2014 Family, Friends and Beyond Day Agenda
Virginia Rehabilitation Center for the Blind and Vision Impaired
Presents
“Take Action”!
Saturday, October 11, 2014
9:00 A.M. – 4:00 P.M.
401 Azalea Avenue, Richmond, VA, 23227
Activities for children between the ages of four and twelve will be provided
during the morning presentations from 9:30 to noon. Staff at the front desk
will direct you to Linda Price, the cooking instructor, who will supervise
children in fun and thought-provoking activities.
Door Prizes
Throughout the day, names will be announced for awesome door prizes.
At the end of the day, a name will be drawn for a brand-new iPad Air. If
your name is drawn at 4:00 or shortly thereafter and you are not present,
you will not win the iPad Air. We will continue to draw names until we draw
the name of someone who is present. Best of luck to everyone!
Tours
Tours of the VRCBVI are available upon request between 1:00 and 4:00
P.M.
Agenda
9:00 – 9:30: Registration and continental breakfast
Opening Session in the VRCBVI resource room
9:30: Welcoming remarks --Melody Roane, Director, Virginia Rehabilitation
Center for the Blind and Vision Impaired
9:45: Keynote presentation – Being Responsible: You Are the One Who
Can Make Your Dreams a Reality! – Janette Gholson, former VRCBVI
student and current RN supervisor for Personal Care Services, Transitional
Home Care Inc., Richmond Virginia.
Jeanette Gholson is a licensed Registered Nurse in the State of Virginia.
Her experience includes working as an administrator in Home Health Care.
In the acute care setting, Ms. Gholson’s experience includes neurosurgical, oncology, orthopedic and respiratory/cardiac nursing. She also
functions as a Quality Assurance Auditor. Currently Ms. Gholson is a parttime RN Supervisor at Transitional Home Care, Inc.
Ms. Gholson lost her vision in 2001 due to bilateral detached retinas,
secondary to diabetes.
After attending training at the Department for the Blind and Vision Impaired
(DBVI) in 2009, Ms. Gholson returned to the workforce at Transitional
Home Care, Inc., where she supervises nurses, patient care aides, teaches
personal care classes and audits for Medicaid compliance.
Ms. Gholson currently resides in Richmond, VA. She is active in her
church working in youth ministry and enjoys helping people. Her hobbies
include extensive traveling, shopping and reading.
Ms. Gholson is currently the 1st vice-president of the Richmond Chapter of
the National Federation of the Blind.
10:05: Take Action Toward Turning an SSI Check Into a Paycheck!: A
Panel Discussion Featuring Individuals Who Are Blind or Vision Impaired
and Who Are Making Their Employment Dreams Come True – Tameka
Robinson, Court Debts Collection Representative, Virginia Department of
Taxation; Joshua Zalesky, current VRCBVI student who is training to
become a certified medical coding and billing specialist; Leon Anderson,
Vending Stand Operator; Nefertiti Matos, summer 2014 mentor for the
VRCBVI Learning Independence, Feeling Empowered! Program and
current student at Columbia University, New York, New York.
10:40: Running the Marathon of Life!: Taking Action Through Community
and Recreational Activities
11:10: Taking Action: Creating and Reinventing Yourself With Blindness:
A Discussion of Success and How To Get There as a Blind Person -Discussion facilitated by Melody Roane, VRCBVI director
12:00: Lunch in the cafeteria. Lunch is $3.00 per person (children under
twelve eat for free). We will have a cook out with all the “fixins”!
Afternoon sessions are designed to give participants the opportunity to
learn new skills, discuss various options, and generate ideas for community
involvement.
Concurrent Sessions
Session 1
1:00 – 4:00: Health screenings: Staying Healthy So That You Can Take
Action In Achieving Your Dreams
Susan Denissen, VRCBVI health educator, health education department
(rooms 188 and 192 South hall)
Staff will provide screenings of blood sugar and blood pressure, along with
other health-related screenings. In order to address issues that may be
identified, staff will provide information and resources to empower
individuals to live a healthy and active lifestyle.
1:00 – 4:00: Vision is not required, but cooking from scratch is!
Linda Price-- Kitchen skills classroom (room 170 South hallway)
Learn how you or your loved one can prepare dishes for the family or for
one person. See the strategies for success put into action and ask
questions. Also, try your hand at performing a basic kitchen task while
using sleepshades so that you understand how the techniques work!
1:00 – 4:00: Low Vision Strategies In and Around the Home
Michael Triplett—Community kitchen (room 135)
Come see the various low vision strategies used in performing all kinds of
kitchen tasks.
1:00 – 4:00: Can Blind People Really Learn How To Balloon Sculpt?
Jennifer Kennedy—learning center (room 145 accessible by both the north
and south central hallways)
Yes, balloon-sculpting is an activity that the blind can do successfully!
Come learn the techniques and strategies used by a pro in creating colorful
and fun animal shapes out of balloons. This activity will help you see that
there are so many things you can do as a blind person! Dream and then
do!
1:00 – 2:00: Why Do You Have That Fishing Pole?
Becky Keller and Lerone Walker—Rock Star Hallway (next to room 179)
Are you ever in that awkward situation where someone mistakes your cane
for a fishing pole? Come learn how to interact with society in a way that
educates them and keeps you in control. Also, come debunk the myths
and misconceptions about blindness and the use of the cane. You will
have the opportunity to use sleepshades and a cane through a fun obstacle
course around the building.
1:00 – 2:00: Touch Typing – Let Me Count The Ways
Charlotte Jones– Keyboarding Classroom (Room 157 south central
hallway)
Learn about the various types of keyboards and ways to enter data that will
allow our students to be competitive in the job market.
1:00 – 2:00: Using Apple’s Touch Screen Devices: Is a touch screen truly
accessible?
Mike Fish, VRCBVI computer instructor, tech lab 1 (room 138 north central
hallway)
Will demonstrate how to use an iOS touch screen device non visually to
identify money, read printed text, identify color, and read news papers and
magazines.
1:00 – 2:00: The Grill Master Presents! …
Mark Roane, VRCBVI volunteer; staff lounge, Room 117 of the North
hallway—outside patio
Come learn the art of grilling non-visually. Try your hand at this fun and
delicious activity and ask questions!
1:00 – 2:00: Career Exploration: Discovering Strengths and Interests
Brad Platt, Ph.D., VRCBVI vocational evaluator, job readiness lab (room
142 north central hallway)
Improve your awareness for career decision-making. The goal of this
workshop is to provide information about critical elements necessary for
effective/educated career decision-making to include self-awareness and
labor market information using technology.
1:00 – 2:00: Raising Puppies That Become Guide Dogs for the Blind
Cathy Foldesi, volunteer puppy raiser, Guiding Eyes for the Blind,
Reception (room 197)
Come and see beautiful puppies that will eventually become guide dogs for
the blind. Learn about the process that is involved in raising and training
guide dogs. Learn about what inspired Cathy to become a puppy raiser.
Session 2
2:00 – 3:00: Why Do You Have That Fishing Pole?
Becky Keller and Lerone Walker—Rock Star Hallway (next to room 179)
Are you ever in that awkward situation where someone mistakes your cane
for a fishing pole? Come learn how to interact with society in a way that
educates them and keeps you in control. Also, come debunk the myths
and misconceptions about blindness and the use of the cane. You will
have the opportunity to use sleepshades and a cane through a fun obstacle
course around the building.
2:00 – 3:00: Touch Typing – Let Me Count The Ways
Charlotte Jones--Keyboarding Classroom (Room 157 south central
hallway)
Learn about the various types of keyboards and ways to enter data that will
allow our students to be competitive in the job market.
2:00 – 3:00: What’s new with Victor, and by the way, who is Victor?
Mike Fish, VRCBVI computer instructor, tech lab 1 (room 138)
Come meet Victor and find out what he can do for you. We will Review and
demonstrates the features of the 2nd generation Victor reader stream.
2:00 – 3:00: Braille: In and Around the Home – It’s everywhere! And It’s
Practical!
Nefertiti Matos, college student and Braille user, Braille classroom (room
171 south hallway)
Have you ever wondered about how Braille could be practical around the
home? Come and learn about the many uses of Braille in the home—from
labeling ovens and washing machines to playing games such as Monopoly
and Uno! It will be fun for everyone!
2:00 – 3:00: Resumé Makeover
Brad Platt, Ph.D., VRCBVI vocational evaluator, job readiness lab (room
142 north central hallway)
In this session participants will learn about the latest approaches to resumé
layout and what employers are looking for. Bring your resumé to get
feedback concerning content, layout, spelling and grammar, and
presentation.
2:00 – 3:00: Raising Puppies That Become Guide Dogs for the Blind
Cathy Foldesi, volunteer puppy raiser, Guiding Eyes for the Blind, reception
(room 197)
Come and see beautiful puppies that will eventually become guide dogs for
the blind. Learn about the process that is involved in raising and training
guide dogs. Learn about what inspired Cathy to become a puppy raiser.
Session 3
3:00 – 4:00: Why Do You Have That Fishing Pole?
Becky Keller and Lerone Walker—Rock Star Hallway (next to room 179)
Are you ever in that awkward situation where someone mistakes your cane
for a fishing pole? Come learn how to interact with society in a way that
educates them and keeps you in control. Also, come debunk the myths
and misconceptions about blindness and the use of the cane. You will
have the opportunity to use sleepshades and a cane through a fun obstacle
course around the building.
3:00 – 4:00: Touch Typing – Let Me Count The Ways
Charlotte Jones--Keyboarding Classroom (Room 157 south central
hallway)
Learn about the various types of keyboards and ways to enter data that will
allow our students to be competitive in the job market:
3:00 – 4:00: Accessing the computer non visually
Mike Fish--technology lab 1 (room 138 north central hallway)
We will demonstrate the use of JAWS, Guide, and a Braille display on a
PC.
3:00 – 4:00: Career Exploration: Discovering Strengths and Interests
Brad Platt, Ph.D., VRCBVI vocational evaluator, job readiness lab (room
142 north central hallway)
Improve your awareness for career decision-making. The goal of this
workshop is to provide information about critical elements necessary for
effective/educated career decision-making to include self-awareness and
labor market information using technology.
3:00 – 4:00: Raising Puppies That Become Guide Dogs for the Blind
Cathy Foldesi, volunteer puppy raiser, Guiding Eyes for the Blind, reception
(room 197)
Come and see beautiful puppies that will eventually become guide dogs for
the blind. Learn about the process that is involved in raising and training
guide dogs. Learn about what inspired Cathy to become a puppy raiser.
Thank you for your participation in the 2014 VRCBVI Family, Friends and
Beyond Day activities. We hope that the workshops will encourage you to
“take action” by becoming active in your community. As the general public
sees us participating and contributing to various projects or activities, we
will educate them about the true capabilities of the blind and visionimpaired. As those of you who have been students at VRCBVI in the last
few years know, we have a “quote of the day” at the end of our
announcements in the morning. I challenge you to take the following quote
and apply it to your life:
“Action is the catalyst that creates
accomplishments. It is the path that takes us from uncrafted hopes to
realized dreams.” VRCBVI staff and students stand ready as a resource to
encourage and challenge you to achieve your goals and reach your full
potential.
For more information about our training programs, please visit our website
at vrcbvi.org or call us at 804-371-3151. We look forward to hearing about
how you are taking action and transforming your uncrafted hopes into
realized dreams!