Mark Arenson, Director of Social Emotional Support at Hadley, joined us via Zoom to share the wide range of free programs offered by Hadley. These include technology training, daily living skills, recreation, workforce preparation, braille, and support for adjusting to vision loss.

The 12 attendees were impressed by the variety of resources available through Hadley, whether online, via audio, or through the mail. Hadley’s website, hadleyhelps.org, is designed for easy navigation with minimal text, and their helpline, 800-323-4238, is staffed by knowledgeable representatives ready to assist or guide you through their courses.

After the presentation, members enjoyed pizza, salad, and cupcakes.

We gobbled ‘til we wobbled at the annual Thanksgiving Dinner, graciously hosted by the Ledyard Lions at the Gales Ferry Firehouse. Their only request was for each of us to bring a nonperishable food item to support the local food pantry.

As always, the dinner was delicious with heaping plates of turkey with all the fixings. The 62 members in attendance were warmly served by the Ledyard Lions and a local Girl Scout troop. The evening ended on a high note with seven lucky winners taking home raffle baskets!

We are thrilled to share that Wendy Lusk has been honored as Executive Director of the Year by the Eastern Connecticut Chamber of Commerce! While Wendy was away on vacation, President Scott Skinner kindly accepted the award on her behalf at the Chamber Breakfast on November 7. The event celebrated many remarkable individuals for their contributions to the nonprofit sector, including Petra the horse from High Hopes Therapeutic Riding. Rather than a traditional crystal award, Petra received a well-deserved bucket of vegetables!

Receiving the Executive Director of the Year Award from the Eastern CT Chamber of Commerce is an honor beyond words…
Wendy Lusk

Christine Telford from the Helen Keller National Center spoke about the origins of haptics, a form of non-verbal communication that uses touch to convey information. This method is primarily used by individuals who are deafblind. Christine demonstrated how structured tactile signals, or touch cues, are applied to different parts of the body to communicate emotions, responses, directions, or environmental information. She also shared two helpful resources: the Haptics: Pocket Edition app for iPhone and the book Haptics Communication: Helen Keller National Center American Edition, available on Amazon.

Lunch was homemade chili with cornbread muffins made by chef Chris.

Each year we hold a pancake breakfast in recognition of White Cane Safety Day. This is a national observance celebrated on October 15 of each year since 1964. The date is set aside to celebrate the achievements of people who are blind or visually impaired and the important symbol of blindness and tool of independence, the white cane.

Our third annual pancake breakfast fundraiser was a great success. This year’s event was held at the Gales Ferry Firehouse. Breakfast included pancakes with maple syrup, eggs, and sausages in generous proportions. Positive reviews for the “best pancakes ever”.

The success of the breakfast was due to the combined efforts of multiple volunteers including seven Coast Guard cadets and chef Chris Lusk and family in the kitchen to name just a few.

There were many raffle prizes and fabulous door prizes courtesy of local businesses and donors. One lucky winner scored a $250 gift card to Bob’s Furniture! Other prizes included a stay at Foxwoods Casino, Alexa Dots, and gift cards for everything from restaurants to hair salons. Mitlitsky Egg Farm in Lebanon donated the eggs and Nanette Budick donated the juice, coffee, and milk.

We are looking forward to an even better White Cane Pancake Breakfast next year.

Wendy’s dedication and resourcefulness never cease to amaze! Upon learning about local inventor David Holmes from Waterford, who is developing technology to replicate vision with a camera, Wendy immediately tracked him down. What followed was serendipitous! She invited David to speak at our Macular Degeneration Support Group, where he shared his ideas and sought input from our members on the challenges they face when navigating, especially outdoors.

David discussed his innovative work, including an app designed to help the visually impaired navigate more effectively, as well as technology that uses motion detectors, cameras, and sonar—similar to echolocation—to identify obstacles. Our members raised important questions, such as how to navigate in snowy conditions, which provided David with valuable feedback for his work. Everyone is eager to hear more from him during his next visit.

David’s ultimate goal is to develop a system that can autonomously assess distances to objects in complex and ever-changing environments. This involves adjusting for varying light conditions, ground clutter (including snow), and atmospheric interference such as fog, by scaling a photograph from limited reference points to offer a broader perspective.

Members of the Center enjoyed a relaxing hike at Knox Preserve, guided by the Avalonia Land Conservancy. Located in Stonington, Knox Preserve offers a scenic mix of grassy meadows and woodland trails, with paths of packed earth that wind along the picturesque Quiambog Cove. Along the way, hikers found several spots to access the shoreline and took advantage of three benches, perfect for soaking in the beautiful views.

Last Thursday night, 35 members and guests gathered for a fun dinner at Captain Scott’s. We managed to dodge the rain, but the wind definitely made its presence known! It was so breezy, we had to hang onto our French fries and clam strips. Despite the gusts, the food was fantastic—and luckily, the seagulls kept their distance. We were even treated to a gorgeous sunset over the boats on the water.

The South East CT Community Center of the Blind is excited to introduce its Professional Membership Campaign. Businesses are invited to participate by joining for an annual membership fee of $250.

As a Professional Member, you will receive:

• A plaque recognizing your support of the Center of the Blind
• Access to the Center’s resources, classes, and programs
• Inclusion in Insight Scoop, the Center’s monthly newsletter
• Recognition in printed and online materials

Your support helps us build a better future for the blind and vision impaired.

For more information, please call 860-447-2048 or email [email protected].

Our First Professional Member

The Center proudly welcomes Dr. James Sanborn and InFocus Eyecare in Groton as our first Professional Member.

Members enjoyed a creatively inspiring morning at the Hartford Artisans Weaving Center, where a unique artisan program teaches weaving to people who are blind, visually impaired, or 55 and older. The level of craftsmanship was remarkable!

With the help of over 40 volunteers, the looms are set up to create beautiful items like rugs, shawls, towels, napkins, baby blankets, baskets, and handbags. The center also offers weaving and basket-weaving classes to the public. Training in the art of hand-weaving takes about six weeks, and our members were excited to try their hand at the looms.

On the way back, we stopped for lunch at Family Pizza in Colchester.

Visit the Hartford Artisans Weaving Center website for more info.