Center for the Visually Impaired InfoLink

            The announcement of information about organizations, products and services in InfoLink is not to be interpreted as an endorsement by the Center for the Visually Impaired.

             Click here to have the InfoLink delivered to your email address each week. To have your event or information included in InfoLink, please contact Empish Thomas at 404-875-9011 ext. 4277 or email at infolink@cviga.org with InfoLink in the subject line. Information must be received the Tuesday prior to publication.

Here are the announcements as of Thursday, July 29, 2010:

1. CVI Events and Information:

*New information: CVI has volunteers available. Every Monday from 11 a.m. until 1 p.m. at CVI, clients can take advantage of the services of a volunteer. On a first-come, first-served basis, a volunteer will be on-hand to assist in general reading tasks such as: paperwork assistance, opening mail, bill pay or other small general tasks. This will take place in the STARS library on the lower level. Each person will be allotted 15 minutes in order to serve as many people as possible. Please note: If the first Monday falls on a holiday, CVI will be closed. For more information, contact Lara Tillery, volunteer services coordinator, at 404-875-9011, ext. 4369.

*CVI continues its two exercise classes which are open to staff, clients, CVI volunteers and friends (in other words, open to everyone!).

Yoga classes began Monday, July 12 at 4:30 p.m.

Aerobics classes began Wednesday, July 7 at 4:30 p.m.

The cost of each series of 10 classes is $50 for anyone except for CVI clients who qualify for a $10 rate. Join us--your body will thank you! For more information call 404-875-9011.

2. General Events and Information:

*New information: From July 26 - August 6, 2010, the Easter Seals Project ACTION Paratransit Dialogue is underway. Register for the dialogue now at www.easterseals.com/dialogueand join the conversation. Over the next 12 days, you will have the opportunity to discuss paratransit issues with public and private transportation providers, paratransit providers, federal, state, and local transportation professionals, disability services organizations, members of the disability community, human services agencies, aging services agencies, volunteer transportation program coordinators, planners, advocates, and policymakers.

Do you have a comment or recommendation on how current economic conditions are affecting paratransit service in your community? What are you doing to address the situation and maximize use of fixed-route transit service? How is your community coordinating transportation to meet service needs?

Share your thoughts and vote for ideas you like! ESPA Talks builds on the 2009 United We Ride online dialogue and is the first in a series of regular talks on topics of interest in accessible transportation. Hosted by Easter Seals Project ACTION, the paratransit dialogue is funded in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Labor Office of Disability Employment Policy and the U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Transit Administration.

*New information: The Atlanta Metropolitan Chapter of NFB will be holding its monthly chapter meeting on Saturday, August 7, 2010 at the East Atlanta Library located at 400 Flat Shoals Avenue, SE. Atlanta, GA from 12:15 p.m. until 2:30 p.m. If you have any questions, please call President Joanne Collins at 404-371-1000 ext. 38.

*New information: Labor Day is approaching and that means one thing… Country Barbecue and the Midnight Express! The 30^th Annual Midnight Express Road Race is scheduled for Saturday, August 28th at midnight at Country’s BBQ in Columbus, GA. It’s a 5K walk/run and proceeds benefit the AER scholarship fund for blind and visually impaired Georgians. CVI staff and CVI friends and clients have been attending this exciting event for over 20 years.

If you are interested in attending this event, please contact Deborah Shimberg at CVI at 404-602-4303. We will leave CVI at 2:00 on Saturday, August 28^th and will return by noon the next day. The cost for the van will be $20.00 per person. You must sign a waiver in order to take the transportation. You do not need to be blind or visually impaired to ride on the van, so you may bring friends or family members to ride with you. Participants can stay overnight at LaQuinta Inn at a special reduced rate of $62.50. You may call LaQuinta at 1-866-527-1498 or 1-706-568-1740 to book your room for the Columbus, GA hotel on Macon Rd. Tell them you are under the Midnight Run Center block (confirmation: Group Link 137) to get your discount. You must book your room by August 14^th to get your discount. Blind participants are awarded free registration, a race t-shirt, a pre-race barbecue dinner, post-race refreshments, a free continental breakfast, and possibly an award. Registration forms are available in Deborah Shimberg’s office at CVI. Please call her for more information or you can go online at www.countrysbarbecue.com. We hope to see you there!

*Beyond Sight Communicators Toastmasters Club meets the 1^st Thursday of each month, with the next meeting being Thursday, August 5th. Please join us and see what makes us a “Distinguished Club” in Georgia’s District 14. We’re creating speakers and leaders, so come see how! The meeting will be held in the CVI Bellsouth conference room from noon until 1 p.m. Contact Beverley Foster by e-mail at bfoster7712@comcast.net.

*The Georgia Radio Reading Service (GaRRS) in partnership with GW Micro presents 2010 Window-Eyes Training and Window-Eyes Script Writing training courses this summer at the Georgia Radio Reading Service (GaRRS) network studios, 260 14^th Street, NW, Atlanta, GA, 30318.

The Window Eyes Training Course will be held on Tuesday August 31, and Wednesday, September 1, 2010 from 9:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. in the small conference room on the first floor.

The Script Writing Course will be held on Thursday and Friday, September 2^nd and 3^rd from 9:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. in the small conference room on the first floor.

The cost for each course is $650.00 per person. For more information on this special training opportunity, please call Kimberly Cline at 702-824-4395 or go to www.gwmicro.com/training. For directions to the GaRRS network studio, please call GaRRS at 1-800-672-6173.

*“Victory Over Diabetes” is an all day program for people with diabetes, those at risk for diabetes and anyone interested in healthy living. Admission is free, but you must register to get a free lunch.

Date: Saturday, August 7

Where: GA International Convention Center

2000 Convention Center Concourse, off Camp Creek Pkwy. near Hartsfield-Jackson Airport, College Park

Time: 8:30 a.m. until 4:00 p.m. (free health screening begins at 7:15 a.m.)

Special Guests: Angie Stone and Hebni Chef Consultants Roniece Weaver & Fabiola Gaines

*GCB hosts their 54^th Conference/Convention titled “Learning From Our Past Experiences; Challenging Our Future”

Where: Unicoi Lodge & Convention Center (near Helen, GA)

When: Thursday, August 5 - Sunday, August 8, 2010

Spend a summer weekend with us in the mountains just above the lovely village of Helen, with hiking trails and Smith Creek just walking distance away. Expand your knowledge with workshops such as a communication workshop presented by the Fanning Institute, and starting student affiliates within ACB and NIB leadership. Some of our speakers include Director of Rehabilitation Services, Paul Raymond; Lions International 18-D District Governor, Grace Clower and from NIB, Rebecca Bridges. Adopt your new family member right out of the cabbage patch from Babyland General Hospital, and if you always wanted to get up close and personal with the animals native to north Georgia, you will enjoy Smithgall Woods State Park Nature Center. When was the last time you enjoyed a hayride or a mini-Oktoberfest? Come join us at Unicoi. The rooms are $100 +tax per night, with up to 4 people to a room. Call 1-800-573-9659 or 706-878-2201 and ask for extension 271 or 272. Request rates for the Georgia Council of the Blind. Reservations must be made at least one month before the conference/convention. For complete program/tours and event information visit our website at: georgiacounciloftheblind.org or call 706-549-1020.

*Bus trip to Harrah’s Resort & Casinos in Tunica, Mississippi.

Date: October 10-11, 2010

Cost: Only $99.99 per person; no refunds

Trip Includes:

- Round trip charter coach bus from Atlanta to Tunica

- 1 night hotel stay

- Free breakfast buffet

- $5 gaming cash

Bus departs on Sunday, October 10 at 7:00 a.m. (Kensington Marta station back parking lot). Bus returns on Monday, October 11 leaving Tunica 12 noon, back in Atlanta 8 p.m.

Contact: Kevin @ (404) 454-6667 or go to: www.urbanpropertiesinternational.comCLICK Tunica.

*Countdown: 100 Days to the ADA! “We are made wise not by the recollection of our past, but by the responsibility for our future.”

With these words (penned by George Bernard Shaw), we want to introduce you to 100 Days to the ADA, a countdown to the 20th anniversary of the signing of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. The official countdown will begin on Saturday, April 17, 2010. Over the next four months, Disability.gov's blog will explore one of our nation's most important civil rights achievements, including examining the ramifications of the ADA, historical points leading up to its creation and how supporting the rights of individuals with disabilities supports ALL Americans. We invite you to present your personal perspectives on how your life has been touched by the ADA and welcome your ideas for new topics.

Link:
http://blog.govdelivery.com/usodep/2010/04/countdown-100-days-to-the-ada.html

*GLASS will be offering training to patrons on downloading books from the BARD website every first and third Wednesday of the month at the library. Patrons are encouraged to be registered for BARD and bring along a USB stick drive to download their books. Patrons with their own laptops can also bring them along. Classes will be administered by Annie Maxwell and Diane Simms between the hours of 10 a.m. and

1 p.m. For further information call Diane at 404-756-4619.

If you have not received your digital player from GLASS please call us at 404-756-4619 to get one sent to your home.

*Would you like to participate in an experiment on communication and earn $30? The Georgia State University Psychology Department is seeking English speakers with visual impairment for a study examining differences in communication styles of blind and sighted individuals.

To participate in this study, you must meet the following requirements:

- be at least 19 years old

- use English as your native language

- be blind from birth or lost your sight before age 5

- have no existing cognitive or language disabilities

If you meet the above criteria, please call 404-413-6257 or email LanguageLab@gsu.edufor more information or to participate.

*Dr. Michael Gorin at Jules Stein Eye Institute at UCLA is conducting a nationwide study of genetic and other risk factors that contribute to the development of age-related macular degeneration (also known as age-related maculopathy). You or members of your family may be eligible to participate in this observational study (this is not a treatment trial) which does not require that you come to UCLA, but allows you to participate through a confidential and secure website.

If you wish to learn more about this study, you can go to the following website and read about the study with complete anonymity (and even send questions to the research coordinators). https://jseiclinres.jsei.ucla.edu/garm/, or call 1-800-286-8581.

* Are you interested in being the first to know about upcoming savings and specials at CVI’s VisAbility store? Send your name and email address to visability@cviga.org and we’ll be sure to send you email promotions and special announcements.

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