San Antonio Low Vision Club
Help.
Hope. Independence.
Support and Assistance When Vision Fails
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San Antonio Low Vision Club |
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As yet we do not have recognition of exemption from the IRS, but the application is pending. Of course, we have been “non-profit” since we started in 1997. We do not charge dues, and our primary source of income has been the donations you put in the basket at the sign-in table at our monthly meetings. This pays for the meeting refreshments, office supplies, printing, and other miscellaneous expenses. We have had some special gifts. One member’s sister asked that she donate the money she would have spent on her Christmas present to the club. Another member donated money toward the non-profit application fees. And this newsletter is being paid for in part by a donation from three members in memory of a friend who passed away. Despite all this, our club treasury hovers around the zero mark. Once we receive recognition from the IRS, we will be able to pursue outside tax-deductible contributions to help meet our growing expenses. GROWING…GROWING And speaking of growing, our records now list the names of approximately 300 visually impaired members. Keeping everything up to date, and communicating with you, keeps our volunteers hopping. If you can lend a helping hand, please call Bonnie at 344-1479. NOW ON TO COMING ATTRACTIONS October 16—Bored? Learn Ways to Brighten Your Life! November 20—Discussion Topic: “How Do You Cope With The Holidays?” December 20—Christmas Party. Remember…if you need a ride to a club meeting, call Rock Courtney at 734-4708 A WEEK BEFORE THE MEETING. He will not be able to accept requests for transportation during the week of the meeting. One of the presentations at the October meeting will be an explanation of Medical Information At-A-Glance, a service of Guardian Patient Archives. This involves one easy to read and updateable sheet containing your medical history and prescription needs. All club members will receive a special price of $14.95 per year. 10% of all proceeds will be donated back to the Low Vision Club. SOLACE “Accept that some days you’re the pigeon; some days you’re the statue.”—Robert Anderson VOTING BY TELEPHONE Persons with severe visual disabilities or who are blind may still cast a ballot in private. This involves voting by phone from the polling place and having a “helper” mark a ballot that does not have any candidate or issues on it. An election official from the downtown office will read the ballot over the phone to the voter who will instruct his “helper” where to place the marks. For further information, call 335-0359 or 335-3486. BILINGUAL LOW VISION CLUB FORMED Marie Bazan, Seniors Program Coordinator for the San Antonio Lighthouse, is organizing a Bilingual Low Vision Club. Its first meeting will be Sat. Oct. 16 from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. at Jardin De Saint James Community Room, 420 Nunes. A social time with refreshments will be followed by a program on diabetes and vision. For more information, call Marie Bazan at 533-5195. TWO NEW SATELLITE GROUPS FORMING Peggie Gonzalez and Margaret Rodgers are forming Satellite Support Groups in the Northwest area. Call Peggie at 493-9272 and Margaret at 402-4882 for information. Dallas Fees (333-2233) Is forming a group at the Army Retirement Community. (The following is taken from “Communicating With Low Vision—The Way I See It” by Karen A. Myers, Ph.D. Reprinted from “Around the Edges”,Dec.1996 with permission from Thomas Perski, Executive Director, Macular Degeneration International) LIFE IS LIKE GOING THROUGH A SALAD BAR with low vision… You never know what you’re going to get. At least that’s the way I see it. Being legally blind with a progressive visual disability, each day my life becomes a little more like a salad bar. If you have low vision you can relate to the “joys” of salad bar selection—mistaking pickled beets for spiced apples, black olives for purple grapes; and whipped butter for mustard potato salad. You unknowingly eat hot peppers, parsley, “hidden” toothpicks and plastic greenery which was supposed to be decorating the salad bar until it ended up on your plate! And if that wasn’t enough, you discover the hard way that the tapioca you took for dessert is—aaak!—horseradish! As I said, you never know what you’re going to get. And we’re not just talking about salad bars here. The litany of daily concerns continues: Is that the right bus? The right street? The Right door? The right restroom? And all this BEFORE you even get to where you’re actually going! Each of us with low vision encounters hundreds of “salad bar shockers” on a daily basis. That’s just life with low vision. Dealing with life’s little surprises is the key. The way I see it we need three things: ATTENTIVENESS. Be aware of your surroundings. Listen. ASSERTIVENESS. Ask for assistance. As much as I hate to “bother” people to assist me, I would much rather ask for help than eat horseradish or end up in the men’s restroom…again! A SENSE OF HUMOR. You gotta laugh! Some of the stuff we do is just too funny. So, take yourself—and your embarrassing moments—lightly. Life with low vision can be more like a dessert bar—sweet and palatable no matter what you get. Bon appetit! AND HERE’S SOMETHING FOR OUR CAREGIVERS A Caregivers Support Group is meeting the first Thursday of each month at 6:30 p.m. in the Madeleine Room at Incarnate Word, 4707 Broadway. (This entrance is the driveway closest to post office and HEB Central). No fee. Call 829-7561,ext. 401. ITEMS FOR SALE BY MEMBERS CCTV—19 inch black & white screen with 2 extra bulbs and instruction manual. Price $600. Call 646-7510. COMPUTER MONITOR( Color)--Apple Multiple Scan 1705 Display 17 inches. Works with either Mac or IBM-type personal computer. Price $100. Call 344-1479. THOUGHT FOR THE DAY Don’t worry about avoiding temptation. As you grow older, it will avoid you. Past newsletters are available online in our newsletter archive. |
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The BIG news for our club is we are now
officially a Texas non-profit corporation registered with the Texas Secretary of
State.