[Blindtlk] the handling of Dining in the Dark events re: [blindtlk]fw: MIRA Foundation

Tue Dec 13 22:52:44 UTC 2011

Hello Chris and everyone,

    The sighted persons who participate in such events do not have the kind 
of blindness skills training and dealings with blindness in everyday life as 
we do. Because of this expecting them to eat blindfolded without any prior 
knowledge of how blind people function independently only reinforces the 
kind of negative attitudes we're trying to change. Foundations such as I-CAN 
and some of our own chapters may reap a fortune from staging such events, 
but in the end the blind are the big losers.

Peter Donahue

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Chris Nusbaum" <dotkid.nusbaum at gmail.com>
To: "Blind Talk Mailing List" <blindtlk at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Tuesday, December 13, 2011 4:42 PM
Subject: [Blindtlk] the handling of Dining in the Dark events re: 
[blindtlk]fw: MIRA Foundation

Hi everyone,

I'm just curious; why do you think Dining in the Dark fundraisers
promote a negative attitude about blindness?  I only ask because
this is not what we in the I CAN Foundation plan to do at all
with our Dining in the Dark; quite the opposite.  We want to
provide an education about blindness and a glimpse into our world
for the sighted participants, and one that focuses on a positive
attitude about blindness.  We understand that for many of the
sighted participants, it will be their first time doing any task
blindfolded, let alone eating a full meal in the dark.
Therefore, it is only natural that they'll have some problems
initially and will probably think, "How in the world does a blind
person do this? I can't imagine how hard it would be for them."
The truth, however, is that eating (or performing any routine
task for that matter) is not easier or harder for a blind person
than it is for a sighted person, but rather it is just like
anything else; it's hard the first time someone tries it.  To get
this message across to our participants, we are planning to do
two things, which are (1) to have conpetent, confident and
successful blind mentors from our area at each table, to answer
any questions the participants may have, and to give them tips
(although we will leave it mostly up to the sighted person, as we
want to do a blindness-simulation,) and (2) to have a sort of
de-brief at the end of dinner (probably during dessert,) which
will be lead by our blind mentors.  We will talk in this de-brief
about the participants' experiences, and what they learned about
blindness from this experience.  We will also field any questions
they may have about blindness.  All the while we will emphasize
the capacity and capabilities of the blind, and that blind people
can in fact be independent and competent members of society.
During our past few board meetings when we have discussed
planning for this fundraiser, I and our other blind board member
have emphasized that we need to handle the event in such a way as
to give the participants a positive attitude about blindness
rather than a "this was hard for me, it must be unbearable for a
blind person" attitude.  This positive attitude about blindness
is what the I CAN Foundation tries to promote in all of our
fundraisers and educational events, and this is what we're basing
our planning and handling of our Dining in the Dark event on.  I
think that what participants take away from events like Dining in
the Dark depends on how the organization running the event
handles it; participants can either come away with a positive
attitude about blindness, or a negative, "I'm going to donate to
this organization to help these poor, helpless blind people"
attitude, all depending on how the event is put on.  While we
want people to donate to our foundation, we also want them to
come away with an education that gives them a positive attitude
about blindness.  If you have any ideas for us on how we can plan
this event so it gets the right message across, please email me
or contact the Foundation directly by emailing
ican4kids at gmail.com.  If you email me, I will pass it on to the
board.  We welcome your feedback in order to handle our event in
the best possible way!

Chris

"The real problem of blindness is not the loss of eyesight.  The
real problem is the misunderstanding and lack of education that
exists.  If a blind person has the proper training and
opportunity, blindness can be reduced to a mere physical
nuisance."
-- Kenneth Jernigan (President, National Federation of the Blind,
1968-1986

 The I C.A.N.  Foundation helps blind and visually impaired youth
in Maryland say "I can," by empowering them through providing
assistive technology and scholarships to camps and conventions
which help them be equal with their sighted peers.  For more
information about the Foundation and to support our work, visit
us online at www.icanfoundation.info!

----- Original Message -----
From: "Peter Donahue" <pdonahue2 at satx.rr.com
To: "Blind Talk Mailing List" <blindtlk at nfbnet.org
Date sent: Sun, 11 Dec 2011 20:26:15 -0600
Subject: Re: [Blindtlk] fw: MIRA Foundation

Hello Sheila and everyone,

    The short answer is not at all! Fortunately we'll have a new
administration elected during our January meeting including a new
chapter
president.  Here's hoping the new administration will rethink
this
fundraising idea and come up with an alternative that will
promote a more
positive view of blindness and the blind.

Peter Donahue

----- Original Message -----
From: "Sheila Leigland" <sleigland at bresnan.net
To: "Blind Talk Mailing List" <blindtlk at nfbnet.org
Sent: Sunday, December 11, 2011 7:42 PM
Subject: Re: [Blindtlk] fw: MIRA Foundation

Hi, I didn't know that nfb chapters ever did them.  How do you
think they
should be done?

Sheila Leiglan d

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