GDABVI Newsletter: April 2024

Greater Detroit Agency for the Blind and Visually Impaired

April 2024

With spring in full bloom this month comes a plethora of holidays and observances that focus on religion, health, awareness, cuisine, reading and community service.

April is National Month of Hope. Here at GDABVI, we provide hope to those we serve and want to encourage you to do the same.

While you are spreading hope this month. we ask that you remember GDABVI!

Words from GDABVI Board Chairperson

Dear Friends,

I want to take a moment of your time to introduce myself. My name is Cathy McAdam, current Chairperson of the Board of Directors for the Greater Detroit Agency for the Blind and Visually Impaired (GDABVI).

I am known to many of you in the blind and low vision community. I spent my social work career working across all disabilities. My volunteer days were spent with my colleagues and friends in the blind community as a long-time Assistive Technology Advocate and Disability Advocate for employment and career opportunity.

In the early 2000's I led a tutor-training project, and I am proud to see the results today. All those who participated in the GDABVI project are successful computer-user trainers and advocates!

I have strong, emotional ties, and reality-based reasons to want to see this agency rebound and thrive. As I believe in networking, I appreciate other programs the blind and low vision consumers have access to in the counties we serve. I respectfully suggest that we can always use more good programming and services for those who are newly impacted by low-vision or blindness and to expand availability to satisfy the needs of us, Oldtimers, is "great". GDABVI offers a support group; orientation and mobility training; home visitation; Braille instruction; computer training; and more!

We are indeed struggling to rebuild! We know the rumors in the community, and we are ready to step up and move forward beyond the “chaos”. We ask for your support, financially, through your networks, and throughout the larger disability community, as we move forward!

Let us work together to make GDABVI one of the best resources for our blind and low vision community!

For more information or questions on how you may help, please contact Jim Smock, Executive Director, at 313-591-3794 or by email: jsmock@gdabvi.org.

Sincerely,

Cathy McAdam

Board Chairperson

UPCOMING activities at GDABVI:

Monthly Bingo

Friday, April 5^th… 12PM to 2PM

New Direction Support Group

April 9^th… 12PM to 2PM

Finance management and money identification/organization

Book Club

April 23^rd… 12PM to 2PM

The book club pick for the month is, Pay Day… By: ReShonda Tate Billingsley & Richelle Denise.

There will be a quarterly activity for the month of April. For more information and to add your name to the list for this event and future events, please remember you must RSVP! All activities listed above are in person at the agency and you must RSVP by calling KaShonia at 313-591-3786.

It's Sports Safety Month

Sports safety month was initiated by the American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO) to raise awareness about preventing sports-related eye injuries. Nearly 30,000 sports-related eye injuries are treated in U.S. emergency rooms each year, and 90 percent of these eye injuries could be avoided by wearing protective eyewear.

Wear Your Blue to Support National Autism Awareness

autism awareness puzzle inside of hands in heart shape

National Autism Awareness Month raises awareness for autism and Asperger's syndrome during April. Autism is a complex brain disorder that often inhibits a person's ability to communicate, respond to surroundings, and form relationships with others.

According to WHO, about one in 270 people in the world has Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). ASD is a group of developmental disabilities that causes challenges in many areas of one’s life. Some of the profoundly affected areas include social, communication, and behavior. Children with ASD are usually nonverbal or they have restricted or repetitive behaviors. ASD also affects people of all racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic backgrounds.

National Autism Awareness Month began in 1972 as National Autistic Children's Week. The Autism Society founded the event to increase awareness, advocate awareness, and spark change in schools, communities, medical facilities, and businesses.

Take Me Out to the Ball Game!

It’s officially Springtime which is the time to gather the baseball gloves, bats, helmets and head to the baseball diamond to play ball. Have you included your protective eyewear to add to your sports gear checklist? According to the National Eye Institute, baseball is the leading cause of sports eye injuries. Even reports of eye injuries in the major leagues are not immune to devasting effects of a flying baseball or bat.

It is false to think that wearing regular eyeglasses or sunglasses offers some protection from a baseball hit. The truth is that non-protective eyewear can shatter upon impact, causing more damage to your eye.

Before taking the field to play, take the proper steps to keep your eyes safe. Here are some safety tips from the American Academy of Ophthalmology that will help you keep an eye on the ball and eye safety first:

If you wear prescription glasses or contact lenses, ask your eye doctor about prescription protective sports eyewear. There are certified helmets with attached safety glasses for baseball batters and base runners; fielders can get certified protective eyewear.
Sports safety glasses must meet the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) and American National Standards Institute (ANSI) safety standards. Eyewear designed to meet Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) industrial standards does not meet the safety standards for sports eye protection.
All prescription sports glasses should be made from polycarbonate material because it resists shattering and provides UV (ultraviolet light) protection. If the protective lenses have turned yellow over time, have them replaced, as the polycarbonate material may have weakened with age.
Sports goggles provide the best eye protection. However, they may not fit narrow faces well. In this case, the best option is certified sports glasses with 3-millimeter-thick polycarbonate lenses.
Any player who has vision loss in one eye should always wear eye-protective eyewear recommended by your doctor to protect their remaining vision.

Outdoor Activities and Eye Protection

If your athleticism tends less towards team sports and more towards outdoor adventures like hiking or mountain biking, UV protection is just as important as impact resistance. Make it a priority to find some good UV-blocking goggles and consider getting them with polarized lenses to reduce glare or tinted lenses that improve contrast and help you see better terrain changes.

We hope you all have a wonderful and safe time this season!

Our first Showcase of Services 2024 was a success. We would like to thank our amazing staff… Aya, KaShonia, Malaika, Priscilla and Jim. Special thanks to those who came out to volunteer.

Volunteers can make a significant impact on those we serve. April is National Volunteer Month. We would like to recognize Maxine Pritchett and her granddaughter Terlina Taylor… we appreciate you both.

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