A.V.R.E. InSight Newsletter
Summer 2011; Vol. 36 No. 3
Association for Vision Rehabilitation and Employment, Inc.
We’re Celebrating 85 Years of Success! “We Still Thrive at 85!”
A.V.R.E. is celebrating 85 years of creating jobs and providing vision rehabilitation services to people who are blind and visually impaired. From a small house on Water Street, to a storefront on Court Street, to the facility on Washington Street, to our current Center of Excellence back on Court St, our agency has grown and prospered over the years. For decades, we were known as the Blind Work Association (BWA). BWA was well known for its textiles, chair caning and even sub-contracts with IBM and Endicott-Johnson. The agency’s professional staff taught Braille, conducted vision screening in area schools and collaborated with local utility providers to teach cooking classes. They even packed up their wares and educational materials to participate in business and health fairs across several counties. Everything they did demonstrated a deep commitment to improving the lives of people with vision disabilities.
And while some sights and sounds have changed over the years, so much of what we do today remains the same – it’s just been improved. Our new name better reflects the modern scope of what we do. Vision rehabilitation encompasses everything from Infants and Children’s Early Intervention services to the latest adaptive technology. Employment includes on-the-job training, outside placement and growth opportunities at all levels within the organization – even senior management!
A.V.R.E. has realized record growth in the past few years by significantly increasing sales of copy paper and file folders to the federal government and securing new contracts to operate several switchboard operations within the Veteran’s Administration. Local, commercial sales have also increased, again demonstrating the community’s commitment to our success and sustainability.
Webster’s defines “thrive” as growing vigorously; flourishing, to prosper or progress toward a goal. A.V.R.E. has certainly flourished over the past 85 years, and we are committed to continued growth, prosperity, and even greater achievements. In October, some of us will be in New Orleans for the National Industries for the Blind’s Annual Conference. Our own Nina Bektic-Marrero will receive the prestigious Milton J. Samuelson Career Achievement Award, and Eric Martin will be recognized as A.V.R.E.’s Employee of the Year.
Our goal is our Vision – “To be the first in choice and quality … and to be a model for the community ….” We firmly believe that, together, we have made great progress toward this goal. Every day, we become better recognized as the valued source for vision rehabilitation services by consumers, eye care providers, and the general public. Through our engagement with people who are blind – at all levels – we are clearly a model for the capability and potential of people with sustained vision loss. We proudly demonstrate success every day and in every way. Together, we will thrive for the next 85!
Photo taken in 1930, of the first eight employees of the Blind Craft Association, Inc. (our first name) standing near the looms used to create beautiful handwoven rugs that were a popular item sold for many years.
Photo taken in about 1955, shows a blind Braille teacher introducing a visually impaired older gentleman to Braille by using a muffin tin and golf balls to form the 6-dot Braille cell.
A Letter From the Foundation Board Chair
Inspiring… Engaging… Fulfilling… and certainly, Fun -- these are the kinds of words I use to describe the time I have spent as a member of A.V.R.E.’s Foundation Board. As we celebrate A.V.R.E.’s 85th Anniversary and long history, I look back at my own years of involvement with the organization. From the very first meeting and tour in the previous facility with President and CEO Bob Hayne, to the search for a new home, and from the Grand Opening of the new Center of Excellence, to the many friendships with both employees and Board members, my experience has been a rewarding one.
During my tenure, I have had the good fortune to witness firsthand the tremendous growth that has taken place at A.V.R.E., in terms of the services and programs offered, the scope and scale of business operations, the number of people employed, and the number of individuals, of all ages, enriched and empowered. So it is my heartfelt belief that at 85, A.V.R.E. is indeed thriving.
Such success is no accident. It is the result of the efforts and contributions of many, including volunteers, employees, business organizations, and generous friends. It is the result of the hard work of the past. It is the result of the dreams of a brighter future. And I am certain that I speak for many when I say that this success also represents the great reward I receive for becoming involved with an organization such as A.V.R.E.
In October, we will commemorate the Anniversary on a number of occasions, including a special Open House and the launch of our Annual Appeal. Join me as I salute A.V.R.E.’s first 85 years of service to our community, and share with me the reward from supporting its visions and dreams for the future, and help us Thrive for the Next 85!
Ferris Akel III, A.V.R.E. Foundation Board Chair
More Of Our History in Photos
Free vision screenings for pre-school and school-age children were provided by the agency for several decades. This photo, taken in 1948, shows a social worker giving a vision screening test to children of varying ages. If a potential problem was detected, the child was referred to an eye care professional for further testing.
In addition to assisting people with a vision disability, the agency has always had a mission to educate the public about eye safety, caring for one’s eyes, and vision loss, as well as about our programs and services. The photo at right, taken in about 1955, shows one of our many educational displays that were set up around the area.
From the very beginning of its existence until about 1997, the agency maintained a store that sold products and goods that were made by people who were blind or visually impaired. The photo at left, taken about 1960, shows a visually impaired employee showing some of the beautiful textiles that were created by employees in our sewing department to a customer. Note the lovely patterned rugs on the shelf in back of the customer.
85th Anniversary Celebration Calendar for October 2011
National Disability Employment Awareness Month (NDEAM) -
Held each October, NDEAM is a national campaign that raises awareness about disability employment issues and celebrates the many and varied contributions of America's workers with disabilities. The theme for NDEAM 2011 is Profit by Investing in Workers with Disabilities, which promotes the valuable contributions people with disabilities make to America's workplaces and economy.
In conjunction with NDEAM, Disability Mentoring Day (DMD) is set aside to give students and working-age adults with disabilities opportunities to job shadow in a variety of professions. It also gives people a chance to get a sense of what a particular job is like and to ask experts questions about their field. Last year, five A.V.R.E. consumers participated in DMD.
85th Anniversary Open House – October 13th
Celebrate with us from 4:00 to 7:00 P.M. and enjoy refreshments, brief presentations and employee-guided agency tours. Come and get a sense of just how far we’ve come in 85 years and where we plan to go next!
White Cane Day – October 15th
Join us at the Oakdale Mall from 11:00 A.M. until 2:00 P.M. to learn more about white cane use and how it fits into comprehensive vision rehabilitation services. There will be demonstrations using white canes and guide dogs. A local Girl Scout troop will work with visitors to create a “touchable art” display promoting White Cane awareness.
Employee Celebration – October 31st
Perhaps the most important aspect of any anniversary is recognizing the people who made it happen. A.V.R.E. will host a special luncheon to thank the employees and staff who are so instrumental to our success.
A Request
Over the years, our agency has had a long list of champions, from the local Lions Clubs, to many dedicated volunteers, to our community of donors. Together, we have made this agency work and work well. We count on the support of our community to help us thrive and grow.
As we move into our 2011 Annual Appeal and as you plan your annual charitable giving, we ask that you please consider A.V.R.E. and the work that we do. We can’t do it alone!
“Alone, we can do so little; Together, we can do so much.” Helen Keller
The Kids’ Korner
By Laure Griffis, A.V.R.E. Vision Rehabilitation Assistant
Baseball!
Summer wouldn’t be summer without baseball! And this baseball season, three of our young consumers participated in the Challenger Program. The Challenger Little League of the Southern Tier is a baseball program for children and teens with physical, developmental, and intellectual disabilities. Teams are chosen according to abilities, regardless of age. Players get to wear uniforms, run the bases, and field the ball. Each youth goes to bat during the inning. Pitches are thrown until the participant hits the ball and runs to first base. The inning continues until the entire team has batted, and no score or outs are ever recorded. It’s a win-win way of playing that is a great encouragement to kids with disabilities.
Hannah White, Ryan Strom, and Zachary Strom played on the team sponsored by Union Volunteer Emergency Squad. Hannah hit the ball from a tee-ball stand and cautiously trotted around the bases. She was also able to field the ball with her glove. Ryan hit a pitched ball and ran the bases with great enthusiasm. Zachary batted while supported by his walker and used it to travel around the bases. Each child played in the field, retrieving the ball and throwing it back to the pitcher. All three are eagerly looking forward to returning to the Challenger League next season.
The Challenger League is a great way for children with special needs to learn a sport and have some fun. They learn turn-taking skills and how to follow directions in a fun way. They can also improve their ability to concentrate and focus while learning good sportsmanship. These important skills will benefit them on and off the field, making this a very worthwhile program. For more information, visit their website at: www.southerntierchallenger.com.
Photo of Hannah White crouched down, preparing to field the ball. She has a very happy smile!
Painting!
On April 29th, four visually impaired students and their families took part in an art session at the Magic Paintbrush Project in Johnson City, New York. Using their imagination, hands, and a variety of tactile materials, they created a three-dimensional, touchable art canvas. The kids came up with the theme of “Fanta-sea,” complete with a “guardian of the sky” and a “guardian of the sea.” In addition, the children painted two quilted canvases with their hands. They flicked paint with their fingers and sprinkled glitter to add the finishing touches to each work of art.
The Magic Paintbrush Project donated the 3D tactile art canvas to A.V.R.E., and that now hangs proudly in our lobby! The two quilted canvases were auctioned at the annual fundraiser, “Paint Chips,” to help support The Magic Paintbrush Project, which is a non-profit organization. A.V.R.E. is grateful for the ongoing friendship and partnership with Magic Paintbrush, which has been featured in InSight several times. For more information about this wonderful program, please visit: www.magicpaintbrushproject.org.
Photo of the colorful artwork that was created by four A.V.R.E. kids and now hangs in our lobby.
Camp Abilities
By Erin Kavanagh, A.V.R.E. O & M Specialist
Camp Abilities is a camp for blind and visually impaired children to learn about sports, to learn about adaptations for sports, and to learn how to love sports. For one week every year at the end of June, on the campus of SUNY Brockport, kids from the ages of 9 to 19 play and work at sport. I was fortunate to have participated in this 16th year of Camp Abilities, and I couldn’t be more grateful for the opportunity.
We started with a staff orientation day where we met everyone and tried to do all of the sports ourselves, both with and without vision, guided by specialists at each of the sports. Some former camp participants were returning to camp as CIT’s (Coaches and Counselors in Training), and they really helped all of us new staff to get a sense of what the week would hold. Our athletes arrived the next day, and we were all paired-off, forming small teams of a Coach and an Athlete. We lived together in the dorms, ate together in the common room, and played and worked together at sports all across campus.
Our days were full with two activities in the morning (either beep baseball and tandem biking, or Judo and track & field) and two in the afternoon (swimming with either gymnastics or goal ball). After dinner, the athletes had a choice of many different activities including fishing, rollerblading, canoeing, archery, rock climbing, horseback riding, folk dancing, showdown (which is like air hockey), and tactile bingo. One night, we had live entertainment from a musician named Terry Kelly who has come to play at camp for many years now. Terry is blind and writes many inspirational songs, including one just for Camp Abilities. On the last night of camp, the athletes put on a talent show with dancers, musicians, and comedians.
I was paired with Kelly, a fun 10-year-old who had never been to camp before. Together, we learned a lot about many new things: we rode a tandem bike over 10 miles, and in Judo, Kelly learned how to throw me to the ground! She learned how to throw a discus and ran a cross-country mile using a tether in just over 15 minutes. Two sports that were new to both of us were beep baseball and goal ball. Beep baseball is similar to baseball, but there are only six fielders and two bases. When the beeping baseball is hit, the batter runs to the beeping base furthest from the hit ball. If the batter gets to the base before the ball is fielded, it’s a point. A fielded ball is an out. In the tournament on the last day, Kelly hit a ball from the tee and scored a point for her team! Goal ball is a Paralympic sport in which three players guarding a large net face off with three other players guarding an equally large net. By diving on the ground, a player uses his or her body to block the ball, then recovers and throws the ball to the other side, attempting to score on goal. In the final tournament, Kelly blocked a shot on goal and scored a goal!
Throughout the activities, coaches were not only assistants and cheer leaders to the Athletes, but we were also collecting data about the abilities of our Athletes. At the end of camp, the athletes went home with a detailed accounting of their sports skills that they can share with their Physical Education (PE) Teachers at home. The hope is that the PE Teachers will learn about the abilities of their students and continue to foster a love for activity and sport. As an O&M Specialist, I now have greater knowledge about the sports adaptations which can be used in PE class, and with that I can more effectively consult with the PE teachers of my school age students. Too often our blind and visually impaired students are relegated to a treadmill or the weight room with a one-on-one aide during PE class. Camp Abilities inspires kids (and their parents and O&M teachers) to advocate for their needs and their abilities, to push their PE Teachers to learn about adaptations and to include them in PE sports.
Running Strong
By Jenn Cubic, A.V.R.E. Director of Development
Aside from their next snack, how many pre-school children really know what they want? At four years old, David Briggs was playing Rugrats soccer, but he already knew he was destined to play competitively and play well. By his sophomore year, he was the defensive captain for his school’s team in Waverly, New York. People came from all over the area to see him play. His athleticism was reason enough to watch him, but David was, and is, unique. David is blind.
It was during a sixth grade history class that he first noticed a change in his vision. After numerous visits to three different clinics, David was diagnosed with cone-rod dystrophy, an inherited, progressive eye disease that primarily disables the central vision. Despite being frustrated by his vision loss and the subsequent challenges, David continued to excel at soccer. However, later in his sophomore season, he injured his left quad and was forced to sit out while it rehabilitated. When David returned to play, he quickly noticed that his vision had deteriorated to the point that he would be risking his safety, and the safety of others, if he continued to play soccer. His soccer career ended. He was devastated.
With support from family and friends, David lifted himself out of depression and began trying new things. Having always considered himself a “horrible” runner, he was surprised to find himself on a treadmill at the gym. As the weather improved, he moved outdoors. Running became his therapy and his passion. By his senior year, David was competing again, this time in the 100, 200 and 400-meter sprints. This July, David participated in his greatest adventure yet when he competed in the International Blind Sports Federation (IBSA) World Youth Student Championships in Colorado Springs. David competed in all three of his events against students from 17 countries! He felt he could have done better individually, but he was proud to be part of the United States contingent: “Other countries focused on one or two events just working for the gold medals. The U.S. is so diverse. We took a lot of bronze and silver medals.” His times continue to improve and he has every intention of competing in London next year at the 2012 Paralympics!
His next adventure will be living on his own while attending college at Alfred State, studying (of course!) Sports Management. A.V.R.E. vision rehabilitation staff have been working with David on independent travel and computer skills. They’ve even incorporated some cooking techniques to prepare him for college life. However, while he’ll be equipped with the latest and greatest adaptive technology, David is still frustrated by the simple things he can no longer do the way he used to, like read a book. For David, technology “just isn’t the same.” He looks past that, though, with big plans for his future. Give him a few years, and if you’re ever in Las Vegas and need a good work-out, visit one of the Las Vegas Athletic Club locations. According to David, “I WILL own it someday.”
Photo: close-up of David Briggs looking toward the camera.
Perils For Pedestrians
By Joyce Bucci
We’ve talked a lot in InSight about Accessible Pedestrian Signals, or APS. We feel that the safety of our blind and visually impaired consumers is extremely important, and these audible crossing signals, along with the proper Orientation & Mobility travel techniques, are an excellent way to help ensure that.
We are very proud of the involvement and advocacy of Erin Kavanagh, one of A.V.R.E.’s Orientation & Mobility Specialists. Over the past six or so years, Erin has been tirelessly working to have APS placed in the Binghamton area. She began by attending design workshops at the Highway Safety Research Center in North Carolina. There, O&M instructors and specialists from around the country met with traffic engineers and designers to initiate dialogs on the importance of cooperation between the groups for creating safe intersection design and proper APS installation.
Next, Erin met with Traffic Engineers from the City of Binghamton and the Binghamton Metropolitan Transportation Study, who welcomed the idea of collaborating with her, as well as with blind pedestrians, for the proper installation of APS. Erin was consulted on three specific intersections in Binghamton, and a training session for traffic engineers and technicians was held to provide guidance for the proper location, design, and installation. Things really started to happen!
In early 2007, the first APS was installed at the intersection of Court, Hawley and Water Streets. Since then, four more APS have been installed around the area, including the one in Norwich that we spoke about in the previous issue of InSight. Erin has consulted on two or three more possible installations in the Binghamton area, as well as for three more signals in Norwich.
Erin has even been on TV! “Perils For Pedestrians” is a TV series created and produced by John Wetmore that appears on public access cable stations around the country. The focus of the program is to promote awareness of issues that affect the safety of people who walk and bicycle. Mr. Wetmore travels all over to interview advocates and government planners about problems and their solutions. Recently, he was in Binghamton to interview Erin about the APS installations she has been instrumental in bringing about. Erin gave a great interview that is well worth watching! It can be seen on YouTube, by searching for Perils For Pedestrians 173. In Binghamton, the series airs every Wednesday afternoon at 3:00 PM on the Public Access Channel (Channel 4).
Racing For Sight
The 2011 Race For Sight was another great success. Held on July 16th in the village of Windsor, New York, the race drew 138 registrants. This was nearly 20 more than last year! At $9300, the income from the race was also the highest ever.
The Race For Sight is a bicycle road race that draws cyclists from all over New York State, as well as from other states. The race route meanders through the beautiful Susquehanna River Valley around the Windsor and Harpursville area and is especially popular with riders for the challenging uphill climb at the finish line. The race is presented by A.V.R.E., with assistance from the Tioga Velo Bicycle Club and the Binghamton and Windsor Lions Clubs. All proceeds go to support A.V.R.E.’s vision rehabilitation and employment programs and the Lions Clubs charitable activities.
We would like to express our sincere thanks to all of our corporate sponsors, our food and beverage sponsors, and our volunteers for supporting this fundraising event, and of course, to our racers for coming to Race For Sight!
Coupon
We currently have a 10% off coupon offer in place for use in our ViewPoint retail store. It is good on many low vision aids, printer and copier paper, manila file folders, and JAWS cleaning products, for a total purchase of up to $100. The offer expires on December 31, 2011. If you would like to take advantage of the coupon, simply come in to our store to shop, and say that you receive the newsletter in non-print format and would like to have a coupon.
InSight is published quarterly by the Association for Vision Rehabilitation and Employment, Inc., 174 Court Street, Binghamton, New York, 13901. Phone: 607-724-2428; Email: avreinfo@avreus.org; Website: www.avreus.org. Editor: Joyce Bucci
InSight is available in the following formats: Large Print (14 pt.), Braille, emailed text, Word document on disk or cd, and regular audio cassette. If you would like to receive InSight in a different format, please call Joyce Bucci.
A.V.R.E. serves visually impaired individuals of all ages who live in the New York counties of Broome, Chemung, Chenango, Cortland, Delaware, Otsego, Tioga, Tompkins, and Schuyler, as well as the Pennsylvania counties of Bradford, Susquehanna and Tioga.
A.V.R.E. is an Affirmative Action and Equal Opportunity Employer. If you would like more information about A.V.R.E. and its services, please feel free to contact us.
“Seeing Things Differently.”