February 2018

Ski Trip at Liberty Mountain Resort

Image description: Ski participant Evelyn Valdez is assisted by a Liberty Mountain ski instructor. Bothindividuals are smiling, standing still, and grasping the top of Evelyn’s ski poles. They are wearing neon

orange vests and behind them, there are other skiers and snowboarders enjoying the ski run. In thebackground, the skies are clear and trees line the ski slope.

On Saturday, January 27th, CLB hosted an adaptive ski instruction program atLiberty Mountain Resort in Carroll Valley, PA. The trip was a success; it includedtwo, 2­hour­long sessions of individualized ski lessons for 12 participants withvision loss.

Evelyn Valdez, a participant in the adaptive ski program, had only positive thingsto say about her experience:

First, I just wanted to take this time to thank you so very much for organizingsuch a successful ski trip! The volunteers and Columbia Lighthouse internswere absolutely fabulous! This was my first time going downhill skiing and itwas such an exhilarating feeling! I am so sore, so I guess that is the price topay for having such a wonderful time! I would like for you to personally thankthe donors and everyone else on the staff that made this possible.

To echo Evelyn’s sentiment, CLB thanks all of the Liberty Mountain Skiinstructors, Georgetown volunteers, donors and staff who contributed to thisdelightful day on the slopes!

Art ExhibitionMark your calendars! CLB will host an opening reception for our annual artexhibition on the evening of Wednesday, March 14th at Busboys and Poets (14thand V Streets, NW, DC). This exhibition will showcase work by local artists whoare blind or visually impaired ­ stay tuned for more details! To RSVP for theopening night reception, please contact Elizabeth Knipp at eknipp@clb.org or(202) 454­6421.

National Shot in the Dark Golf andDinner Classic

Image description: Blind golf champion, Mark Arnold, participates in the 5th Annual Shot in the Dark Golf andDinner Classic

CLB’s annual golf tournament will take place on Monday, May 21st. To register orsponsor this event, please click here. To learn more, please contact our Directorof Development, Cathy Miller, at cmiller@clb.org or (202) 683­7707.

CLB's New Dial­In FeatureCLB would like to introduce our new dial­in listening feature! Dial 202­683­7699 atany time to listen to CLB announcements. This addition is especially helpful forindividuals who do not have access to online communication.

Camp LighthouseRegistration is open for Camp Lighthouse! This year, camp will take place from

Monday, June 25th to Friday, June 29th, 9 am to 3 pm each day. In this week­longprogram, children ages 6 to 12, who are blind or visually impaired, enjoy the totalsummer camp experience! At the Silver Spring YMCA, they participate in a varietyof activities such as games, swimming, painting, science experiments, andplayground time.

Teens, ages 13 to15, who are blind or visually impaired, can also participate inCamp Lighthouse as Counselors in Training (CIT). CITs will have the opportunityto earn Service Learning hours.

For registration, please contact Patti Lyman at plyman@clb.org.

Reading RallyThis year’s Reading Rally will occur on Saturday, March 3rd, from 10 am to noonat the Silver Spring Public Library. Children, ages 3 to 10, will enjoy story time,followed by a craft project about the story. Each youth participant with a visualimpairment will receive a free Braille/Large Print picture book! Parents can take atour of the library and learn about the adaptive technology and Braille/Large Printbooks available for their children. Chick­fil­A lunch is included. To sign up, pleasecontact Patti Lyman at plyman@clb.org.

The 1900 SocietyCLB formed The 1900 Society to honor and commemorate those donors whoinclude CLB in their estate plans. To join or for more information about The 1900Society, please contact CLB’s Director of Development Cathy Miller atcmiller@clb.org.

Columbia Lighthouse for the Blind (CLB) is a private, nonprofit 501 (c) (3)organization. Contributions to CLB are tax­deductible to the extent permitted bylaw. CLB’s tax identification number is 530196609.

Support CLB When You Purchasefrom AmazonDid you know you can support CLB simply shopping with Amazon? When youplace any order from Amazon Smile, you can contribute to CLB at no cost! Thisnonprofit Amazon portal contributes a percentage of every order to the nonprofitof your choice. Please click here and link CLB to your Amazon account.Afterwards, update your bookmark to www.smile.amazon.com to donate futurecontributions to CLB.

Our Voice & The Amazon EchoPersonal Voice Assistants have fundamentally changed the way we usetechnology. A voice assistant can be especially beneficial for individuals who areblind or visually impaired. With a voice assistant, there’s no more complicatedsoftware to learn and update; no keyboard, users simply speak. Using voice only,users can have their music played, get the latest headlines and weather, listen totheir favorite radio stations and podcasts, have books read to them, do theirshopping, manage their calendars, contact family and friends in case of anemergency, query the Internet for information, make and receive phone calls andmuch more.

While the Echo is very easy to use, it can be difficult to set up and configure.That’s where Our Voice comes in, as they are Amazon Echo experts! Our Voice isa company dedicated to making voice assistants available to everyone. Our Voiceinstalls and configures the Echo for the specific needs of the customer. They thentrain the customer to use device so they get the most out of their voice assistantexperience. To learn more about Our Voice, visit www.ourvoice.net or call 844­864­2313.

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