LightHouse News
November 2012

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Chris Downey and Bryan Bashin
Blind Architect Gets Glimpse of Transbay Transit Center

Board Member and architect Chris Downey and LightHouse CEO Bryan Bashin
study a 16-foot long tactile representation of the new 4.2 billion Transbay Transit Center, which will cover four city blocks in San Francisco's SOMA District. Chris has been engaged to work on accessibility features of the state-of-the-art building which will be of great benefit to blind commuters.

 

Poster for film The Movement
Poster for the film The Movement

 

Join us for the post-party celebration of Make A Hero's documentary film The Movement featuring longtime Enchanted Hills Camper Mike May, who holds the world record for fastest blind downhill skiing.  Come for wine, an amazing auction and live music to benefit Enchanted Hills Camp for the Blind and Make A Hero. 

   



Employment Immersion graduate Marc Grossman recently secured a job for a prominent technology company. Read more about Marc here.

 


 

Please join LightHouse San Francisco Headquarters and the blind community this holiday season in helping our needy blind and sighted neighbors as we host our First Annual LightHouse Food and Toy Drive.

 

 


 

Established in 1964, White Cane Awareness Day is a national observance celebrated each year on October 15. See how LightHouse clients and staff made a statement on this important day!

 

 


From left to right: Tony Fletcher with Rotary Club of Napa members Rick Taggs, LightHouse Volunteer Linda Fonseca, additional members Auty Hayne, past club president Gary Rose, Elizabeth Rose, club president Kent Gardella, Joni McDaniel and Gary McDaniel


Napa Rotary Club President Kent Gardella and key members of the Rotary Club of Napa joined Enchanted Hills Camp Director Tony Fletcher in a tour and discussion about our camp program.

 

 

Cycle for Sight riders from last April's event
Cycle for Sight riders from last April's event

 

The next Napa Rotary Cycle for Sight ride will be held on Saturday, April 20, 2013. Enjoy the beauty of scenic Napa and the challenge of a 15-, 25- or 50-mile route with 2,000 other cyclists, or support Enchanted Hills by pledging your favorite rider. Look for details on the event in upcoming newsletters and on our website.

 

Group photo of participants at October 20 Volunteer Day at Enchanted Hills
Group photo of participants at October 20 Volunteer Day at Enchanted Hills

 

On a beautiful fall day in October, representatives from California Conservation Corps, Greater Napa Kiwanis Club, BJ's Brewhouse (Concord), and LightHouse volunteers joined together to help with landscaping, painting and fire abatement projects at Enchanted Hills Camp.

 


Personal Services Volunteer Request

 

Are you an �individual who believes the simplest pleasures in life sometimes have the most profound impact? Do you prefer to work with people in a one-to-one capacity rather than in large groups? More importantly, would you like to make a significant contribution to the life of a blind or low-vision person in as little as two hours per week?

 

If so, you may be interested in becoming a Personal Services volunteer. Our clients may need assistance with: reading mail, books, newspapers and periodicals; writing checks, letters and correspondence; home organization such as marking or labeling; grocery shopping or errands with the client; attending cultural, social or sporting events; walking or transportation.

 

Volunteer at the LightHouse! Contact John Liang, Director of Community and Volunteer Services at 415-694-7334 or [email protected], or visit www.lighthouse-sf.org to download a volunteer application.

   

Cooking Basics instructor Dave Baioni teaches student Tuesday Burright the finer points of chopping garlic
Cooking Basics instructor Dave Baioni teaches student Tuesday Burright the finer points of chopping garlic

  

The LightHouse has developed a program of Cohort-Based training for small groups of blind or low vision students so they can take the skills training journey together and stay connected when classes are done.  

 

 


Donate your Car to the LightHouse and Get an Itemized Tax Deduction for its Full, True Value

 

Donating a car is easy! Support the LightHouse by donating your car (or just about any motor vehicle: trucks, sport utility vehicles, motorcycles, RVs, boats, airplanes, go-carts, scooters, mopeds, golf carts, dune buggies, forklifts, trailers and more).

 

Our agent, Charitable Auto Resources, will take care of everything, from picking up your vehicle and processing the DMV paperwork to arranging for its sale. Part of the proceeds of the sale goes directly to the LightHouse to support our programs and services.

 

To donate your car, call 1-877-537-5277 and tell them that you want your donation to benefit the LightHouse for the Blind. If you wish to speak to the LightHouse about a vehicle donation, please call 415-694-7365 or write to [email protected].  

 

 


 

Enchanted Hills is a rustic retreat center located on beautiful Mt. Veeder in Napa. This affordable wine country retreat boasts a small lake, several rushing creeks, miles of nature trails for hiking, a heated outdoor swimming pool and a variety of breakout rooms for groups from 30 to 150. Year round, it can be used for family reunions, yoga workshops, weddings, spiritual retreats, company off-site meetings or seminars. There are flexible service options including tasty, home-style meals and more.

 


Two white gift boxes decorated with red ribbon

Holiday Shopping?

 

Give the Gift of the LightHouse, a gift that keeps giving all year long! Your gift will help the LightHouse provide life changing programs for low vision or blind children, adults and seniors.

 

Donate in honor of a friend or loved one, and we'll send that person a special card or email letting them know about your generosity in their name. They will be listed in the next issue of the LightHouse News and your contribution is tax deductible to boot! Donate now!

 

Note: With speculation that there may be changes to the Federal treatment of tax deductions for charitable donations in 2013, giving a gift to the LightHouse this year may be even more to your advantage than ever.

 

 

Ramona Herriford (Employment Immersion Summit)
Employment Immersion Summit participant Ramona Herriford.

 

Through the years, the LightHouse has been fortunate to have the support of donors who give planned gifts such as a bequest, a beneficiary designation on a life insurance policy, 401(k) plan or IRA, life-income gift or other planned giving mechanisms. These donations may provide tax benefits while truly helping the LightHouse perpetuate our programs supporting the blind and visually impaired community for generations to come.

 

Those who remember the LightHouse or Enchanted Hills Camp through a bequest or other planned gift of any size will be recognized as a Park Chamberlain Heritage Society member. Park Chamberlain was a dedicated donor who gave to the LightHouse and Enchanted Hills Camp for many years until his passing in 2002. Soon we were grateful to learn that he left his single largest gift to Enchanted Hills Camp through a bequest.

 

For further information, please call our Development Department at 415-694-7365 or [email protected].

 

 


 

LightHouse CEO Bryan Bashin wants to talk to you. Come to a community conversation about LightHouse services and opportunities for our organization.

When: Tuesday, January 8 from 5:30 to 7 p.m.
Where: LightHouse San Francisco Headquarters

These informal evenings have proven to be very useful as the LightHouse develops new programs and services. To reserve your place, please contact Chuck Godwin at 415-694-7348 or [email protected] by 5 p.m. on Monday, January 7.


 


 

 

This March, California School for the Blind is hosting the Northern California Braille Challenge, a National Program of Braille Institute, in collaboration with LightHouse for the Blind, Vista Center for the Blind and Visually Impaired and Braille Institute of America.   

 

 


 

Disability Rights Advocates (DRA) is investigating experiences, both positive and negative, of users of Magic Jack, a provider of voice over Internet protocol ("VOIP") phone services. In particular, DRA is interested in hearing about any problems that blind or low vision users who reside in California might have experienced regarding barriers when attempting to obtain customer service from Magic Jack.

 

If you are legally blind and use Magic Jack, especially if you have obtained or attempted to obtain customer assistance from Magic Jack, they would very much appreciate speaking with you. To share your experiences, please contact Michael Nunez by phone at 510-665-8644 or by e-mail at [email protected].   

 

 


 

One of the world's largest motion picture exhibitors recently announced that it is providing an audio description option for people who are blind or have visual impairments in all of its first-run theatres. Cinemark is installing audio description systems on a rolling basis across its circuit in conjunction with the chain's conversion to an all-digital format. Installation is already well under way, and all of Cinemark's theaters in California already have audio description capability. Cinemark will be able to offer audio description at all of its first-run theaters by mid-2013.