BOLD welcomes persons 18 and older with all degrees of vision: blind, low vision, partially sighted and fully sighted.
September 2013 newsletter
SEPTEMBER IS SENSATIONAL September events are: Board meeting on Tuesday the 3rd from 6:30 to 8:30pm; Ice Skating on Thursdays the 5th and 19th; Mall Walking on Wednesdays the 11th and 25th; a picnic at Highland Park’s Sycamore Grove on Saturday the 14th; and Touch Art classes on Fridays the 20th and 27th, and Monday the 30th. To let Tammi Swiantek know you will be at the Board meeting, call 412-488-6298 by 10pm on Sunday the 1st. The meeting will be held at United Cerebral Palsy: 4638 Centre Ave., Room 301, Pittsburgh, PA 15213. Members are always welcome at meeting with their great ideas and a willingness to implement them. Cindy Perseo will be the reservationist for the September 11th Mall Walking date, the sign-up deadline with her being Sunday the 8th by 10pm. Cindy can be reached at 412-421-3992. As always, if you sign up for Mall Walking and become unable to attend, please let Cindy know as soon as possible. (Thank you, Cindy, for helping Joyce with this event.) Joyce Driben will be the reservationist, however, for the September 25th Mall Walking date. To mark your place with her, phone 412-521-4385 by 10pm on Sunday the 22nd. Mark Senk continues to do an excellent job coordinating, and taking reservations for Ice Skating. The sign-up deadlines with Mark are Tuesdays the 3rd and 17th by phoning 412-386-6513. This event is held at the Mount Lebanon Recreation Center: 900 Cedar Boulevard, Pittsburgh, PA 15228. This Editor thanks Mark for having dates all the way through December, the recreation center for allowing BOLD to use their facility, and all of the sighted guides without whom this activity couldn’t happen. On Saturday the 14th, Ray Jablonowski and the Catholic Alumni Association will do their always exemplary job coordinating a picnic at Highland Park’s Sycamore Grove (directions in calendar). To reserve with Tammi Swiantek by 10pm on Saturday the 7th, call 412-488-6298. Since Ray and the Catholic Alumni Association provide and prepare all of the food, there is no need to bring anything unless you want a specific item you think might not be on the menu. In addition to a picnic, there will also be a bean bag toss, bocce ball, hiking and tandem biking. This fun-filled, activity-packed event will take place from 12:30 to 5pm. For this picnic to go as well as the Gottschalk Swim Party (see Past Events), please keep the following in mind: -Persons who are blind are asked to wait until cooks and servers have had first helpings before asking for seconds (if you are unsure, please feel free to ask). -Individuals with partial sight are encouraged to do what they can to serve themselves while being realistic about any limitations. For example, if this is something you really cannot do, be sure that volunteers understand the degree of your visual limitation. -Sighted BOLD members and volunteers are expected to do what they can to help by guiding and assisting in any way that Ray and the Catholic Alumni Club might request. Also, if someone asks you for seconds and you haven’t yet eaten, you might say something like, “I’ll be glad to get more once I have finished.” Thank you for the gift that your help truly is. Speaking of gifts, Kirsten Ervin has truly given BOLD a gift by organizing the Touch Art classes she and several well-trained instructors will be teaching, starting on Friday the 20th from 1 to 3pm. There has been such an interest in these classes, in fact, that they are already full. If persons unable to attend these classes would be interested in Touch Art instruction in the future, please let Kirsten know by calling 412-576-6254. For everyone enrolled in the upcoming classes, they will be held at the Pittsburgh Center for the Arts Annex: 1047 Shady Ave., Pittsburgh, PA 15232 (see calendar for what buses go there and info about being met at bus stops). PAST EVENTS When fishing took place on Byers Lake on Sunday, July 28th, 20 BOLD members and guests attended. Many thanks to reservationist Lisa McManus; Nancy Leverett for the use of her mother’s property, and all who helped in any way. “The lake was really well stocked,” Nancy reported, and, “Ceinwen is really quite the fisherwoman,” Veronique added. On Sunday, August 11th, 45 picnickers enjoyed themselves at the Gottschalk Swim Party. Kudos to Joyce Driben for her hard work taking reservations and to all who helped, but especially to Leslie who has been hosting this always popular event for more years than this Editor can remember. LOOKING AHEAD October’s and November’s Board meetings will be on Tuesdays the 2nd and 6th respectively, with the sign-up deadlines with Tammi Swiantek being the Sundays before. On Saturday, November 9th, we will have a first-time event at Slippery Rock University, thanks to Nancy Leverett and the university’s therapeutic recreation majors, one of whom is Nancy’s daughter, Alison. Activities being considered are horseback riding, swimming in an indoor pool, and walk climbing or a ropes course. Although there will be a cost, just what that will be has yet to be determined. Also, whether we drive or charter a bus will depend on how many sign up and how many who sign up are drivers. Though a reservation deadline has not yet been set, Nancy Leverett will be the reservationist. In the meantime, if you have any questions for Nancy, feel free to call 412-561-3972. Finally, Lisa McManus is researching and contacting motor cycle clubs who might be willing to host a riding event as used to occur at Camp Kon-o-Kwee, so be sure to check future newsletters for any updates. PERSONAL PERSPECTIVE On Sunday, August 4th, Joyce, Driben, Maggi Ostrowski, and several other guide dog users attended a Hero Dogs event at the Heinz History Center. “There were more than 50 dogs there,” Joyce recalled, and added how amazing it was that there was so little barking with that many dogs in one place. “In addition to guide dogs, there were also dogs trained to snif out bombs and gasoline; dogs that worked with the police, and dogs trained to work in the military. More specific to guide dogs, though, there was a representative from a newly opened school in Mississippi called Gallant Heart. The 7-month-old puppy the school representative brought was really calm, and its breed was a Red Doberman which I had never heard of before. That type of dog will probably be useful to people with allergies,” Joyce concluded. If you would like to offer a Personal Perspective for BOLD Ventures, feel free to call Terri Winaught: 412-263-2022, home; or 412-552-4793, cell. CULTURAL CONNECTIONS Jennifer Wilburn will again be handling tickets for this year’s Robert Morris University Speakers Series, with all presentations being at Heinz Hall on Wednesday nights. Because Jennifer will be given only four tickets per presentation, please call her to indicate your interest as soon as possible at 412-561-8155. The first speaker on October 9th at 8pm will be George Popandreiu, Greeces’s former Prime Minster. (Additional speakers will be mentioned on the Update Line, 1-773-597-4222 and in the next newsletter. Thank you in advance for rembering that it is necessary to call Jennifer only once. She will get back to you two weeks prior to the speaker in which you have expressed an interest to see if you still want to attend that presentation, and will then send tickets accordingly. (Call the Update Line, 1-773-597-4222 for additional upcoming cultural events and also see October’s newsletter.) BOLD BITS Congratulations to all who have rowed competitively this summer in races like the Bayada competition and local events. Congratulations are also heartily extended to Joyce Driben who knitted many of the Knit the Bridge panels along with Ceinwen King-Smith. Once removed from the Warhol Bridge, these panels will be made into blankets to be used for the homeless. The first Lutheran Center meal will be on Saturday, September 28th. As always, reserve with Center Director Sherri Crum by 6pm on Thursday the 26th. Phone? 4122-682-1800. Happy Birthday to Ceinwen King-smith, Paulette Leah, Tracy O'Neill, Stu Weissmann, and anyone else with a September birthday. To submit a BOLD Bit, phone 412-263-2022, home; and 412-552-4793, cell. You are also encouraged to bring your information to a Board meeting, and still another option is to E-mail this Editor at t.winaught@verizon.net SEPTEMBER CALENDAR Sunday the 1st: 10pm deadline for letting Tammi Swiantek know you will be at September's Board meeting. 412-488-6298. Monday the 2nd: Have a Happy, safe, and fun-filled Labor Day. Tuesday the 3rd: Board meeting at United Cerebral Palsy: 4638 Centre Ave., Room 301, Pittsburgh, PA 15213. All are welcomed to be part of this meeting which lasts from 6:30 to 8:30. Tuesday the 3rd is also the 10pm Ice Skating reservation deadline with Mark Senk: 412-386-6513. Thursday the 5th: Ice Skating at the Mount Lebanon Recreation Center: 900 Cedar Boulevard, Pittsburgh, PA 15228. Though times occassionally vary, this event is usually held from 2 to 3pm. Saturday the 7th: 10pm sign-up deadline with Tammi Swiantek for the Highland Park tandem biking and picnic. To mark your place, phone 412-488-6298. Sunday the 8th: 10pm Mall Walking reservation deadline with Cindy Perseo: 412-421-3992. (If you sign up and then cannot attend, thank you in advance for rembering to let Cindy know just as you do with Joyce.) Wednesday the 11th: Mall Walking, with a 9am start time and the Monroeville Mall's food court entrance as the meeting place. Saturday the 14th: Picnic and tandem biking at Highland Park's Sycamore Grove from 12:30 to 5. Directions: from Oakland, take 5th Ave. to South Highland. Once at the intersection of 5th and South Highland, turn left onto South Highland and stay on it until you get to Highland Park's entrance. At that point, turn right onto Reservoir Drive, and Sycamore Grove will be on your right. You will also be across from the filtration building. Tuesday the 17th: 10pm deadline to sign up for Ice Skating with Mark Senk: 412-386-6513. Thursday the 19th: Ice Skating starting at 2pm and taking place at the Mount Lebanon Recreation Center. (Congratulations in advance to anyone who tries this event for the first time, and tons of thanks to the many dedicated guides.) Friday the 20th: The first Touch Art class will be conducted at the Pittsburgh Center for the Arts Annex Building: 1047 Shady Ave., Pittsburgh, PA 15232. Bus riders can take the 71B or 71C from Oakland and the 64A from Lawrenceville or Squirrel Hill. To be met at your bus stop, phone Kirsten Ervin at 412-576-6254. Touch Art is held from 1 to 3. Sunday the 22nd: 10pm Mall Walking reservation deadline with Joyce Driben: 412-521-4385. Wednesday the 25th: Mall Walking at the Monroeville Mall. Friday the 27th: Touch Art from 1 to 3 at the Pittsburgh Center for the Arts. Monday the 30th: Touch Art from 1 to 3 (this replaces the class that would have been held on Friday, October 4th). NOTE: Since the Jewish New Year and Yom Kippur both occur in September this year, this Editor wishes our members who are Jewish a Happy New Year. Also, may your observance of the Day of Atonement bring you peace and spiritual fulfillment. Thank you to Marty Mathews, Veronique Schreurs, and the Braille Team led by Tina Wassermann for making this newsletter available in several accessible formats. THE END