[Blindtlk] fw: MIRA Foundation

Sun Dec 11 23:37:28 UTC 2011

Chris,
    In my opinion, Dining in the Dark events are not positive examples of 
the capacity of the blind. Quite the contrary, they tend to focus upon the 
challenges of being blind. AAfter all, how challenging is a blind person's 
life when they have such problems eating? And, if they get our services, we 
can help them overcome these incredible challenges.
    As for the MIRA Foundation, I am of the opinion that giving guide dogs 
to children is not a wise practice. I feel most children lack the discipline 
and maturity to take on the level of responsibility required to be a 
successful guide dog handler. This foundation seems to not require sound O&M 
training prior to getting a guide dog, causing me to question even further 
their understanding of the role of a guide dog in a blind person's life.

fraternally yours,
Marion Gwizdala, President
National Association of Guide Dog Users (NAGDU)
National Federation of the Blind
813-626-2789
President at NAGDU.ORG
HTTP://WWW.NAGDU.ORG


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Chris Nusbaum" <dotkid.nusbaum at gmail.com>
To: "Blind Talk list" <blindtlk at nfbnet.org>; "NFB NABS list" 
<nabs-l at nfbnet.org>; "Mom" <wendynusbaum at yahoo.com>; "Dad" 
<wmnusbaum at live.com>; <sepatt at gmail.com>; <jsotwel at carrollk12.org>; 
<gary.legates at comcast.net>; <ruthh at mdschblind.org>
Sent: Sunday, December 11, 2011 4:06 PM
Subject: [Blindtlk] fw: MIRA Foundation


> This is very interesting! Sounds like a good foundation! For the I C.A.N. 
> Foundation board members: as you will read in the article, their main 
> fundraiser is Dining in the Dark, and there are some details about their 
> fundraiser in the article which might help us with our DITD.  I'll see if 
> I can get some kind of contact info for them if we're interested in 
> contacting them to get more info on their DITD.
>
> Chris
>
> ---- Original Message ------
> From: "Deb" <dacaldbeck at yahoo.com
> Subject:  MIRA FOUNDATION
> Date sent: Thu, 1 Dec 2011 22:06:07 -0600
>
> This came from my Iowa Council of The United Blind Fall Bulletin.  Was not
> aware of this organization.
>
>
>
> MIRA FOUNDATION
>
> (Retrieved from the MCB Listserv, November 5, 2011.)
>
> MIRA Foundation USA is a national nonprofit based in Aberdeen, NC.  It is
> unique in that it is the only organization in the United States dedicated 
> to
> providing guide dogs to blind children and youth between the ages of 
> 11-17,
> and they do so at no charge to the recipient.
>
> MIRA was founded in 2009 by Robert and Elaine Baillie after Bob became
> totally blind following complications from coronary bypass surgery. 
> Although
> he initially felt great despair at the sudden turn of events in his life,
> close friends convinced Bob to travel to MIRA Canada where he was paired
> with his magnificent Bernese Mountain guide dog, Devon.  Both Bob and 
> Elaine
> quickly realized that Devon was the key to Bob's adaptation to life with 
> his
> new challenges, and they decided that they wanted to provide this
> opportunity to the underserved population of blind children and youth.
>
> Today, two years after its inception, MIRA USA is a young but vital
> organization that can be very proud of the work they have accomplished. 
> In
> 2010, in only the first full year of operation,
>
> MIRA paired two dogs with students: one an eleven year old girl from the 
> San
> Diego, CA area, and the other a young man from Durham, NC who is now a
> student at Stanford University.  The girl became the youngest person in 
> the
> US to ever have received a guide dog, and just over a year later she and 
> her
> dog are thriving.  She is an honors student, speaks three languages, plays
> three musical instruments, and has won gold medals in mathematics and
> Braille competitions.  Even better, she is remarkably well adjusted and
> confident with her dog.  In fact, both students are thriving.
>
> Although MIRA USA is a separate legal entity from MIRA CA, we work 
> together
> in very close partnership, since our dogs and our students are trained on
> the MIRA CA campus, and we benefit from the thirty year history MIRA CA 
> has
> with training guide and service dogs, including twenty of those years as 
> the
> only organization in the world dedicated to training guide dogs for
> children.  In the last twenty years they have paired approximately 200
> students with dogs and have never had a rejection.  This is a tribute to 
> MIRA
> CA's careful breeding, selection and training of dogs, as well as their
> meticulous assessment and training of student candidates.  MIRA's global
> reputation is undisputed and well earned.
>
> The staff at MIRA USA is not only responsible for searching out potential
> MIRA guide dog recipients, but also ensuring that all paperwork is 
> completed
> and assembled on time, scheduling and overseeing assessments and follow up
> visits, and of course, raising the necessary funds to make the pairings
> possible.  Our signature fundraising event, Dining in the Dark, is a
> semi-formal dinner that is held in a country club environment where the
> diners don blindfolds from the time they sit down to the main course until
> dessert is served.  MIRA has held this event two successive years in the
> Sandhills, and once in Raleigh, with events scheduled for the Spring of 
> 2012
> in the Sandhills, Raleigh, and Charlotte.  Dining in the Dark is not only 
> a
> revealing event, it has also proven to be fun as people gain awareness 
> about
> the challenges of chasing cherry tomatoes around a salad plate or simply
> getting food to their mouths without dropping it everywhere when they 
> cannot
> see what they are doing.
>
> In July of 2011, MIRA USA sent six students to Canada for training in
> preparation for receiving a guide dog.  Two of the students were from the
> Sandhills area of NC, two from Raleigh, one from Fayetteville, and one 
> from
> Aiken, SC.  All six students passed the month long session with flying
> colors, working eight hours per day, six days per week to master the
> necessary skills to navigate safely and confidently with their canine
> partners.  Since their return home, the students have had one follow-up
> training session at their home base with a MIRA trainer and will soon
> undergo a second session.  As safety is the paramount concern for both
> student and dog, MIRA does not cut any corners in assuring that every pair
> develops a strong working partnership.  To this end, MIRA will conduct as
> many follow-up sessions as necessary; however, this rarely exceeds three.
>
> Future plans for MIRA USA include the establishment of a training center 
> in
> Moore County which will serve as a facility for training guide dogs and 
> the
> students being paired with them, as well as a center for all blind and
> severely visually impaired persons to access resources such as an audio
> library, appropriate job training, social activities, and whatever other
> needs are identified.  Obviously, the establishment of such a center will 
> be
> dictated once again by funding, either through a generous individual or
> corporation, or some other committed entity.  MIRA believes, however, from
> our own research and the feedback from professionals in the field of blind
> assistance that this facility represents a very real need in the area.
>
> Finally, MIRA will continue to educate the general population about the
> challenges faced by the blind and the ways in which a guide dog assists in
> mitigating those challenges.  Over the last two years, Bob and Devon have
> addressed over two thousand Moore County fourth graders in partnership 
> with
> the Moore County Pet responsibility group.  While Pet Responsibility 
> teaches
> children to advocate for their pets, MIRA teaches them about the ways in
> which a guide dog advocates for its owner.  They have also spoken to 
> dozens
> of civic, church, and general groups seeking to learn more about the blind
> and guide dogs.  It is a never ending challenge, but one that Bob, and 
> MIRA,
> takes very seriously.
>
>
>
> Exercise daily.  Walk with the Lord!
>
> Deb and Banff
>
>
>
>
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