AN INSPIRING STORY OF ERNIE MOLINA AND HIS NEW GUIDE DOG SANCHO!

Graduating to a Life Together

Sometimes you meet some soul along life's path who inspires the rest of us schleps and keeps us believing that relationships are really all we have. Ernie Molina and Sancho have that special relationship born out of hard work and constant companionship.

Ernie Molina has had dogs most of his life. Most of his life he had his sight. It wasn't until around 1992 Ernie lost most of his ability

to see distinct figures and colors, which caused him to stop driving to his job at the post office. Between 1993 and 1997, Molina was postmaster of the Cupertino Post Office. Molina had inherited a medical condition known as retinitis pigmentosa (RP) along with one of his brothers.

With an active mind and a willingness to carry on, Molina has used the sick time to learn Braille, continues to learn more accessible programs, has taken cane training and applied to the Guide Dogs for the Blind Program. That's when Sancho entered his life.

Sancho is one of the dogs who passed the requirements for the challenging work of a guide dog. Both Ernie and Sancho are working on getting their groove together. Sancho was matched to Ernie at the Guide Dogs for the Blind after the trainers observed his gate.

Now that Ernie and Sancho are partners, Ernie plans to travel more on public transportation freeing his wife of sight guiding work. Ernie's dream retirement job would be to teach sight-impaired people about computers and tutor them in the use of accessible programs for the blind. Instead of using the high-priced systems marketed to sight impaired computer customers, Ernie has put together a budget system.

By Mary Anne McCarthy
Jun 14, 2007

Hooray for Deanza Lions!

The Santa Clara Valley Blind Center would like to take this opportunity to thank the Deanza Lions for donating their time to trim the trees and clean up the walkways and parking lot on our property. Members from the Deanza Lions were back this year, renting a scissor lift and chipper, trimming trees, hedges and shrubs. The team (listed) logged in well over 50 man hours to compete this task. The staff and clients greatly appreciate the DeAnza Lions' attention to our center! We would like to acknowledge the following Deanza Lions for their contribution: Lions Al Knox, Bill Reed, Charles Ice, Herb Yeary, Jeff Ludlum, Mike Martin, Provin Dhawan, Ray Lancon, Steve Ratner and Dhruva Dhawan.

Thank you to all the Volunteers of 2007-08!

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The annual Volunteer Appreciation Dinner was held August 15, 2008 to honor all of our outstanding volunteers for the 07-08 year.

Volunteers are the heart of our program. Without their dedication and support, many of our programs would cease to exist. For 2007-2008, Santa Clara Valley Blind Center received 16,000 volunteer hours. This is a phenomenal number of hours and it was wonderful to award these volunteers and show SCVBC’s appreciation for their contribution.

The Monday and Wednesday night Bingo games held in Santa Clara are a large source of revenue for our agency. This year alone Bingo Volunteers provided over 6,300 hours of service. This last year, over 150 Program Volunteers provided 6,500 + hours of service for educational, therapeutic, and recreation services provided by the center for our clients.

The In- Home Volunteer Program was created to provide clients with transportation and assistance with reading and writing correspondence. This year our In- Home Volunteers provided over 3,000 hours of their time to assist clients.

SCVBC also recognizes the members of our Board of Directors who provide countless hours serving on committees and supporting our mission. Their support is essential in helping us achieve our goals.

We are pleased to announce 66 of our volunteers contributed over 100 hours (several over 500 hours each) and were awarded with the Presidential Service Award.

Our deepest thanks to ALL of our incredible volunteers - we couldn’t do it without you!

Bay Area Association of Disabled Sailors

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With June came the opportunity to go sailing with Bay Area Association of Disable Sailors (BAADS)! The weather was glorious and the trip was fabulous. Meeting up with the BAADS regulars, a small group of SCVBC folk was there to partake in the fun. Leaving the marina around 1, the 3 BAADS sailboats were off in all different directions. The boats cruised up into the "slot" (where the winds from the Pacific have a direct path into the Bay and cause a lot of activity), around Treasure Island, and back down the Bay.

Everyone aboard was given the opportunity to sail the boat and taught some basic lessons on sailing. Afterwards, the entire group met up in the “members only” Yacht Club to have some refreshments and talk about the day. Thank you for providing an incredible experience!!

5th Thursday - Specialty Outing

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May brought about a “5th Thursday” Specialty Outing and this month a group of 15 ventured out for Vegetarian food. The Dilac Cuisine Restaurant offered many, many choices and clients were able to choose dishes they had never seen before! Among the unusual choices were Sour Plum Soda, Three Bean Dessert, and several “soy protein” based meals. Eggplant was a common component and was delicious in every form!

The staff was amazing, providing a very positive environment for all those in attendance. Everyone was warm and friendly, and the manager stopped by to shake everyone’s hand. They generously gave discounts on everything, and each client was offered a half-gallon of soy milk (sweetened or un-sweetened) to take home. Thank you, Dilac!!

Wild Times at SCVBC

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There was excitement in the air as Wild Things Animal Park brought all their furry (and scaly, and prickly) friends SCVBC Community Meeting!

Clients in attendance were able to feel the animals and ask questions as two very knowledgeable animal handlers brought around the special guests, which included Opossums, Gila Monsters, Albino Burmese Pythons, Ferrets, Hedgehogs and Tortoises.

Wild Things also brought elephant skin and lion mane to feel, along with a 20 foot snake skin for SCVBC to keep! We learned the difference between turtles and tortoises, how porcupines use their quills, and that opossum hair is actually very soft!

Thank you to Wild Things Animal Park for providing this unique and exciting experience to the clients of SCVBC!

Spring Fling 2008 A Tremendous Success!

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April showcased our annual Spring Fling Dance and Dinner. SCVBC welcomed Frank Ybarra and the Velvet Swing band this year for the evening’s entertainment. The band donated much of their time and provided fantastic music that kept the clients dancing all night long. Generous donations from several local companies provided both refreshments and raffle prizes. Drawings were done throughout the evening featuring over 30 prize packages. These included over $700 in donated visual aid products such as Enhanced Vision Magnifiers and Atomic Talking Watches and $500 in gift certificates to local restaurants.

The Santa Clara Valley Blind Center is pleased to host this special evening for our clients and their friends. Spring Fling is just one of the many recreational activities SCVBC provides throughout the year. As support and awareness from the community increases, we are able to provide more services for the blind and visually-impaired, including adding more specialized classes and outings for those with special needs or limited funds.

A heartfelt THANK YOU to all the companies listed below who helped make this evening a success:

Wal-Mart, Maxi Aids, San Jose Sharks, Bill’s Cafe, Black Angus, Blondie’s Frozen Yogurt, Campbell Highland Games, Cheesecake Factory, Cookies-By-Design, Costco, Elephant Bar, Fresh Choice, Joie de Vivre Domain Hotels, Marie Callender’s, M.E. Fox, Nob Hill, Oakland Athletics, Olive Garden, Outback Steakhouse, Party America, Party Outlet, P.F. Chang’s, Safeway, Sakamoto Plants, Savannah Chanelle, See’s Candy, Starbucks, Summer Winds Nursery, Teel’s Jewelry, Trader Joe’s, Walgreens, Zanotto’s Family Market.

Thank you Chili’s in Milpitas!

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Chili’s of Milpitas provided good times and great food for SCVBC’s May lunch outing. How can you go wrong with excellent food, chips and salsa and drinks all donated for those attending by Chili’s. The service was incredibly friendly and attentive! Thank you again to all the staff of Chili’s in Milpitas for making this lunch outing perfect!

THANK YOU, DEANZA LIONS!

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All of us at the Santa Clara Valley Blind Center want to thank the DeAnza Lions for donating their time and finances to trim the trees and clean up the walkways on our property. The team consisted of Lions Al Knox, Charlie Peters, Jim Gould, Ray Gamma, Ray Lancon, Steve Ratner, Charles Ice, Herb Yeary, Charlie Waters and friend Brian Prince.

They came in on a warm Summer Saturday and knocked out a tremendous amount of work clearing overgrown trees and hedges and making the walkways safe and accessible once again for our clients! The pictures show just how much sweat and muscle went into this project! We so appreciate you. Thank you again for your generosity and team spirit as we all work together to serve the blind and visually impaired of Santa Clara County!

SCVBC HAS A NEW GARDENING PROGRAM!

Thanks to Katie Lucitt, a local Girl Scout with Senior Troop 701 the

Center is pleased to present a new accessible garden! The planters 4’Wx10’L are raised four feet above the ground to accommodate seated gardening and wheelchair accessibility. The garden has been planted with over one thousand dollars of flowers, tangerine and Japanese Maple Trees, herbs, and vegetables. The implementation of this garden will be used to provide the clients with a therapeutic activity that is tangible, relaxing, exposes them to fresh air, and beautifies the center as well.

SCVBC would like to thank the following individuals and businesses who contributed to the implementation of this spectacular garden.

Planning	Gregg and Lauren Anderson
Baby Sitting Fundraiser	Lauren Anderson, Lauren Drygas, Vanessa Moyen, Jordan O’Halloran, Lynn Wilson
Planting	Kelsey Moteckaitis & Fred and Edna Dixon
Building	Damen Domingue & Todd Roulin
Plant Donations	Sakamoto Plants, Los Gatos Summer Winds Nursery, Los Gatos
Other Donations	Home Depot
Wood Donation	D.H. Smith Company Inc. San Jose

MLK Library Tour and Beethoven Exhibit

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Clients were treated to a free, docent- lead tour of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Library’s many accessible art displays and hidden treasures. Highlights include the hidden bookshelf in the mystery section, the migration of South American butterflies indicating sections with Latino authors, and the Beethoven room. Participants were able to touch a mask of Beethoven’s face, view a lock of his hair, and touch pianos that were typical of Beethoven’s era.

San Francisco Shakespeare visits SCVBC

By special arrangement, San Francisco Shakespeare performed their touring version of “Twelfth Night, Or What You Will” for the clients at SCVBC. They brought costumes, set, and props and stayed after the performance for a Question and Answer session with the audience. Two lucky audience members were even given walk-on roles in the show! Thank you to San Francisco Shakespeare Company for making creating such a memorable experience for SCVBC clients!