Fall 2005                                                                      

Meet Marquita Vinson
I lost my eyesight at the age of four. In the seventh grade, I began to receive mobility training on my middle-school campus. They trained me to independently travel to each class. Being the stubborn Leo that I am, I simply refused to use my white cane. It was so embarrassing to be seen with one of those things. The white cane made me feel like I was abnormal. It made me feel like I was blind.
Refusing to use my cane continued through high school. I would have different students walk me to class, the cafeteria and even the bathroom. I was completely reliant on other people. Working over the summer was the same routine. I was driven to work, walked to my desk and to nearby fast food restaurants.
One day at school I walked into my Visually Handicapped class and my teacher sat me down and began telling me about the Living Skills Center for the Visually Impaired. She told me that it was an apartment living program for visually impaired individuals who desired to live on their own. She said the program assisted these individuals in learning how to maintain a budget, cook, clean, attend school after high school, find employment and travel independently.
This was the best news I had heard all year. That following fall season, I was a student at the Living Skills Center. After being introduced to all the instructors, I instantly reached my comfort level. I felt like I could tell my teachers anything that first day.
I picked up on the cleaning, budgeting, and cooking techniques pretty quickly, but I required an extreme amount of assistance in computer and mobility training. I easily breezed through the computer training because of the wonderful teaching techniques. The mobility was the most challenging for me. The part of the training that I feared the most was street crossings. I once stood at a street corner with my instructor and I was nearly in tears. I was so afraid to cross that street. She helped me overcome that.
The Living Skills Center helped make me the independent woman I am today. I now live on my own in an apartment in Sacramento. I'm now attending Sacramento City College where I am majoring in Psychology and Human Behavior. I'm independently traveling from home to school on the bus and to my classes with my big black Labrador guide dog.
I want to strongly encourage anyone with a visual impairment who desires to develop a life of independence to become a student at The Living Skills Center. It will change your life, and you will find that your self-confidence will increase extremely.

TECH TALK

The Living Skills Center lab is home to some of the most innovative and state-of-the-art pieces of adaptive technology. Our Access Technology Instructor, Ronald Hideshima, is often among the first to get his hands on the newest equipment - including products that aren't even available on the market yet! He works diligently to understand each piece of equipment's capabilities and determine which students will benefit most from the various technologies. Recently, the Living Skills Center's Technology Lab acquired several cutting-edge NoteTakers and Closed Captioned Televisions (CCTVs). For those readers not up on their Access Tech terms, a NoteTaker is a portable computer (like a laptop) with a Braille or QWERTY (think regular) keyboard and a Braille display, speech, or both. A CCTV is a device equipped with a video camera attached to a monitor that allows low-vision users to magnify documents (up to 75x) and view them on the monitor.

Here are the latest additions to the Living Skills Center tech arsenal:

o The PAC Mate Portable Braille Display (shown here attached to a QWERTY keyboard) can be plugged into our PAC Mate electronic notetaker to allow instant retrieval of information via Braille. Not only that, it can be connected to a laptop or to a desktop computer via a USB port, allowing it to be used in any Windows environment. In addition, for those of our students who have recently lost their sight and are just learning Braille, this particular Braille display has a Braille Study Mode. There is a button on the display that, when pushed, speaks and spells the character that has just been inputted in Braille, an extremely helpful function for a Braille student. THANK YOU TO THE SAN PABLO COMMUNITY FOUNDATION FOR THIS IMPORTANT PIECE OF EQUIPMENT!

o The newest NoteTaker on the market is the Braille Sense, developed by HIMS Korea. The Braille Sense has a 32-cell Braille display and an LCD screen, which allows sighted people to follow along with visually impaired users. It can run seven different applications at once, giving it the strongest multi-
tasking capabilities of any NoteTaker available. With its ethernet port, it can connect to a DSL line for high-speed internet brows- ing. For the music lovers out there, the Braille Sense comes equipped with an MP3 player, audio recorder, and stereo speakers!

o The DeskMate, developed by Clarity USA, is a stand-alone CCTV. Designed to be compact enough to carry to class, this CCTV has a swivel camera that allows the user to zoom in on any object (not just documents) from a distance. With its portable battery pack, the unit can even be used outdoors. One of our students has already started taking the DeskMate to his college classes and uses the camera to magnify the chalkboard!

 o The portable Slider, developed by Assist Vision, is the most compact stand alone CCTV with all the basic fea- tures of a full size CCTV. About the size of a shoebox, this efficient device has a 7-inch LCD screen and a mini camera that slides over the object being viewed. The camera can also be detached from the base and held like a pen for added convenience. But don't be fooled by the size - the little guy is capable of magnifying documents up to 17x!

o Also by Assist Vision is the Neo, a large format CCTV fea- turing adjustable lighting for reduced glare and excellent contrast. The Neo's advanced video camera allows even large objects to be viewed, and a position locator shows the user exactly where to place the object to be viewed. The 50x magnification capability of this CCTV makes it a powerful tool for our students.

THANK YOU TO THE FOLLOWING COMPANIES FOR LOANING THE LSC THE ABOVE-LISTED DEMOS FOR STUDENT TRAINING!
 --Access Ingenuity --Freedom Scientific --Assist Vision
 --HIMS Korea --Clarity USA --Synergy Vision

     LSC students kayak…Does it get any better than this?

Every fall, the Living Skills Center goes on its annual ocean kayak trip to Angel Island. For those who haven't heard about our famous expeditions, the trip on September 20-21 brought more fun and adventure on the high seas!
After meeting with the guides from Environmental Traveling Companions (ETC) and playing some hilarious get-to-know-you games on the beach, everyone got into the two- and three-person kayaks and launched out into the San Francisco Bay. A sighted guide steers from the rear of the kayak and paddlers who are visually impaired sit in the front. A rigorous paddle across Raccoon Straits took the adventurers to Angel Island, where they got to spend the night in an authentic Civil War-era barracks. The evening was filled with fun activities, such as a night hike, a visit to a haunted house, and an impromptu music jam session - without any instruments!
The next morning greeted the students with beautiful weather and pristine, glassy water. The trip was so smooth and pleasant that the group took its time getting back to the landing in Sausalito, floating lazily towards home. As always, the students had a blast, enjoying each other's company and experiencing the beauty of nature in a brand new way. Student Kody Cullum says his favorite part of the trip was just sitting by the water with one of his friends and listening to all the sounds surrounding them. Many students tell us that experiences like these are their favorite part of the LSC curriculum.
Thank you to our partners in this adventure: ETC, who provides kayaks and guides, and the Kraft Corporation for making the trip possible!

Letter from the Director

Providing services nationally has always been a dream. In the past, when we had calls from other states, we had to turn people away because the parameters of our funding limited us to California students. However, since the advent of our website two years ago, we are getting an increasing number of inquiries from people urging us to open our doors to young visually impaired people nationwide. After researching marketing strategies and budget requirements, we have launched an initiative to accept students from other states into our California program. Teachers hired for these students will be paid by other states and therefore will not be bound by our California contract. A national program will not only make our unique service available to many more students, it will also create a new and very much needed income stream. To support this initiative, our dear friend Paula LeDuc is celebrating the 25th anniversary of her company, Paula LeDuc Fine Catering, by hosting a gala fund-raising dinner at George Lucas's new Letterman Digital Arts Center in the Presidio on Saturday, February 4th, 2006. Paula "drove a stake into the ground" to raise a minimum of $100,000 for the Living Skills Center at this event to provide seed money to launch a national LSC program over the next two years. Amazingly, she has already raised $135,000 in sponsorship pledges before the $500.00 tickets even go on sale!! We are so thrilled about this event and so grateful to the wonderful fund-raising team Paula has put together. Paula has said, "My determination is unwavering to ensure the financial security of the Living Skills Center for future generations, to support its ability to offer hope to a far greater number of young blind people, and eventually to provide a building for the program." Paula, we can never thank you enough.
In the meantime, however, we want to make it very clear to our dear friends who have supported us for many years that their yearly contributions are more vital than ever before to the health of the Living Skills Center and hope that all of you will continue to consider the LSC with end-of-year contributions. Our contract with the State Department of Rehabilitation has not been increased in over 6 years, and for the first time in over 20 years, it no longer pays for all of our operating expenses. That means that your contributions not only help to pay for our field trips, but also for important equipment for our tech lab, kitchen equipment for our living skills teachers, and other program supplies. In this era of diminishing State funds, every donation is important! To ALL of our wonderful supporters, we offer a deep and heartfelt THANK YOU. Your belief in our mission not only boosts our morale, it has become vitally important to the continued success of the Living Skills Center. Because of each one of you, we are able to look toward the future with optimism and hope. We wish you all a wonderful holiday season!                                                 -Patricia Williams

Thank you! to the Angels on Paula’s Event Committee:

                    Stanlee Gatti                                         Cathy Podell
                         Honorary Chair                                                  Honorary Co-chair

Committee:
Geoffrey Applegarth
Kimberly Bakker
Bob Barnett
Ashley Capra
Whitney Cathcart
Lauri Dorman
Christine Harkinson
Ginny Lawrence
Janet Mourning
Mary Poland
Diane Smith
Laura St. Claire
Kathleen Toney
Sue Ward
Robyn Watson
John Ziesenhenne

EVENT SPONSORS

  Paula’s Dream (Come True!) Circle
-gifts of $50,000 or more unrestricted funds-
Mike and Catherine Podell
Eric and Wendy Schmidt

Heart of Gold Circle
-gifts of $25,000 or more unrestricted funds-
Mark and Kelley Roberts

Visionary Circle
-gifts of $10,000 or more unrestricted funds-
Fritz and Lucy Jewett

Luminary Circle
-gifts of $5,000 or more-
Mimi and Peter Haas
Masud Mehran Foundation
Janet and David Mourning
Kathleen and Dan Toney
Robyn and Bill Watson
Women Presidents Organization

“I am honored to support an organization that truly changes the way people think about what is possible.” --Paula LeDuc

Paula LeDuc Leadership Society
-gifts $1,000 or more unrestricted funds-
Jeff and Katie Bairstow
Patty Biasca
Nita Borick
Contra Costa Braille Transcribers
Edie Dimmler
Maureen Dorsey, DVM
William Van Dyk, DDS
Christine Harkinson
Carolyn and Doug Haney
Eve E. Jaffe
Mechanics Bank
Jim and Joan Meyer
Janet Pasha
Robert and Susan Scherr
Ellen Voyles
Karen Ward
Ann and Doug Wilhelm
John Ziesenhenne

Staff News

We are so pleased to announce that Patti Maffei, who has served as an Orientation and Mobility instructor at the LSC since 1991, has been promoted to Program Director. Patti will continue to teach part-time, but she will also take on the duties of managing day-to-operations of the LSC and help us launch the national program. Patti’s energy, knowledge of the field, and commitment to our vision are sure to take the LSC to the next level. Congratulations, Patti!

Carol Hepsley, who now has three years of teaching under her belt, has stepped forward as our new lead mobility instructor, and has just finished her first stint as a master teacher for a graduate intern from SFSU. We have complete confidence in her ability to uphold the LSC's reputation of providing a safe, professional mobility department.

To alleviate a portion of Patti Maffei's O&M duties, the LSC has hired Meggie Rempe as a part-time instructor. Meggie received her training from the University of Arizona, and with four years of teaching experience, she has a solid base of knowledge in the areas of orientation and mobility, low vision, technology, Braille, and daily living skills. Not only is she highly accredited and experienced, but all of her references spoke so highly of her that she seemed too good to be true. However, once she got here, the staff and students instantly found that she really is the perfect person for this very important job. We are thrilled to have Meggie on board!

Lisamaria Martinez, one of our living skills instructors, left us at the end of September to pursue graduate degrees in orientation and mobility and teacher of the visually impaired at Louisiana Tech University. Lisamaria was with us for nearly two years and will definitely be missed. We wish her the best of luck! To replace Lisamaria, night supervisor Samir Shaibi was promoted to living skills instructor in October. Samir took our evening activities program to a whole new level, and he is now eager to give it his all as a full-fledged instructor. Samir and living skills instructor Nancy Phinnessee have worked together on many evening activities in the past and are very much looking forward to being partners in the living skills department. We have watched Samir's ability with students for several years and are very confident that he will do a great job in this new position.


THANK YOU! to our Wonderful Volunteers

Petal Turner for her help in the living skills department
Julie Panelli and the Starbucks gang for helping with the Walkathon
Chris Runde for helping with grant writing
Roger Giles for help with the craft project

                            BEAD-MANIA!
It started when Nancy Phinnessee, living skills instructor, made a beaded bracelet with one of the students as a little craft project. The bracelet was so pretty that another student wanted to make one, too. Then another, and another. Pretty soon almost all of the students were asking to join in the fun. At that point, Nancy asked one of the students, "How much would you charge for this bracelet if you decided to sell it?" The student thought about it, and said, "I'm not sure, maybe $6.00?" Nancy replied, "Well, that means you would make about five cents profit, my dear.” A long discussion ensued about the cost of materials, gross profit versus net profit, and how they could actually sell their wares. Nancy came up with the idea that perhaps the students could earn a little money by selling their jewelry at our table in the exhibit hall at the CTEVH conference. The result? Our exhibit table was constantly crowded with shoppers, and the students grossed over $500! Now, Nancy is planning a series of classes about how to start a business. In addition, friend of the LSC, Roger Giles, who has sold items made from wood at craft fairs in the past, offered to sponsor the LSC at a series of local craft fairs through El Sobrante Art Guild. Our entrepreneurs are very excited. Who knows, maybe we will soon be selling jewelry on our website. We will keep you posted!

                ROTARY TO THE RESCUE

All of the students at the LSC are visually impaired; however, some are also wheelchair users. For a long time we have needed a wheelchair accessible minivan so that these students can more fully participate in the program. A call to our local San Pablo Rotary club initiated an amazing response. The Rotarians put on a "Big Board Raffle" and Hawaiian theme dinner at the San Pablo Community Resource Center on April 29th. Over 200 people attended this lively event, and the Rotary Club raised $5,000 to start the LSC "Van Fund!" The food was fabulous, the hula dancers exotic, and Dr. Bill Van Dyk, who hosted the event, made the raffle an exciting experience! This event was truly a labor of love by members of the Rotary Club, and we are deeply appreciative of their hard work on behalf of our students. To help us achieve this goal, please check “van fund” on the enclosed remit envelope and your contribution will be earmarked for this purpose.

                Comments We Love to Hear
"Jacob and I just returned from Las Vegas where he blew my mind. Totally on his own he went out on the strip several times and with a combination of walking, trolley and taxis went to various hotels to sightsee. He got himself on the gondola ride at the Venetian and the Eiffel Tower ride at the Paris Hotel. I am deeply grateful to you for all the training and encouragement that you have given to both him and me. I am sure that he wouldn't have been able to do this without you. My heartfelt gratitude to you all."
--Judith Lesner, parent of graduate Jacob Lesner-Buxton.

"I’m so happy that Carol is making so much progress and loving the program. You have a wonderful staff and Carol is very lucky to be working with such caring and good people."
--Joan Graveson, Rehabilitation Counselor for student Carol Marsh.

The Living Skills Center is now registered with V-DAC (Vehicle Donation to Any Charity), one of the most successful and widely used vehicle donation programs in the nation. This is a great way to both help out your favorite non-profit organization and reduce the time and effort required to sell your vehicle. Donating is very simple- all you need to do is click on the V-DAC link on our website (www.livingskillscenter.org) and follow the directions on the V-DAC website. That's all. A representative will call to schedule a pick-up. If you have any questions about donating a car, feel free to call the Living Skills Center office at 510-234-4984, or you can contact V-DAC at 415-456-1960