by Carly Eden Stokes | Mar 21, 2022 | Blog, News
The Lydia Collins deForest Charitable Trust, Bank of America, N.A., Co-Trustee has awarded a grant of $37,000 to Vision Loss Alliance of NJ to design and implement a hybrid model of program service delivery: in-person classes and virtual sessions via Zoom.
The approach addresses the most significant needs impacting VLANJ clients before, during, and continuing into the post-COVID-19 climate. Program participants and the community will benefit through expanded access to information and training; flexible, cost-effective services; greater diversity and geographic reach; a wider range of service options; and individualized supports and services.
Thank you to the Lydia Collins de Forest Charitable Trust, Bank of America, N.A., Co-Trustee for making these opportunities a reality for our program participants!
by Carly Eden Stokes | Dec 21, 2021 | Blog, News
A letter from VLANJ’s CEO, William Schuldt:
What can change the ordinary to the extraordinary? What can help a person with vision loss find happiness and fulfill their dreams? With your help, Vision Loss Alliance of NJ has been doing just that for 78 years.
Ming, a wife, a mother, a writer, and a Vision Loss Alliance of NJ trustee, was born with a genetic disorder that would affect her sight and will eventually lead to total blindness. Today, she is legally blind and can only see light and shadows. While she describes her life as ordinary — I want to share with you how someone with vision loss accomplishes the extraordinary, while living that ordinary life.
You have most likely experienced a day when the demands are varied and often exhausting — with vision. Ming describes her typical morning much as yours: waking early, choosing clothes, dressing, making breakfast for the family, and getting the children ready for school. After checking that each child has her homework, snacks, water bottles, and anything else needed for the day, you take them to school. Imagine for a moment how you would get through your morning without full use of your vision, as Ming does. She will frankly say, “Parents who are blind face the same challenges as other parents, but must find different ways to address those challenges.”
As a trustee who has lived with sight loss and learned different ways of doing things, Ming highlights VLANJ’s unique approach:
• VLANJ core programs are a combination of skills-based classes and sessions that focus on mental well-being. These comprehensive services provide emotional support while covering all the basic skills that people with vision loss need to relearn. It is important to have the fundamental skills in place before moving forward, which leads to the next point.
• What sets VLANJ apart from other providers is that services do not stop at basic skills. Our range of programs, while building on basics, helps clients apply those skills to their unique lives. This is critical, because as people lose their vision, they not only want to do the basic things in life but, like everyone, they want to keep learning and enriching their lives. Ming believes that you can cultivate well-being and happiness despite losing your vision when you have the skills and supports to make that choice. For Ming, her happiness meant regaining her lost passion — ballet. She wanted to feel that joy again. After what she calls “endless procrastination,” she faced her fear of not being able to dance with her limited sight. As Ming stood in the entrance to her building clutching her cane and sending her usual message to the Uber driver to look out for her, she was full of questions. “Will I find the studio?” “Will I be able to keep up with the class?” “Will they mind that I cannot see?”
She considered each challenge. “I couldn’t see to walk or drive to the class so I ordered the Uber and told the driver I couldn’t see. He helped me. I couldn’t find the studio, so I rang the doorbell and was guided by a friendly person who occupied the first floor of the building. He helped me find the studio. I couldn’t see the teacher demonstrating, so I listened very carefully to his instructions. I was dancing!”
It was far from perfect, but for each obstacle there was a workaround. Ming explains, “I know we’d rather not need workarounds; I’d much prefer to just go to ballet class like everyone else. But it was worth the struggle, as my reward was the enjoyment of dancing and a confirmation that I could do this, even if it was hard.”
Now that Ming is dancing again, her challenge to you is this: “What is your ballet? What would fulfill your dreams and spark your passion? What is your blindness? What is holding you back? I urge you to get past the obstacles and live your dreams! The more we can find enjoyment in life without our “blindness” as the focus, the more peace we will feel. This is a journey we all can take, but it is sweeter if we have company along the way.”
Please make a gift today that will not only help those with vision loss find their passion, but may also help you to up your happiness game! You can support VLANJ here: https://www.vlanj.org/donations/
Yours sincerely,
William Schuldt, CEO
P.S. Your gift means that when a person loses their vision, they can access the support they need to keep living their lives. Please give your proudest gift today.
by Carly Eden Stokes | Oct 6, 2021 | Blog, News
Bill Schuldt smiles into the camera with green foliage behind him.
Dear Friend,
I am excited to be welcoming participants back to our Denville and Ridgewood locations this month, and I’m looking forward to meeting more of the VLANJ community. (It was a pleasure meeting more than two dozen people over Zoom back in May.) While our virtual programming kept staff and students connected during the pandemic, there’s nothing like gathering in person, to learn with and support one another.
In my first months as president and CEO, I find myself impressed by the drive and commitment of our staff, students, and trustees. We are busy developing plans for robust offerings going forward, a combination of in-person and online classes. This will be a work in progress, as we learn what works and strike a balance for using our current resources.
We resumed in-person Better Health and Wellness classes this month, with COVID-19 protocols in place. Rather than have all students attend on a single day, we will host two weekly sessions, with roughly half of participants attending each. Everyone will be required to wear masks. As always, our goal is to keep us all healthy.
Virtual classes have been invaluable during the pandemic, and we were proud to roll out new programs for healthy aging. We have Atlantic Health System’s Morristown Medical Center Community Health Committee to thank for the grant that funds LIFT, STRIVE, and the newest addition, ARISE, a virtual speaker series which will feature a variety of topics designed to motivate and inspire people with vision loss to achieve their best selves.
I want to acknowledge a generous — and unexpected — bequest we recently received from the estate of a VLANJ supporter. We are honored to be remembered in her will. VLANJ is so grateful to donors who contribute monthly and annually but hope more supporters will also include us in their estate planning. Over VLANJ’s 78-year history, bequests have played an important role in our funding. We are establishing a legacy society so supporters can inform us of their intended gift, allowing us to plan accordingly.
Know that VLANJ’s work of empowering people with vision loss in all aspects of life could not happen without our supporters. I look forward to getting to know more of you in the coming months. Please feel free to reach out to me by phone or email with your ideas and questions. Wishing you well.
Sincerely,
Bill Schuldt
VLANJ President and CEO
wschuldt@vlanj.org
(973) 627-0055 ext. 1333
by Carly Eden Stokes | Oct 6, 2021 | Blog, News
Claudia Schreiber devoted her life to lightening the burden of others. In death, she continues to support the visually impaired, funding programs at Vision Loss Alliance of New Jersey that once helped her.
Claudia died May 26 from colon cancer at age 61, leaving behind dear family and friends, and a legsight acy that will fortify VLANJ programs for years to come.
Claudia Schreiber stands in front of tables full of people smiling, holding a white cane.
“Claudia wanted to be sure programs receive the funds, because that’s where her passions lay,” said Michelle Bookbinder, Claudia’s friend of 20 years. Days before her death, the mother of two donated $10,000 to establish The Claudia Schreiber Program Fund. She asked that friends and loved ones continue to contribute to the VLANJ fund in her memory, Bookbinder said.
The Marlboro resident was an artist and entrepreneur, as well as an advocate for the visually impaired, becoming a VLANJ trustee in 2018.
“Claudia was a very active trustee from the start, always giving wise counsel,” Board of Trustees Chair Carl Augusto said. As chair of the board’s program committee, Claudia championed strong technology programs, including the Technology Learning Lab, Augusto said. “She was admired and inspired by everyone she met,” he said.
Claudia lost her vision completely in 2005, and diligently figured out ways to adapt. The advent of the iPhone “really opened up her world,” Bookbinder said. She happily shared what she learned, teaching others with vision loss useful smartphone apps and the voiceover program that could help in their daily life. Sometimes, she simply listened to their concerns.
“She really liked helping people in a personal way,” Bookbinder added.
An autoimmune disease began affecting Claudia’s vision in her early 20s, two decades before she became blind. In 2008, she began attending VLANJ, taking a class that rekindled her passion for art. The first piece she created was a self-portrait with clay. The instructor “gave me the courage to get back into my life,” Claudia said in a 2019 interview. “I fell in love with this organization.”
For three years, Claudia ran an art program for the New Jersey Blind Citizens Association in Monmouth County, volunteering her time and donating the supplies. Claudia served as president of the nonprofit’s governing board.
Claudia taught art classes and served as a peer support facilitator for the New Jersey Commission for the Blind, overseeing four support groups. People “need to learn that life isn’t over because they’ve lost their sight,” Claudia said.
For VLANJ’s virtual Dining in the Dark event during the pandemic last fall, Claudia allowed herself to be video recorded preparing a meal of tomato basil pasta with garlic bread. She showed viewers techniques for safely chopping onion and garlic and accurately measuring ingredients. The segment was supposed to run five minutes, but Claudia was so charming, they gave her 20 minutes, Augusto said.
Claudia supported VLANJ’s mission through generous annual gifts. She also donated items for silent auctions and recruited an entourage to attend VLANJ’s fundraisers. “She was one of the most giving trustees,” Augusto said.
By donating to Claudia’s fund, supporters can help Claudia’s memory live on. To contribute, contact Jennifer Singer, vice president of development and communications, at 973-627-0055, ext. 1323 or jsinger@vlanj.org.
by Carly Eden Stokes | Aug 24, 2021 | Blog
Debbie Azzarone via The Blind Vine has written about how as her vision has declined, there are things she doesn’t feel as comfortable cooking and baking as she used to feel.
Read on for some of The Blind Vine‘s tasty recipes (dessert, breakfast, even dinner!) that don’t require flipping, checking for browning, and other steps that those with low vision may want to avoid.
1. Cheesecake Flavored Ambrosia
Dessert ambrosia with fruit on top sits in a bowl.
Ingredients
1 (29-ounce) can Dole fruit cocktail, drained
1 (8-ounce) can pineapple tidbits, drained
1 (11-ounce) can mandarin oranges, drained
1/2 cup maraschino cherries, drained and rinsed
1 (1-ounce) box cheesecake flavor Sugar-Free Jell-O pudding
8 ounces Daisy sour cream
3 cups Cool Whip
1 cup Jet-Puffed miniature marshmallows
Instructions
Drain all fruit. If fruit was packed in syrup, rinse in c old water and drain.
Combine fruit cocktail, pineapple, mandarin oranges and cherries in a large bowl. Sprinkle with cheesecake flavored pudding mix and stir to coat. Add in sour cream and Cool Whip and stir well.
Fold in marshmallows and chill for at least one hour before serving.
2. No-Flip Omelet
A no-flip omelet is featured in a skillet and cut up on plates.
Mix your eggs, and two tablespoons water, a little salt, etc. into a fry pan. Put all of the toppings in the eggs. Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes. Top with cheese until it’s melted. Fold the omelet over. Voila! A no-flip omelet.
3. Beer Crockpot Chicken
A close-up view of seasoned crock pot chicken.
You can play around with your seasonings. These are just a suggestion. You can also use fresh chicken or use frozen breasts, and either cook on low all day or cook for five hours on high. Adjust the heat according to your time on hand.
4-6 Chicken Breasts or 1 Whole or cut up Chicken
1 Can of any kind of Beer
1/2 tsp Garlic Powder
1/2 tsp Basil
1/2 tsp Paprika
1/2 tsp Black Pepper
1/2 tsp Kosher Salt
*You can use whatever spices you like
Put all ingredients into crockpot
If frozen cook on high 4-5 hours or low 8-10
If fresh cook on high 3-4 hrs. or low 7-8 hours if fresh
by Carly Eden Stokes | Aug 15, 2021 | Blog, News
For those who are blind or visually impaired, who “may not notice arrows on the floor directing foot traffic that have no texture to be felt,” such [COVID-19] safety measures “present additional obstacles for safely navigating the pandemic-era world.”
Read the full article by Well + Good about being visually impaired during the pandemic – and know that you and/or your loved ones are not alone in finding it difficult to navigate:
CLICK HERE
