Friends-in-Art Seeks Applicants for Scholarship
Students are invited to apply for the Friends-in-Art scholarship for the school year 2002-2003. This $1,000 scholarship is offered annually for achievement, talent, and excellence in the arts. If you are planning to, or are currently majoring in the field of music, art, drama, or creative writing, and are a blind or visually impaired student, you may apply for this scholarship. You may obtain an application form by writing to Michael Mandel, 400 W. 43rd Street, Apt. 20l, New York, NY 10036. Include a self-addressed, stamped envelope when requesting the application. Applications are due by April 15, 2002.
SCLC-VIVA has successful convention, seeks your old computers
The weekend of Nov. 2-4, 2001 was a busy time for the South Carolina Low Country Chapter of VIVA! The chapter held its first ever state convention at the Airport Holiday Inn in North Charleston. It featured three guest speakers, Paul Whitten, Phil Raistrick, and Jeff Galuhn. Whitten is chief of the Augusta Blind Rehabilitation Center in Georgia; he spoke about future trends in the Veterans Administration and how that may impact the blind rehabilitation process. Raistrick is CEO of En-Vision America; he demonstrated his company's new product, the ScripTalk, an audible prescription reading device. Galuhn demonstrated a refurbished computer with Text Assist and ZoomText.
The chapter has also made plans to help with Christmas for two visually impaired students at a local elementary school. Other plans include a trip to the Augusta Veterans Administration Blind Rehabilitation Center; a trip to the H.L. Hunley (a Confederate submarine); and many others.
Another first for the chapter was the No-See-'em Drive Golf Tournament for Visually Impaired Golfers, held October 8, 2001 at the Shadowmoss Golf Course in Charleston. Ten visually impaired golfers and 10 sighted golfers teed off at 9 a.m., played their rounds of golf, and returned to the clubhouse for a lunch of hamburgers, hot dogs and other munchies. Trophies were awarded for first and second place, as well as for the longest drive and closest to the pin. Various other prizes were given out thanks to the merchants of Charleston, Myrtle Beach and Hilton Head. The fun really began when the blind golfers blindfolded the sighted golfers. Talk about the blind leading the blind! It was a sight to behold. Everything wrapped up about 5 p.m.; everyone had a good time.
SCLC-VIVA is also collecting out-of-date computers, peripherals, hardware and software to refurbish for use by blind and visually impaired veterans. We have worked hard to start this process and have met with success. We have enough parts and pieces at present to make six functional computers.
But we need software. We could really use JAWS, Open Book, Window-Eyes, ZoomText and operating systems (no matter what version). Generally, the operating systems we have are Windows 95 or Windows 3.1. We especially need software usable by totally blind people.
It is embarrassing to say that none of us knows much about braille, but we would see to it that braillers and other such equipment are put to good use as well.
SCLC-VIVA is a tax-exempt non-profit organization. Everyone involved is a volunteer; there are no paid employees. All our work groups and committees consist of people with visual impairments, even the computer repairman!
If you have equipment that is not state of the art and would like to put it to good use, please consider donating it to SCLC- VIVA. You will receive a letter confirming your donation for tax purposes. Contact the chapter through either of the following addresses: Jeff Galuhn, 127 Newington Rd., Summerville, SC 29485, phone (843) 851-7024, e-mail [email protected]; or Max Hearn, 125 Honeysuckle Lane, Summerville, SC 29485, phone (843) 821-0251, e- mail [email protected].