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SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER,  2018
SEPTEMBER CALENDAR
11-Board meetig, 6:00 pm
16-Savannah trip meeting, 2:00 pm Buckley's house
19-Walking with Delta Gamma
22-Adaptive Sports Expo, at the Cove Park on Northshore  Cove, 10:00-2:00  
22-Tandem bicycling at Adaptive Sports Expo
 2 0-Beeping kickball with Vol Leaders

OCTOBER CALENDAR
2-VIBES Student meeting, 6:00 pm Buckley's house
4-5 UT Fall Break
7-10 Savannah Walking Trip
8-12 Knox County Fall Break
14-Subway Race Against Cancer
18-VIBES general Meeting, 6:00 pm, Buckley's house
21-Turning Leaf Tour, New Hope Center, 8:00 am


Freedom to Fly Blog
WHAT IS NEW THIS MONTH ON OUR BLOG PAGE?

WHEN I BECOME PRESIDENT
Guess who is the latest to declare their candidacy for the 2020 presidential race. This is sure to mix things up!   Read more

COMMENTS
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SUBSCRIBE
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NEWS
THERE IS A LOT GOING ON AT VIBES!

SAVANNAH TRIP IS FAST APPROACHING
Plans are being made for our trip to Savannah during Knox County and Maryville Schools fall break. VIBES members who participated in the National Fitness Challenge will travel to Savannah Georgia October 7-10 for three days of walking tours, tandem bicycling, and exploring new places.  Besides having fun and developing comraderie among our members, this will provide a chance for them to learn to plan for a trip, how to pack so that they can locate their things, stay in a new environment and find their way to such places as the restaurant and fire escapes, and express their needs to those who can help with problems such as reception and housekeeping staff in the hotel. These skills are important for our members to develop if they are to have a future that expands beyond their neighborhood. 

BACK TO SCHOOL CELEBRATION WITH DELTA GAMMA
Thank you ladies at Delta Gamma for getting the school year off to a festive start. After an afternoon enjoying fun and food at the Back to School party, we are ready to get to work. We discovered some surprising talent among us as most everyone got up the courage to try their talent at karaoke.


Mike and friend singing a duet.
         

Sarah with DG friends in front of Delta Gamma loves VIBES banner


ADAPTIVE SPORTS EXPO
Having a disability does not mean that a person needs to skip participation in sports activities but too often this person is not aware of what opportunities are available in their community. To meet this need for information, Catalyst Sports is again sponsoring an expo which will introduce the community of disabled persons of all ages to a variety of adaptive sports that they can participate in around the Knoxville area. The Expo will be held September 22 at the Cove Park, 11808 Northshore Dr, in West Knoxville. Sports offered will include golf, running, kayaking, yoga, tandem bicycling, beeping kickball, and more. No registration is required so just come on out and have fun. 

Club VIBES tandem bicycling for September will take place at the Expo.  

Spread the word so that we have a lot of participants!

You can play beeping kickball, kayak, and many other sports.
                   
Picture of girl kicking ball                                           Picture of kids kayaking
STAY IN SHAPE!
Club VIBES and Delta Gamma are walking most Thursday nights from 5:30 to 7:00 pm, often at West Town Mall.  Watch the newsletter for specific locations and where to meet.
CLUB VIBES CONTINUES TO GROW
Welcome to our new members, high school students Campbell Rutherford from Dandridge, Mariah McKibben from Oak Ridge and Tim McKibben, Mariah's father. We look forward to getting to know them at upcoming events.

LISTEN TO PODCAST
Sue was recently featured in the Outdoor Knoxville Insider podcast hosted by John Becker.  You can listen on iTunes at Outdoor Knoxville Insider and select 09, Living in the Dark. 

DELTA GAMMA HOSTS ANCHOR SPLASH
Anchor Splash, the biggest philanthropy event on UT's campus, begins September 11 and continues for a week. . Throughout the week, Delta Gamma coaches fraternities and sororities through various competitions, raising money and awareness for Service for Sight along the way. On Thursday night VIBES member, Jacoby, is speaking to the gathering of sororities and fraternities about living with visual impairment. At this past year's event over $20,000 was raised!! 

Good Luck at Anchor Splash 2018

SPOTLIGHT
WELCOME TO THE SMOKY MOUNTAIN WHEELMEN, A NEW SPONSOR
 
Picture: Logo of Smoky Mountain Wheelmen

The Smoky Mountain Wheelmen are a group of cycling enthusiasts who enjoy riding in the East Tennessee area. They host organized rides as well as informal group rides throughout the year. The Smoky Mountain Wheelmen supports Club VIBES via monetary sponsorship and several Wheelmen members serve as tandem pilots with Club VIBES. We are very grateful for Smoky Mountain Wheelmen's support of our tandem biking program. We would not be able to have the freedom to fly on our tandem bicycles without the help of the Smoky Mountain Wheelmen.

MEMBERS CORNER
IMPORTANT NEWS FOR MEMBERS

VIBES MEMBERSHIP HAS MONTHLY MEETINGS
Because of our growing membership, VIBES members will be meeting in two groups each month.  Our student group which will include all student members through college will be led by Illya and will meet the third Thursday of the month at 6:00 pm at the Buckley's.  On the first Friday of each month, the general membership which includes all members, will meet also at the Buckley's at 6:00 pm.  Watch the newsletter calendar so that you do not miss meetings. 


STUDENT MEMBERS ARE ALWAYS BUSY
We gathered together in August for a general meeting and had around 15 in   attendance.  We had the privilege of meeting a few new folks to Club VIBES. With the addition of these new members, we discussed about making a student group in Club VIBES. On August 24-25 we ventured together to the TCB convention which was held here in Knoxville and we got to witness the conference in all of its glory.  The TCB, or Tennessee Council of the Blind was a chance for us to meet others who are visually impaired from across the great state of Tennessee, and create new bonds and new opportunities. Currently, we are gearing up for the Subway 5k Race Against Cancer in October.  We are joining up on Thursdays to walk and prepare for the race.   Come join the Student Members and see how we are changing the world.  

                                  Picture of VIBES members standing behind table at TCB meeting


MORE NEWS FROM ST. LOUIS

A WORD FROM OWEN
This personal testimonial from one of our new members, Owen.
"Still floating on air from St. louis.  Thanks so much for including me. Had a ball.  Thanks much to Dawn for waiting with me for Uber. Please let me know in advance when the next meeting is, I will make it, even if I have to hitchhike to Knoxville.  
LOL, Owen" 

VIBES MEMBERS ENJOYED TRYING OUT NEW DEVICES
Aira, a type of smart glasses that VIBES members were able to try at the ACB Conference was a favorite for many of our members. Following is a first-hand report from Illya about his experience.

MY EXPERIENCE WITH AIRA
by Illya
Aira, a type of smart glasses that VIBES members were able to try at the ACB conference, was a favorite for many of our members. Following is a first-hand report from Illya about his experience with Aira.

A couple of weeks ago I traveled with Club Vibes to the ACB  Convention that took place in St. Louis. While there, I had the opportunity to experience many different types of technologies that were created for the blind. The one that stood out the most to me was Aira. Aira is a company that was created to assist the blind and low vision with independent travel. Aira has glasses that have a camera built into them. The glasses work with a mobile phone-type of service plan. You pay a certain amount every month to get assistance from a human Aira agent for a designated amount of time. All you really have to do is call and they will get you to your destination. Of course, you still need your cane or guide dog to help along the way also.
When we were in St. Louis they allowed us to use Aira on our IPhone with a free demo app. I mainly used it to get around the hotel.  Everytime I called an agent they were really professional and helpful. In a weird way it kind of gives you vision, using someone else's eyes. 

Right now, while still in high school, I can't see myself needing an AIRA  paid plan yet. However, I would definitely recommend it for people that are going to college or just going to a new location that they have never seen before. It is a wonderful exploration option and gives you more confidence in traveling independently.

MIKE ALSO LIKES AIRA AND RECOMMENDS THIS BLOG
Several of us had the opportunity to try out Aira while at the ACB convention in St. Lewis! I encourage those of you who were not able to attend to ask us about our experiences as it was eye opening! Alternatively here's an outstanding blog giving an overview of the service and personal thoughts!  To listen to this blog, click here

I hope this is a good read even for those of us who experienced Aira but weren't able to get all of our questions answered at the convention!

ANOTHER FAVORITE DEVICE

CYBER EYEZ
by Sarah
During the American Council of the Blind convention in St. Louis, VIBES members were able to learn about several different types of adaptive technology related to visual impairment. One such piece of equipment is called Cyber Eyez. VIBES members were given a special opportunity to meet with two members of the Cyber Eyez team, try the technology, and ask questions. Cyber Eyez is a pair of lensless glasses with a camera mounted on the frame and a speaker embedded in the earpiece. Since the glasses have no lens, they can be worn over prescription glasses. The glasses can perform several functions, including: navigation, magnification, facial recognition, color identification, the ability to zoom in or out to see objects more clearly, and the ability to read text documents aloud. As a low-vision user, the magnification and zoom functions were extremely helpful. I was able to hold objects further away from my face to read them. I also found the read aloud function helpful as well. Many members were very impressed with the technology and enjoyed the opportunity to see how it works. You can learn more at their web site.  Click here

FUNDRAISING
THANKS TO BELK SHOPPERS
Thanks to all who got some great bargains at the Belk Charity Day Sale while supporting Club VIBES.  We appreciate your help!

TECH NEWS
BLITAB IS COMING SOON
A tablet designed for blind users that will have an entire page of braille appear on the screen at one time is going to be available soon, costing only about $500. The Blitab (short for blind tablet) looks like any other tablet except it is a bit thicker. The top half of the screen is braille and the bottom half is a visual screen. To learn more, click here .






                                                                                       Picture of Blitab

PARTNERS
THANK YOU TO OUR PROGRAM PARTNERS FOR 2018-19
PLATINUM- Delta Gamma Fraternity and Nalls Sherbakoff
GOLD-Group One Mediation Training Inc.
SILVER-Smoky Mountain Wheelmen
BRONZE-Blount County Eye Center and West Knox Lion's Club

  THANK YOU TO OUR PROGRAM PARTNERS  FOR 2018-20


       PLATINUM                        GOLD                                  SILVER                                 BRONZE
                                     
     Delta Gamma                Group One                       Smoky Mountain                       Blount County
        Fraternity           Mediation Training Inc               Wheelman                                Eye Center


                                                                                                                     Nalls Sherbakoff                                                                                                           West Knox                                                                                                                                                        Lion's Club
    Li                                                                                                                         Lion's 

                                                                                                                           L  Lion's C;ub