Seniors often don’t want to identify as “blind” people so it’s necessary to reach them where they are.
- Make friends with your division of services older blind coordinator and suggest they advertise your meetings, and add your information to their website.
- Leave brochures and business cards with ophthalmologists, audiologists, and sight/hearing impairment centers offices (especially those that specialize in cataracts and macular degeneration) and suggest distributing your meeting information and any resource list.
- Contact your local senior centers, assistive living facilities and senior apartments, state or county aging and blindness committees, support groups, and eye-related conferences to suggest speakers from your chapter to explain the purpose of your group and the resources you can provide.
- Find the Department on aging and Deaf-Blind agency in your community and offer to assist them with blindness or low vision resources (including chapter contact information). - Your chapter could offer tip sheets with a list of resources that would interest those losing their sight. This information could be disseminated to social workers on staff at any agency.
- Contact “Ears for eyes” (800-843-6816) and Order some of there audio recordings to distribute to newly blinded older people.
- Ask some of your older members to choose one older newly blinded person to contact by phone and suggest helpful ideas for independent living learned from ACB.
- Ask your local lions clubs for help locating newly blind people and finding transportation to meetings.
- Give award to a noteworthy VI senior in your community
- Provide a happy hour at local senior center
- Have an annual appreciation breakfast
- Have members try to get on radio interview shows