[Faith-Talk] serving and connection examples

[bookwormahb at earthlink.net]

Hello Andrew and list,

 

It is important to serve. It shows our abilities and that we can give help,
not just receive help.

Andrew, I hope you can overcome the barriers you have and find a way to
serve.

 

As I said before, there are numerous articles about blind and low vision
people serving.

Perhaps I need to write my own, too, once I serve more. Before the pandemic
I volunteered two summers at a summer camp for low income children. 

Right now, I am looking into volunteering for a food pantry, homeless
shelter, nonprofit to keep the Chesepeake Bay clean, or tutor older kids.

 

Below are some links to articles.

I share these because they are great examples of service work in action.
Some speak of accommodations and overcoming attitudes of the organization to
fit in.

These articles could be printed and shared as well with organizations
including the church to show that blind people are involved in the
community.

 

The first two are by Jonathan Franks about giving a party for homeless
children. Another story, which I found inspirational, is about a family
helping out after a hurricane.

Another one is about Angela who volunteered with a homeless community.

 

Throwing a Party for Homeless Kids
<https://nfbcommunityservice.wordpress.com/2014/10/12/throwing-a-party-for-t
he-homeless-kids/> 

 

Throwing a Party for the Homeless Kids Part 2
<https://nfbcommunityservice.wordpress.com/2014/12/29/throwing-a-party-for-t
he-homeless-kids-part-ii/> 

 

My AmeriCorps Experience
<https://nfbcommunityservice.wordpress.com/2014/08/07/my-americorps-experien
ce/>  

This is by Serena Cucco who had a mother active in NFB Parents division.

Serena tells about her experience as a life skills advocate for a public
defender's office.

 

AmeriCorps Vista Experience
<https://nfbcommunityservice.wordpress.com/2014/12/04/americorps-vista-exper
ience/>  

This is by Denyece Roberts who volunteered with AmeriCorps for two years as
a coordinator for a youth transition program.

 

The Service Effect, How Helping the Community Develops Strong Leadership in
Students
<https://nfb.org/sites/default/files/images/nfb/publications/fr/fr31/3/fr310
313.htm> 

This article is by Darian Smith who also volunteered in AmeriCorps. This is
from Future Reflections in the Summer 2012 issue.

He worked outside on service projects.

 

Community Service For Fun, Friendship, and Future
<https://nfb.org/sites/default/files/images/nfb/publications/fr/fr34/2/fr340
209.htm> 

This article is also by Darian Smith who tells about 

How to get involved in community service as a child or youth but the ideas
can apply to most age groups; it also has an article within the article by
Mary Church. This was from Future Reflections in the special issue in 2015.

 

Sharing Hope
<https://nfbcommunityservice.wordpress.com/2014/12/07/sharing-hope/> 

This is an article about a family volunteering to help after Hurricane
Katrina and someone is blind in the family.

 

Philosophy in Practice
<https://nfb.org/images/nfb/publications/bm/bm19/bm1910/bm191008.htm> 

This article is by Angela Howard who tells her story about volunteering with
homeless people at a nonprofit Called the Open Door. This was in the
November 2019.

 

 

Baking Our Daily Bread
<https://nfb.org/sites/default/files/images/nfb/publications/books/kernel1/k
ern1508.htm> 

This article is by Barbara Pierce and part of a NFB Kernnel book which is a
series of books about everyday experiences of blind people.

It mentions her baking talents were used to bake bread and buns for church.

 

A Maid of the Royal Court
<https://nfb.org/sites/default/files/images/nfb/publications/books/kernel1/k
ern1504.htm> 

This is by Julie Russel telling about her experience in the Mardi Gras
parade. I assume she volunteered for this. Its also from a Kernel book.

 

Blindness No Obstacle for Church Choir Singer
<https://www.starnewsonline.com/story/news/2009/05/15/blindness-no-obstacle-
for-church-choir-singer/30797351007/> 

This is from the Wilmington Star; a part of local news. Its an older
article, in 2009, but still relevant.

 

 

I hope this gives you some ideas of what blind people are doing. Most are
written by the blind person themselves. You might even reach out to the
author, Andrew, and ask for more information if something strikes a chord
with you. Ask what techniques they used to do the tasks and more about how
they overcame attitude barriers.

 

You say you do not know many blind people and it's a small town. But, you
can simply chat via phone with someone or facetime if you have an IPhone or
other IOS device or use a video service like zoom or Microsoft Teams.

 

I do not recommend email though because you cannot type correct sentences
and most people will not understand your jumbled sentences. They often make
little sense. I read it carefully to get a sense of what you meant though. 

Also definitely try CNIB again; they might be helpful that next time.

 

HTH,

Ashley