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Congratulations to chapter leader, Wendy Kreisberg for being recognized in The Daily Scarsdale! For full article please click here
Scarsdale Resident Makes Vision Walk Her Mission
Wendy with her dog Mookie, at Westchester-Fairfield VisionWalk
Wendy Kreisberg of Scarsdale turned her son Jeremy’s potential loss of sight into a vision of her own. This Sunday she and other individuals nationwide will participate in a Vision Walk to raise funds for the Foundation Fighting Blindness.
Kreisberg began walking for the Foundation three years ago when Jeremy, now 23 and a law student at Harvard University, was first diagnosed with retinitis pigmentosa, a degenerative eye disease, which has already taken quite a bit of his peripheral vision.
“The day of his diagnosis was probably the worst day in my life,” she said. “It was the most devastating thing. The foundation gave me a direction. It gave me a place to put my sorrow into something productive.”
Kreisberg said she needed to find a way to try to help her son, since at the moment there is no cure for the disease. “I decided one of the ways is to raise money to help the foundation do the research for a cure,” she said.
A walker for the past two years, Kreisberg is the chair of this year’s Vision Walk in Westchester on Sunday, Oct. 30, from 9 a.m. to noon, at the Kensico Dam in Valhalla. She said it is a wonderfully family-friendly event that includes children walking in costume since it is so close to Halloween. Face painters, balloons and candy round out the day.
Kreisberg is a preschool teacher at Temple Israel Nursery School in White Plains. She said the families and staff at the school have been incredibly supportive of her work with Foundation Fighting Blindness. Many of the families and staff join in the walk, making it the school’s October mitzvah (good deed) project.
The Westchester-Fairfield Walk is also sponsored by several local organizations: the Eye Gallery, the White Plains PBA and Carl Zeiss. Eye Design and Bond Animal Hospital are sponsoring Kreisberg’s team.
Kreisberg said her attitude about her son’s disease has changed over the years. “There is so much research going on right now,” she said. “Jeremy is very positive right now, as I am. I strive to be more like him. He is totally my hero.”
Low Vision Guide from NYC Chapter Member
Ellie, a member of the Manhattan Networking Group in the New York City Chapter, has developed a website -- Ellie’s Low Vision Guide. Not only does the guide list aids to assist with reading, but it also includes great tips about what to do when you begin losing your vision. Click here to check it out!
Tommy Edison, who calls himself the Blind Film Critic, has his own website reviewing current films, and adding a touch of humor. Read about movies from his perspective, and how he judges films based on writing and acting. Click here!
Sprint adds a great application called the Mobile Accessibility on the Android for visually impaired users. Mobile Accessibility suite allows users to make phone calls, access contacts, use text messaging and more with ease! Click here for full article.
When you first lose your vision, it can be difficult to figure out how to help yourself, how to move forward, and what items are out there to help you. Ellie’s Low Vision Guide is a great resource not only for what to do first, but reading alternatives and products to help with every day life. Click here to see what Ellie has to say.
NY1 announced the city will open its first Senior Center to help people affected with vision loss in Chelsea. It has programs for seniors that includes specialized computer programming to Braille, fitness, and arts & crafts. For full article, click here.
The annual Rose Parade on New Year’s Day featured announcing for the visually impaired. Voices.com posted a blog on this great addition to a football favorite! Click here for full blog.
For those of you who love to cook, this is a great piece. Ted Drake, wrote a little blurb highlighting featured products from a video the Food Network has about cooking with low vision. Click here to see what it’s all about!
When it comes to technology, there are no boundaries for the people who use it. There are many apps that are being developed and are already developed to help those with disabilities. Here are some great links for apps that are available on the iPhone for those who are visually impaired.
Experiencing what it’s like to be blind is available to those who aren’t. New York Dialog In the Dark is open at South Street Seaport next to the BODIES Exhibit. Click here for tickets and information.
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