winter? Thanks to Sue Buckley and Club Vibes, I found out about the Ski For Light program that pairs volunteer ski guides with blind and visually-impaired cross-country skiers allowing us to get out into the mountains and experience the peace, solitude, and renewal they bring. Cross-country skiing is very different from downhill skiing.  A snowmobile-type machine makes two grooves in the snow that give the skis tracks to stay in and the guide just has to tell the blind skier when a hill or turn is coming up. It can be hard work, but the rewards are worth it, fitness, quiet, and discovery.

This year, I spent a week in Colorado with the US Ski For Light program along withother 250 people at Snow Mountain Ranch, a beautiful YMCA resort bordering Rocky Mountain National Park. I then flew up to Calgary to spend a week at the Canadian Ski For Light event at William Watson lodge, an accessible recreation area in the Canadian Rockies. On March 15, I left for Norway, where I will spend a week at the Ritterrenn, in Beitostolen, where the original Ski For Light program started 70 years ago. Students studying Recreation Therapy at the nearby University volunteer as guides, and the Norwegian Army spends the week supporting the event. Over 700 participants from all over the world participate in the 20k race at the end of the week. I'll be doing the 5k or 10k rally, thank you. :-)

I must say that skiing is, at most, half of the focus of these events. The people that you meet, the programs, both social and educational off the snow, and the inspiration and pure joy that everyone feels are electric. I came back from my first Ski For Light thinking about how much I loved my time in the mountains and on snow. I was amazed at the generosity of the volunteers and organizers and inspired by so many people I met. I carried that enthusiasm and inspiration back to Oak Ridge and on into many areas of advocacy and volunteerism. I'm looking forward to many more years.

Click on the website , https://www.sfl.org more information.



HOW ARE OUR UNIVERSITY STUDENTS DOING?

Three Vibes members are in their first year of college. Jacoby is at Belmont University in Nashville, Illya is at Middle Tennessee State University in Murfreesboro, and Campbell is at Harvard University in Massachusetts. We are pleased that all three are doing well as they continue with their second semester.

CONGRATULATIONS SARAH

Vibes member, Sarah, has been accepted into the Pharmacy program at South College. She will begin her studies in July

IMAGINATION LIBRARY BOOKS IN BRAILLE

Braille Tales books by the American Printing House for the Blind (APH) allow children to become interested in braille from a young age, encouraging them to be lifelong braille readers. This program provides six free Print/Braille books a year to blind and visually impaired children until the child’s 6th birthday. These are the same books offered by Dolly Parton's Imagination Library that are adapted for future Braille readers by inserting a clear plastic page with Braille over each print page. To get on the Braille Tales list click on their website, https://www.aph.org/braille-tales/