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

Tue Dec 13 23:39:09 UTC 2011

Chris,

I think you pretty much summed it up yourself when you said:
*  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." *

You are exactly right.  That is pretty much how it will go.  Because 
actions speak louder than words, they will remember all the spills, the 
difficulty cutting their meat or that they didn't know which glass was 
theirs more than they will remember anything you talk about before, 
during or after.

JMO
Julie

On 12/13/2011 4:42 PM, Chris Nusbaum wrote:
> 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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