July 2022
The Hull Foundation’s
Sight Loss Monthly News
Picture is of a deer who came to visit us at our 23-acre park and learning center. She is standing in the green grass looking at us with her ears up as we took the photo. She is right outside our office standing in the sunlight right behind 4 flowerpots with large green trees behind her. www.hullparkfortheblind.org
| Welcome Summer! |
Celebrating 60 Years! 1962-2022 “The publishing of this newsletter is a service of The Hull Foundation and Learning Center Inc. It is not an endorsement of any of its contents. All products, items and other information may be used at the sole discretion of the reader.”
Editors, Hull Foundation Staff
Contents
Mission Statement …p. 3
A New Executive Director …p. 4
Tell us your story…p. 6
Password Game …p. 8
Let’s Have an Adventure…p. 10
Tech Tip: Door Detection…p. 14
Gadget of the Month with Kat…p. 15
Hull Foundation Book Club…p. 16
Zoom Meetings for July …p. 19
Living with Sight Loss Seminar…p. 22
More Upcoming Events…p. 23
2022 Retreats…p. 25
Sandy Mountain Festival…p. 26
Diamond Jubilee…p. 28
Jokes to Keep Us Laughing …p. 29
Contact Us…p. 30
Our Mission Statement:
The mission of the Hull Foundation and Learning Center is to provide programs, facilities and services including social, educational, and recreational activities for people with blindness and sight loss.
*If you would prefer to receive this newsletter by email, or to unsubscribe, please call the Hull Foundation at 503.668.6195 or send an email to: oralhull@gmail.com
Greetings from the desk of the Executive Director
Happy July! First, I would like to take a moment to introduce myself. My name is Monica Butler. I have been working for the Hull Foundation and Learning Center for almost 4 years now. I started out as the Rental Director and have worn several hats since that time. I became the Executive Director on June 10th and have been very busy learning my new position. We have had several activities happening at the park this month. Our Friends and Alumni Retreat was held at the beginning of the month and was a grand success. We had several return guests and some new faces that hadn’t been to an event for many years. Fun was had by all. We had a few families rent our property for a wedding and a reunion and we had a group of kids join us for their week of camp. We have our One Day, Fun Day coming up on July 6th and we are going to be busy with activities the rest of the month. This year the Hull Foundation is turning “60” !!! Cheers to 60 Years!!! We will be having a celebration in the near future and starting a new 60 for 60 fundraiser to support the foundation. We will let everyone know the details very soon, or you can call the office at 503-668-6195 for more information. I hope that everyone has a fabulous 4th of July and enjoys our warm weather.
Your New Executive Director
Monica Butler
“Tell Us Your Story”
By Marja Byers – Sight Loss Instructor
In 2010 I became legally blind, for the third time in my life, but this time, it’s “for keeps”.
I had been told that there was a local support group in Salem, where I live, but I had not attended. Like so many others, I was stuck on my couch, I was so afraid of venturing out on my own. I finally got the courage to go to that support group, my biggest concern was wearing a hat because it was cold until I realized that I was meeting other blind people. Who’s going to notice messy hair?! We were sharing our stories about our sight loss, and I was the last one to speak. I became very emotional as I talked about losing my job, my identity, and my friends. I felt that I was untethered, with no ties to anyone. As I spoke with tears rolling down my cheeks, the lady sitting next to me gently laid her hand on my arm. In that moment, I suddenly understood that I was now connected, these are my people! I eventually became an employee of the nonprofit, Blindskills, that hosted the support group. My wonderful mentor, and the facilitator of the group, B.T. Kimbrough, told me that most people need to “tell their story” before they can begin to listen, help, and give resources. As a Sight Loss Instructor, I have seen it many times, I can offer resources but until someone has their story told, it can be very hard to listen.
At the end of July, the Hull Foundation will start offering a new monthly Zoom workshop so you can, “Tell Us Your Story”. I am hoping that this may help others to move forward on their journey. Please join us as we share our own unique sight loss stories on Tuesday, July 26 at 1:00 pm PT. I hope to “see” you then!
Marja Byers
Password game
By: Krystina Christian – Sight Loss Instructor
Summer get-togethers are upon us, so why not host a classic game night! Blend up those berry drinks and pop a cold one. It’s going to be a fun night. Open your gathering with a fun game of Password. Don’t worry, it’s super easy to set up. You need 4 people to create teams of 2 and an emcee/judge. Each team of two should sit across from one another. Any extra people are audience members cheering on players. Considering the season, create a list of 25-50 words like: sun, beach, surfing etc. You get the idea. Print or braille out 2 copies of each word to hand off to the player giving clues as you progress. If the host isn’t up to the extra work of printing off large print words or brailling not to worry, the designated emcee/judge can have a master list of Passwords on their phone or tablet to refer to and whisper to each giver their word.
The rules: the emcee picks one person from each team to be the giver. One person at a time gives one-word (hyphenated words count as one) clues to their team partner. The team partner has 30-45 seconds to guess the Password. If your team partner doesn’t guess the word it moves to the next team to try. Each team has 3 chances to guess the Password. Once a team has guessed the Password (or not if you go to 3 tries without guessing) then your teammate becomes the giver. You may not sound gesture or charade your hint. That’s an automatic no guess allowed and points go to the opposing team.
To determine the winner, there are two ways to go:
1. Whichever team guesses the most Passwords wins or (make it more interesting) 2. Designate points for first, second, and third guess as follows- 1 = 10pts. 2 = 6pts. 3 = 3pts.
There you have it, sip those mixed fruity marvels, eat that grilled masterpiece, and play Password, a fun game opener to get those summer vibes rolling.
Let’s Have an Adventure
Curiosity and Results: What’s the Connection?
Part one of two
By Teresa Christian- Sight Loss Instructor
Curiosity has been given a bad rap. Perhaps we grew up hearing that asking questions was rude or conveyed ignorance, or we’d get into trouble if we were like Curious George. We might even have been warned that “Curiosity killed the cat!” but then, “satisfaction brought him back.”
The truth is that curiosity is one of the most vital and life-affirming qualities you can bring to your life and your relationships.
Curiosity on the Sight Loss Journey
It is so easy to blame others when things go wrong. Consider being curious about your experience rather than critical. For example, instead of beating yourself up for not having the courage to cross a street, feeling unsure how to fry a hamburger without getting burned or not realizing that yes, a person with sight loss can use power tools. (Please don’t try this though until someone who is experienced with using power tools as a blind person can show you how to do this, but just know there are many visually impaired woodworkers and power tool users.
Again, try asking yourself what was going on for you that you were afraid to explore the possibility you might be able to do a thing you didn’t realize that you could?
Do other people with sight loss do this?
How can I meet other people living with sight loss and find out what they are up too and how they do some of these things?
With an attitude of “how fascinating that I’ve created this” you are much more likely to help yourself find new solutions to attaining your goals.
Teresa is totally blind, was a massage therapist, Social Worker, single mother of two, grandmother of two, daughter of a mother with advanced dementia and has had six guide dogs. And yes, just for the record, used power tools and changed tires.
Her passions are reading fantasy and personal development books, dancing, singing, and playing the piano, but best of all she loves meeting new people and spending time with friends. She currently is an author and Empowerment Coach in Portland Oregon.
If you’d like to experiment and explore being curious, we have a moderate and high adventure camp during August. Activities such as kayaking, hiking, rafting and rock climbing, are just some of the fun to be had. It is all done with people who are trained to help you have fun and stay safe all at the same time, woohoo!
Call the office for the details and to sign up.
503-668-6195
Stay tuned for part two in next month’s newsletter.
In the meantime, stay awesome!
TECH TIP: Door Detection For iPhone
By, Marty Sobo – Sight Loss Instructor
Door Detection For iPhone is one of the new accessibility features coming in the new operating system. It was introduced at Apple ‘s WWDC event.
Apple says that Door Detection “can help users locate a door upon arriving at a new destination, understand how far they are from it, and describe door attributes — including if it is open or closed, and when it’s closed, whether it can be opened by pushing, turning a knob, or pulling a handle.”
Door Detection will also be able to read signs and symbols around the door. Apple gives the room number at an office, or the presence of an accessible entrance symbol as examples. Additionally, it should be able to identify and speak such things as a store name, opening hours, fire exit symbols, and the material construction and color of the door. Users will have the option to disable the announcements of some of these types of information to suit their circumstances and use case.
When your device detects that a door is nearby, Door Detection can let you know using sound, speech, and haptic feedback.
Door Detection combines the power of LiDAR, camera, and on-device machine learning, and will be available in a new Detection Mode within the Magnifier app on iPhone and iPad models with the LiDAR Scanner. Coming sometime in the fall season.
GADGET OF THE MONTH WITH “KAT”- Sight Loss Instructor
Gadget of the month is going to be a needle threader and magnification for a sewing machine. These items can be found on Amazon for approximately $10 for the magnifier and $10 for a package of 10 sewing machine needle threaders. These differ from regular needle threaders as they are designed for threading a sewing machine needle without having to remove it. Just ask your A lady to look up sewing machine threader and magnifier. For more information on this please call the Hull foundation office at 503-668-6195.
Hull Foundation and Learning Center Book Club
When: Tuesday July 19th 2022, at 10:00am.
In June we read “All Girl Filling Stations Last Reunion” by Fannie Flagg DB77825
A novel that revolves around the character of middle-aged Sookie Poole. Sookie thinks her life will settle down with all the children moved out of the house, but a registered letter changes her life forever when she learns she is adopted. In searching to learn about her biological family, Sookie finds her roots in an incredible patriotic Polish family that turned out four World War II pilots.
“Einstein’s Dreams” by Alan Lightman DB36166
Alan Lightman imagines a series of dreams of the famed scientist. Lightman, who is an astrophysicist, brings his unique expertise to the novel. The novel is set in Berne, Switzerland in the spring of 1905. Einstein is twenty-six years old, working as a patent clerk by day and working on his special theory of relativity in his free time. As he sleeps, Einstein dreams about physics, time, and relativity.
Our next books look to be very interesting.
“Vision Loss: Strategies for living with hope and independence” by Peggy R. Wolfe” DBC24679
We are always looking for new friends to join the book club. If the books we are reading don’t pique your interest, come to the next book club meeting, and share your favorite books.
Join us for a fun hour of discussion and comradery! Come prepared with ideas for our next books!
Hull Foundation Presents Zoom Meetings
Our July virtual Zoom meetings will have a late start this month as we are postponing our zoom meetings the first two weeks due to sight loss instructors attending conventions, although on week 3 we will have some awesome new meeting topics. Including using your 5 senses, and one that allows you to take the driver’s seat and tell us your sight loss story. Bring a friend or spouse! Sighted or not!! If you would like to sign up to receive a weekly email with the Zoom schedule for the week and the links to the meetings, please email the office at oralhull@gmail.com or call us at 503-668-6195. If you are not an email user, then you can call us on Mondays to receive the call-in number and Meeting ID number for meetings you are interested in attending via phone.
WEEK 1 & WEEK 2
WEEK 3
July 19th Tuesday 10-11am PDT
Book Club with Marja
July 20th Wednesday 1-2pm PDT
Chat- Using your 5 senses with Jael
July 21st Thursday 10-11am PDT
Legal Blindness with Deb Marinos
July 21st Thursday 1-2pm PDT
Sight Loss and Hearing Loss, A group chat with Jael.
July 21st Thursday, 6-7pm PDT
Navigating Social Situations: Visually Impaired Vs Sighted with Marja
WEEK 4
July 25th Monday 7-8pm PDT
The Chat Café with Teresa and Carrie
July 26th Tuesday 1-2pm PDT
Tell us YOUR story with Marja
July 27th Wednesday, 6:30-8pm PDT
How are you Doing and How are you Dealing with Marja
July 28th Thursday, 10-11am PDT
Zoom meeting with Deb Marinos, topic to be determined.
Living with Sight Loss Introduction Seminar
We will be hosting an Introduction to Living with Sight Loss Seminar at Hull Park in the fall of 2022. The 2-night and 3-day schedule will contain immersive, hands-on workshops covering information to maintain independence, build self-confidence and converse with people who share sight loss. Topics include daily living skills, orientation and mobility functional information, vision assessments, sight aids, home organization tips, and more! Please contact the office at 503-668-6195 to request more information and a registration form.
More Upcoming Events
2022 will be an exciting and fun-filled year! If you are interested in any of our recreational Getaway events, one day events and Retreats, please contact our office and get signed up! The spots can fill up very quickly, so jump in with both feet and save your spot and come out to Hull Park in 2022!
Volunteers needed to fill many spots for this summer. Please call the office for more information.
One Day Fun Day is back for September!
I am truly excited about our next One-Day Fun Day September 20th. I expect this one to sell out fast so contact the office at your earliest convenience. September 20th we are doing a day trip to Tillamook Cheese Factory. The cost will be $50.00 that will include your transportation to Tillamook and back as well as an ice cream cone. You will be responsible for your own lunch at the Tillamook cafeteria. This is expected to sell out fast as we have to limit how many we can take in our vans.
2022 RETREATS
I want to personally thank everyone who attended the Friends and Alumni retreat this June. We had 17 guests total, some new and some missed faces. Merle was a huge success with his woodturning shop, and everything went smoothly. The suggestions for future retreat activities were submitted and we will be hoping to add to next year’s Friends and Alumni experience. I wish to ask you all to join us for our next retreats which are our Adventure Retreats. Moderate Adventure is August 10th through the 16th. High Adventure is the 24th through the 30th. Both will be featuring white water rafting, hiking, kayaking, rock climbing, and a 50/50 raffle, from there they differ so please make sure that you contact the office to see which one might fit your adventure level. We also want to remind everybody that if you wish to come to any of the retreats, that we do offer payment plans in advance so please plan ahead so that full payments are made two weeks prior to the start of the retreat.
SANDY MOUNTAIN FESTIVAL
Hull foundation and Learning Center is back at the Sandy Mountain Festival, July 9th, and 10th. this is your opportunity to come help us get the word out about what we do and who we are. We are seeking volunteers to come and spread the word as well as help man the booths. We will be having two tents in spots 116 and 117 located on Rustlers Ridge. The unique art will be from two of our blind artists with a portion of their sales donated to the Foundation. The other part of the booth is for Hull Foundation merchandise that we will be giving as thank you gifts for donations. If interested, please contact the office at 503-668-6195. If you are unable to help at that particular festival, we will also be having a single booth the following Saturday, July 16th at the Gresham art festival where we will be located in booth number 15 on Second Avenue. I look forward to seeing each and every one of you.
Diamond Jubilee scheduled August 20th, 2023!
Welcome back fun day celebration at the park. Barbecue chicken dinner, games, vendors, (if you are an artist with sight loss or know of anyone, please let us know.) and music. If you are interested in volunteering or being on the Diamond Jubilee committee, please contact Kat at 503-668-6195 x404, and leave a message as to what is the best time I can call you back, and the best number. As this is our 60th anniversary, we are hoping to make this a spectacular one. We are looking for food carts for desserts, ice cream, or cupcakes.
Jokes to Keep you Laughing…or Groaning!
Q. What did the ghost say on the 4th of July?
A. Red, White, and BOO!
Q. What did the tourists say when they left the Statue of Liberty?
A. Keep in torch!
Q. Who has to work on the 4th of July?
A. Fireworks
Q. What did the firecracker eat at the movies?
A. Pop-corn
Stay well, stay safe, and stay happy!
The Hull Foundation Family
Phone: 503-668-6195
Email: oralhull@gmail.com
Website: www.hullparkfortheblind.org
Visit us on Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/OralHullPark/?notif_id=1631758417290618¬if_t=page_user_activity&ref=notif
On Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hullfoundation_learningcenter/b