[Blindtlk] fw: MIRA Foundation

Mon Dec 12 01:23:21 UTC 2011

Hello Marion and everyone,

    Several NFB chapters have conducted Dining in the Dark events. Our 
chapter plans to hold one next spring unless we decide otherwise. Although I 
believe such an event could be a positive thing if done right I'm not 
completely sure this is a good sort of fundraising activity our organization 
should conduct due to the false views of blindness such events tend to 
promote.

Peter Donahue

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Marion Gwizdala" <blind411 at verizon.net>
To: "Blind Talk Mailing List" <blindtlk at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Sunday, December 11, 2011 5:37 PM
Subject: Re: [Blindtlk] fw: MIRA Foundation

> 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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>
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