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<DIV>Hi all,</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>I had some questions about Cleveland sight center, csc, and thought I’d ask
here in case any other have experience.</DIV>
<DIV>I think its cool to volunteer with other blind people to help them out. I’m
considering volunteering to provide </DIV>
<DIV>Jaws training to blind students here.</DIV>
<DIV>BTW, I’m not living in Ohio, but have investigated out of state centers as
my state one did not meet my needs.</DIV>
<DIV>I think CSC sounds neat with a wide variety of recreational activities for
their clients. </DIV>
<DIV>I think its great they have employment training there such as that call
center training to bridge the gap amongst the unemployed blind population.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>On another note, what do you do at the domestic violence agency,
Cheryl?</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Cheryl posted some good info about volunteering at CSC and I’ll repost it
in case anyone missed it on the other thread and wish to read.</DIV>
<DIV>Messages get lost among conversations with same subject lines.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Cheryl, feel free to provide your email address you want to corespond off
list, if you want.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>My questions are:</DIV>
<DIV>What is the CSC consumer counsel?</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Does CSC regularly use Americorps volunteers?</DIV>
<DIV>Is it typical for volunteers to be blind, or is Stanley an exception?</DIV>
<DIV>Do they accept volunteers for that summer camp? What activities are at
it?</DIV>
<DIV>Curious, are the volunteer craft teachers blind or sighted?</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Cheryl said:</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV><FONT face="Times New Roman">My friend, Stanley, provides
training for csc consumers on adaptive<BR>technology. These consumers are in our
supportive employment programs<BR>or literacy programs. He and his supervisor
recently are providing<BR>introductory instruction on mobile devices. When he
was with Americore<BR>one of his jobs was to support braille instructors during
classes<BR>provided at csc.<BR>Cleveland Sight Center may be an agency to
consider inviting to the<BR>convention. It is unique, there are more than 15
blind/lowvision<BR>employees on staff, entire staff is approx. 100. The agency
houses a<BR>call center where there are some additional blind employees,
these<BR>people are not csc employees. The agency has several contracts
to<BR>provide call center services and they are employees of those
various<BR>companies. Some work from home, training is at the agency or can
be<BR>accessed on line. I can provide contact information if you want
to<BR>connect.<BR>Several employees presented /participated, not sure, at the
national<BR>convention employment seminar last year in Orlando. Like many not
for<BR>profits, csc could not function without the many volunteers, a
large<BR>number of them are consumers. Some things that
agency<BR>volunteers/consumers do, I facilitate a book discussion, someone
else<BR>instructs line dancing, others provide braille instruction to
those<BR>not in employment or literacy programs, instruction in crochet
and<BR>other crafts. We have a camp located in Chardon Ohio and it
employs<BR>blind and sighted persons 18 years and up, this is a perfect
summer<BR>job for college students and has the potential for full time
permanent<BR>employment after graduation. We employ 2 rehab teachers that
are<BR>blind, there are guide dogs and canes all around the building,
smiles.<BR>Another program administer by a blind staff person is Share
the<BR>Vision, this provides Peer support for those that have recently
lost<BR>their vision. It is a wonderful program that everyone can
participate<BR>in, the only qualifications are you must be blind and have
a<BR>telephone! I'll stop here because this could go on for a long
time,<BR>as you can tell I am quite proud of the rehabilitation,
recreation,<BR>staff and volunteers at csc!<BR><BR>Until Next
Time!<BR><BR>Cheryl</FONT>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Also wrote:</DIV><FONT face="Times New Roman">Stanley is a employee, he was
a consumer and Americore<BR>volunteer/student prior to employment. There are
others on staff with<BR>the same status, not Americore, .<BR>I am a csc consumer
and board member, chair csc consumer council, vice<BR>nfb/Cleveland, community
gardening and volunteer with local domestic<BR>violence agency. I am happy to
chat anytime.<BR>I encourage all of you to visit csc if you are in the Cleveland
area,<BR>it is not a perfect place but it is a great
place!</FONT></DIV></DIV></BODY></HTML>