White Cane Safety Day celebrates the achievements of blind and visually impaired (B&VI) people in the United States on October 15 every year. It also reminds people of how the white cane is an important tool in helping the B&VI live with greater independence.
This year Bold Blind Beauty participated in White Cane Safety Day festivities in Pittsburgh, PA, and Milwaukee, WI.
Market Square, Pittsburgh, PA
Pittsburgh celebrated its White Cane Safety Day on Friday the 13th. The celebration kicked-off with Jimmy Sapienza’s Five Guys Named Moe, a fabulous jazz combo comprised partly of musicians who are blind.
We joined Blind & Vision Rehabilitation Services of Pittsburgh, Golden Triangle Council of the Blind, and the Bureau of Blindness and Vision Services to debut our White Cane Rules of the Road initiative. I was so grateful to hear people’s stories of loved ones living with blindness or sight loss. An added bonus was their excitement of Bold Blind Beauty’s message of changing the way we perceive one another.
Steph McCoy stands in front of Bold Blind Beauty’s display at White Cane Safety Day celebration in Pittsburgh’s Market Square.
A personal highlight of the event was when one of my good friends came by to help man our exhibit. She was ecstatic when she found out all of our materials were also in accessible formats. So ecstatic, she began reading her braille packet almost as soon as she sat down.
Blind & Vision Rehabilitation Services of Pittsburgh table, banners and awareness materials.
Milwaukee County Courthouse, Milwaukee, WI
In Milwaukee, on October 17, Bold Blind Beauty joined Industries for the Blind (IB) to celebrate White Cane Safety Day. At our exhibit table, we shared our materials with more than 80 blind young people and their parents. In addition to White Cane Rules of the Road WI, we shared information on empowerment for B&VI women.
2017 Milwaukee White Cane Day Celebration at Milwaukee County Courthouse
Summary
As White Cane Safety Day recognizes the contributions of B&VI people within our society, Bold Blind Beauty will continue its mission of changing the way we perceive one another. Empowering B&VI women as well as connecting sighted and nonsighted communities to end misconceptions about blindness is the path to our mission.
Description: http://www.boldblindbeauty.com template with Abigale (Abby) to the left of the quote. The Abby icon is shown walking with her white cane in one hand and handbag in the other. The image is black and white and she wears a stylish black dress and black heels. Her signature hairstyle is best described as explosive.