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I mage of Dragonfly

APRIL/MAY,  2019
APRIL CALENDAR
5-  General Membership Meeting, 6:00 pm
9-Board Meeting, 6:00 pm
11-UT office of disability information meeting; 5:30 Pizza Hut Clinton Hwy
13-Beeping kickball, bicycling, picnic, Safety City Field, 11:30 am
18-Student Meeting, 6:00 pm
27- UT Sports Fest & Wellness Expo-12:00 p.m.- 4:00 p.m. at Christenberry
Elementary School

MAY CALENDAR
3- General Membership Meeting, 6:00 pm
4- Belk Charity Day Sale, Turkey Creek, 6:00-10:00 am
14-Board Meeting, 6:00 pm
18-Art Exhibit, Bearden Library, 2:00 pm
19-Biking, TBA
23-Last Day of classes, Knox County

Freedom to Fly Blog
WHAT IS NEW THIS MONTH ON OUR BLOG PAGE?
The relationship between a visually impaired student and his/her TVI (teacher of visually impaired) is very important. This month's blog defines what this relationship should and should not include from the eyes of a visually impaired student.  Click here to read Veronica's blog. This is a blog that every blind or visually impaired student, their parents, their classroom teacher and their TVI should read.

COMMENTS
We would like to hear from you. Add your comments at  http://club-vibes.org/blog/ or at the blog on our Facebook page  https://www.facebook.com/groups/clubvibesgroup/

SUBSCRIBE
To guarantee that you do not miss any of our blogs, you can subscribe to them on our website,  http://club-vibes.org/blog/

NEWS
COME TO OUR PICNIC
Photo of beeping kickball game
On April 13 Club VIBES will host a picnic, Beeping Kickball games, and tandem bicycling. All members, their families, pilots, volunteers, and ladies of Delta Gamma and their parents are invited.  The location is Safety City, across Concord ST from Tyson Park, at 11:30. Bring your tandem, if you have one, a dish to share and a chair. Club VIBES will provide barbeque. In addition to our athletic events, getting to know one another, and eating, we will be honoring some of our 2018 volunteers for their exceptional service.  Our volunteers are the key to the success of our program. 

There will be a bittersweet moment at our picnic when we recognize one of our very special members, Sarah, who is getting ready to attend Physician's Assistant School at Lincoln Memorial University in Harrogate, Tennessee. 
We are so proud of Sarah and her strength to work hard towards her goals and we wish her luck in her new adventure. She has set such a fine example for our younger members of the value of hard work and of not giving up on your goals. We will miss her deeply.

Read more about Sarah in the Spotlight below.

PILOTS NEEDED  
Photo of tandem bicycling
UT Vol Leaders will hold an expo on April 27 to encourage young people to participate in physical activities and adopt habits to help them lead a healthy life.  Club VIBES will provide tandems and pilots to give bicycle rides to participants.  We will need pilots to volunteer.  Contact Sue if you can help.








CELEBRATE SUMMER AT OUR LAKE PARTY
June 1st is the date and Big Ridge State Park is the place for our members to enjoy a day at the lake. Activities will include kayaking, swimming, riding paddle boats, and more.  Check next month for more details.
Photo of kayakers
 
EARN A DOGWOOD TRAILS PATCH
Spring is here! It is time to enjoy the outdoors and get back in shape.  To help motivate you, you can earn the Dogwood Trails Patch  if you walk a total of 26 miles before the end of May. You will need to record and turn in your list of walks. To help you achieve your goal, we will be having walks with Missy Kane, you can walk with family, friends, or join in the weekly Club VIBES and Delta Gamma walks at West Town and other locations. Participation is easy. Simply  click here  for the registration/waiver form which you can submit online and  click here  for the mileage log where you will record the miles you walk.  

After completion, mail the mileage log to 
Gary Young  1921 Topside Rd., Ste. 100 Louisville, TN 37777.

WHEN YOU ARE IN TOP SHAPE YOU CAN...
run a marathon. Vibes member, Ryne Goodrich, is running in the Boston Marathon this year! He was the first ever VIBES member to do a marathon and now he is on his way to Boston. Back in Dec he ran 26 miles in California and qualified for the Boston time. We are proud of him and his running partners who train with him on a daily basis. 

or run a half marathon. Vibes member , Marian, did a half marathon last year here in Knoxville with her guide dog.  NYC news just did not cover it as they did the story of a legally blind runner in New York, Thomas Panek, who completed a the New York City half marathon with a trio of guide dogs.  Panek, president of Guiding Eyes for the Blind, started a program that trains guide dogs to be guides for visually impaired runners. To learn more,  click here .  So, Marian and her one and only guide dog had the jump on Thomas Panek by a year!

ART EXPERIENCE AT BEARDEN LIBRARY
VIBES member Diana has set up a program with her artist friend, Linda, which will allow us hands on exploration of 3D art and sculpture.  The program is free and begins at 1:30 pm.

MEMBERS ON FILM
Jared Jackson has just finished his first book, Where Does the Man in the Moon Go During the Day?  This is a children's book written and illustrated by Jared.  In honor of his accomplishment, Jared was interviewed on WVLT TV.   Click here to watch the interview and to learn more about Jared and the next book he is working on. Jared is doing book signings around Kentucky and Tennessee.   You can meet Jared and get a signed copy of his book at  the Farragut Book Fest for Children April 6th from 10:00 AM - 1:00 PM at the Farragut Town Hall in conjunction with the Dogwood Arts Festival. This a free event 

Who knew that Jacoby had such a talent for singing?  You can hear for yourself!
Click here   to enjoy Jacoby's performance at his recent recital.

We are very proud of both of these young men's accomplishments.

RIDE BALD RIVER FALLS
Photo of Bald River Falls

This is one of the most beautiful places in our area to ride a bike.  We will be riding along the Bald River Falls Road on June 7.  The following day, June 8, some of the folks from Club VIBES will work at the first rest stop for the riders of the Cherohala Challenge, a bike ride miles that attracts some of the best riders in the country.  The route of 114 miles follows the Cherohala Skyway and includes the winding 12 miles of "the Dragon". To thank us for our effort,  a donation will be made to Club VIBES.  More details will be in next month's newsletter.

SPOTLIGHT
WE WILL MISS YOU, SARAH
Sarah was the very first Club VIBES member and joined the leadership team at the very start to help us form Club VIBES and set goals for the low or no vision folks in and around Knoxville. In addition to being one of our most active members, Sarah has also been a tireless volunteer, willing to do anything needed.  She currently keeps both our Facebook page and our Club VIBES website up to date.  Sarah  has continued to be a leader in the club and is a strong role model to younger members.

Sarah is a graduate of Knox County Schools and has a degree in Microbiology from UT. She has long dreamed of a career in medicine and is excited to begin to fulfill that dream with her admission to the Physician's Assistant program at Lincoln Memorial University. We wish Sarah luck and we look forward to following her career as a student and as a Physician's Assistant. 

MEMBERS CORNER
MEMBERS ARE WORKING HARD TO EARN THEIR POINTS
Illya, a senior at Hardin Valley Academy, made a suggestion to the school administration that he make a presentation at the senior class meeting about blindness and Club VIBES.  He provided information such as how to interact with blind persons (don't be afraid to use words such as see, look, etc) and answered questions about blindness. He got points for creating, planning, and presenting this event.

Jacoby has also been earning points.  He has created a fitness tool on Groupme to encourage members to exercise.  Participants state their goal and how they will achieve it and record their progress on Groupme.  Other participants congratulate members on their progress or try to motivate them when there is a lapse in their activity.  

Jacoby has also set up a meeting for VIBES high school students with  the director for
Photo of UT logo
disability services at UTK.
 The meeting will be   April 11th at  5:30 PM at Pizza Inn (5420 Clinton Highway) to discuss navigating the UT  campus and the education system on a college level.  The meeting should last about an hour and should be very insightful.  
Please bring your questions and an empty stomach.  
 
Mariah was part of her High School theater presentation of Annie.She was in charge of props team.


  


FUNDRAISING
BELK CHARITY DAY SALE
Once again we will be selling $5.00 tickets to the Belk Charity Sale which will be on May 4 from 6:00-10:00 am at the Turkey Creek Store only.  Contact your favorite member or Sue to purchase tickets in advance.  
TECH NEWS
ADD TEXT TO FACEBOOK PHOTOS
Until now, the content of photos on the Facebook page has been a mystery for blind and low vision users. Now there is a way to add text to photos which will give the visually impaired a clue as to what the picture is displaying. Club VIBES members would appreciate it if those who post photos on our Facebook page (an Fcebook pages in general) would learn how to add alternative text so that we can understand the photos that you post. That way we can enjoy Facebook photos in an enhanced way. 

Click here for easy step by step directions to add alternative text to your Facebook photo postings.

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