[nabs-l] Appreciating our roots. And, examining the tree and the forest

[Carrie Gilmer]

Heather,
While I very much agree with much of what you had to say generally I think
some of the numbered points you have are not that simple or even totally
accurate in my experience or observations.


1. Generations since the Baby-boomers are much less inclined to do 
volunteer work.

I really doubt this in INCLINATION, and while it may be true that
statistically they actually do less in a very very general sense, there are
lots  and lots of young people very vibrantly volunteering and the
inclination in people still exists in this generation. I think one
difference may be that the young people look much more critically at what it
is they give their time to. They are less willing to sit around in long
meetings that appear to have little action oriented purpose. They are more
inclined to want to be a part of direct impact volunteer efforts. 


2. Post Baby-boomer generations are much less inclined to join, and 
commit to groups such as service clubs, The Red Cross etc.

I don't think ,again, they are less inclined, I think the number and types
of service clubs are much more varied today and there are more of
them...spreading the young people out. And again I think the membership
today is less (but only somewhat) inclined to join "mindlessly" or out of a
generalized sense of civic duty than to a specific purpose/time...i.e.
joining up "temporarily" for a specific purpose or project. On the other
hand I know tons of young people who feel a sense of "civic" duty and join
service clubs/groups especially for the poor or homeless or environmental or
educational or inner city concerns....they want to have a direct and visible
impact.


3. The pressure for women to work outside of the home leaves less 
leisure time for social group involvement.

The people who participated in the bus boycotts in the civil rights movement
had no real leisure time. In fact they may have had less leisure time than
many today. Truthfully our society overall has more leisure time than ever
in history but we also are more selfish about taking our leisure time for
leisure. A specific purpose whereby people think their involvement will
actually change their circumstance or that of someone else's will call many;
leisure or no leisure time.


4. The number of disability groups vying for public attention is much 
larger in this century than the last. Factors causing this include the 
incredible advances in medical competence, the development of 
technology to sustain life longer, and the success of the civil rights 
movement which has put the disability community out of institutions 
and into the public arena. This means more people to consume finite 
resources such as jobs, government assistance programmes and volunteer 
transportation assistance.

This is true in that there seems to be an organized group for everything
under the sun~whether it is gumchewers united (fairly large group) or People
for the Better understanding of the value of Mosquitos (a few minority of
people who are coming from a side issue of those who love bats). But either
group gets its strength from the same kinds of things. The good news is that
more than ever minority groups can be heard and cheaply get world wide
attention with new technologies and learned tried and true methods of
organizing. The loudest and the most persistent get what they need~ done by
those who show up. Get one celebrity~one sympathy factor~one message to make
many identify~can zoom you ahead...money also does make a big
difference...the people who go after it full time seriously do benefit from
that.

5. A blindness specific social factor is the decentralisation of 
education for blind students. Many more blind children are growing up 
with minimal and marginal contact with formal groups of and/or for the 
blind. This means that networking on a personal basis is more 
difficult and, ironically, that attitudes against accepting the 
respectability of blindness are harder to influence.

Except for that blind children used to know more blind peers growing up
because of residential schools for the blind, I think it is not true that
less today have a contact with a formal group of/for the blind. I do not
think networking or mentoring is more difficult necessarily~the kids may be
harder to find cuz they are not all at one school in the state, but this can
and has been overcome with some simple but very persistent and widespread
effort.



6. The largest and fastest growing group of blind people in the 
western world are adults over 65 years of age.

This is true. And it is a different focus initially, these people are much
less likely to be focused on civil/educational/employment rights and much
more on how do I live the rest of my life functioning without eyesight.
However, once they are initially helped they are a pool of people who may
have more time to volunteer, have life work and skill experience that can be
extremely valuable, have some $$$$$, have professional networks for
resources to tap, and can be made to understand how it is to grow up with
what they are living with now~ and can be inspired to make a difference for
the future. This fact could be a great asset if we use it/tap into it right.

My ops:) Carrie~hope you are well heather~I miss you:)