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

Chris Nusbaum dotkid.nusbaum at gmail.com
Thu Dec 15 02:35:00 UTC 2011


Oh, I didn't know this was discussed in a banquet speech! I will 
definitely listen to it, as I'm very interested in banquet 
speeches anyway! * Smile! Thank you for this, Ray!

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: Ray Foret Jr <rforetjr at att.net
To: Blind Talk Mailing List <blindtlk at nfbnet.org
Date sent: Wed, 14 Dec 2011 00:45:14 -0600
Subject: Re: [Blindtlk] the handling of Dining in the Dark events 
re:[blindtlk]	fw: MIRA Foundation

I would second Mike's observations here.  For reference, I should 
like to direct your attention to our 1988 banquet speech in which 
this very subject is treated at some length.


Sincerely,
The Constantly Barefooted Ray!!!

Now a very proud and happy Mac user!!!

Skype name:
barefootedray

Facebook:
facebook.com/ray.foretjr.1



On Dec 13, 2011, at 11:24 PM, Mike Freeman wrote:

 Chris:

 I'll ask two more questions and then let it rest.

 First, why is it desirable to give the sighted "a glimpse into 
our world"?

 Second, do "dining in the dark" events really give the sighted a 
glimpse
 into the world of the competent blind? Or, rather, do such 
events subject
 the victims to the world of the newly-blind without the 
opportunity to truly
 become skilled in the techniques of blindness?

 As I said earlier, far better to prepare and serve a gourmet 
meal to the
 sighted participants.  And by "prepare" I mean from set-up to 
clean-up!

 Cheers!

 Mike Freeman


 -----Original Message-----
 From: blindtlk-bounces at nfbnet.org 
[mailto:blindtlk-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
 Behalf Of Chris Nusbaum
 Sent: Tuesday, December 13, 2011 2:43 PM
 To: Blind Talk Mailing List
 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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