[blParent] Introducing "Ready, Set, FORWARD"

[Jane Flower]

Guide Dogs for the Blind is excited to unleash several new learning opportunities for transition age youth who are blind or visually impaired, their parents and/or other family members, and professionals in the field of low vision!

Many factors need to be considered when making the personal decision to use a cane or a guide dog for one's primary mobility aid. Choosing the Guide Dog lifestyle comes not only with enhanced mobility and self-confidence, companionship, increased and changed social interactions, but also comes added time and responsibility of daily care for your guide dog, a two-week commitment away from home for training with a guide dog, and do not forget about all of that dog hair!

We are committed to assisting blind and visually impaired youth and the community that supports them be as well informed and prepared as possible to make that decision to cane or canine when the time is right.

The "Ready, Set, FORWARD" program is comprised of the following workshops that will all take place in April, and if well received, we hope to hold the program again possibly in the fall and moving forward beyond that.

The Canine Connection-Is Your Child Ready? This is a two hour workshop for parents and family members of youth who are blind or visually impaired.

The Canine Connection-Is your Student Ready? This is a two hour workshop for professionals in the field of low vision.

The "Ruff Life Academy"- Harness Your PAWtential! (Ages 14-24) This is a week-long Youth Academy that will take place twice. During the academy, participants will explore how to interact and communicate with dogs, and how they communicate with us. We will do a little myth busting about guide dogs, can they really tell us when it is time to cross the street? How to determine if you are ready to welcome a guide dog into your life and how they might fit into your everyday routine. Why those Orientation & Mobility (O&M) and Independent Living (IL) skills are so important to be successful with a guide dog, exploration of a variety of training options when you are ready, and what training with a guide dog is like and the transition home with your new partner!

Wags & Wisdom! This is a two hour panel discussion with GDB alumni who received their first guide dog at a young age. We will talk about the successes and challenges of having a guide dog in high school, or on a college campus for example, how they prepared for their first guide dog and any advice they would like to share, and hopefully a whole bunch of cute dog stories!

For more information about the "Ready, Set, FORWARD" workshops and to register/apply, please go to
https://www.guidedogs.com/get-a-guide-dog/youth-programs/ready-set-forward

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to reach out to Jane Flower at jflower at guidedogs.com!





[Guide Dogs for the Blind]<http://www.guidedogs.com/>
Guide Dogs for the Blind
Jane Flower | Youth Outreach Specialist
jflower at guidedogs.com <mailto:jflower at guidedogs.com> | 415.492.4176 <tel:+14154924176>
350 Los Ranchitos Road, San Rafael, CA 94903
GuideDogs.com <http://www.guidedogs.com/>

GDB is following the guidance of our state and local officials in regards to public health and safety, and limiting the number of staff on campuses.  This may result in a delay in my response to your email; however, I will respond as soon as I am able.  If this is an emergency involving one of our clients, volunteers, or dogs, please contact us at 800.295.4050.  Thank you for your patience and understanding.

-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: image003.jpg
Type: image/jpeg
Size: 1582 bytes
Desc: image003.jpg
URL: <http://nfbnet.org/pipermail/blparent_nfbnet.org/attachments/20210211/abae857d/attachment.jpg>