[Community-service] Getting one's hands dirty.

[Darian Smith]

Hi Julie,
   That’s a good point, and i thank  yo for sharing it.
 the  beauty  of the history of the National   Federation of the Blind is that we’ve learned that there are non-visual work arounds (techniques) that allow us to do much of the same things that our sighted friends do.
 we can figure out  non-visual techniques  for painting, or identify different bags of food, or work  with someone sighted on   moving boxes  of food to a part of a warehouse. If we want to use a hammer  and nail to help build a house, we can certainly  do that as well.
  If we know  not how   to do it, we need only ask friends on this list and in the federation.  To me, if I see a sighted person doing something i would like to do, the first thing that comes to mind is “how can i do that”?
 At the end of the day, the question becomes a matter of do i chose not to do something because I’m not  interested in it? or because I don’t know if i can do it?
 Hopefully i learn from people here that if I want  to help build a  house  on a habitat site  that I can do it.
 if i want to  serve food at a soup kitchen, I have the ability to do that.  if I meet resistance due to my blindness, I can work with my federation friends to see that no one else gets turned away from wanting to spend their time efforts and energy doing something important to them and in so doing showing their civic pride and commitment.           ’ 
   
     
On Jan 7, 2014, at 1:57 PM, Julie McGinnity <kaybaycar at gmail.com> wrote:

> Hi Darian,
> 
> I worked at a toy drive when I was younger and absolutely loved it.
> We had to sort the toys and bring them to different places in the
> office building where they had been collected.  It was an awesome task
> for a blind person, since many of the toys were identifiable by touch,
> and after a few turns around the building, navigating it wasn't hard
> at all.
> 
> It was easy for me to do this service activity because I had a friend
> who encouraged me to jump in.  Since I knew her, everyone pretty much
> left me alone.  Unfortunately, that is not always the case for people.
> The hardest thing about community service projects like these(and
> food sorting, preparing, etc) is that they require the blind person to
> somehow, magically know what to do.  We can't see, and this doesn't
> limit us from doing the work, but it does limit us from knowing at a
> glance what work should be done.  Not a problem if the other people
> around you want you to participate and give you something to do, but I
> know that's not always the case.  Thankfully, toys were easy to work
> with.  There was virtually no way to mess them up or break them.  But
> it is possible to mess up when dealing with food or paints.  It's a
> bit harder to just jump in and stick your hands in things, though that
> is definitely tempting.
> 
> What do you think?
> 
> On 1/7/14, Darian Smith <dsmithnfb at gmail.com> wrote:
>> Hi everyone,
>> 
>>  I’ve been thinking about  the concept of collection projects such as  food
>> drives, toy drives and so-on and their benefits to community and self.
>> I like the idea of collection drives in that if you identify a worthy
>> charity you can make a difference in a person/family/community’s quality of
>> life.
>> 
>> I’ve found that hands-on  projects  such as preparing  food to be served,
>> organizing  food that will be donated out, educating the community on issues
>> that impact  that area, tutoring ,  painting / beautifying a building  has
>> it’s own impacts in that not only does it better the community, but  the
>> people involved  gain skills and confidence that allow them to share what
>> they have learned, inspire them to  continue service and make long -lasting
>> connections.  that may lead to to employment among other things.
>> 
>>  Because  a chief issue plaguing blindness is not so  much blindness it’s
>> self, but the widespread misunderstandings  people have of it.
>> how can we use such a potentially powerful tool as service  to start to
>> make real headway in changing those misunderstandings and opening doors to
>> employment, friendship and  collaborations?
>> how does such a thing get done via the  afore mentioned drives or the
>> hands-on work?
>> 
>> thoughts?
>>    Darian
>> 
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> 
> 
> -- 
> Julie McG
> National Association of Guide dog Users board member,  National
> Federation of the Blind performing arts division secretary,
> Missouri Association of Guide dog Users President,
> and Guiding Eyes for the Blind graduate 2008
> "For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that
> everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal
> life."
> John 3:16
> 
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