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Oral Hull volunteers, staff, clients socialize via Zoom during time of isolation

Navigating low-vision or blindness is no easy task. But add to that the inability to tell if you're six feet away from someone during a global pandemic, and life becomes even more difficult.

Though finances at Oral Hull Foundation for the Blind and Low-vision are down from normal, the mission for staff and volunteers remains the same: to create a better quality of life for those unable to experince things visually.

To keep that endeavor alive while apart from the people they serve, Executive Director Sharon Elder and Oral Hull staff members are offering Zoom gatherings to encourage socialization for those in the visually impaired community.

"This crisis has had a toll on the blind community," Elder said. "It's horribly demoralizing."

As part of the distanced socialization experience, Elder and staff have been hosting a virtual walk across America. During this project they encourage participants to be active by taking a guided nature hike or doing housework and log their mileage with the staff. Then, every day, the staff count up the miles and let those participating know how far across the country they've walked and some fun facts and fictional stories about the places they've stopped for the day. The starting point was Lincoln City, Oregon, and the group will end their trek in Cape Cod, Massachusetts.

"They are loving it," Elder said of the project thus far. On Thursday, June 25, the group was on day 51 of the walk and had made it to Iowa. The day before the group walked a collective 99.3 miles.

"They're having a ball and they're moving," Elder said.

Aside from the walk across America, Oral Hull staff are also offering Braille classes via Zoom. Those interested in participating can contact the office at 503-668-6195.

Those in need of assistive equipment can also call Oral Hull to set up an appointment for pick up.

As usual, and especially now due to losses in revenue from rentals, Oral Hull is welcoming donations from the community. Every dollar helps.

You can call the office, mail a check made out to the Oral Hull Foundation to P.O. Box 157, Sandy, Oregon, 97055, or make a donation online at oralhull.org.

Give back, win a prize

To try and combat the loss in income, Oral Hull's staff is hosting an online raffle with three large prizes. The drawing will take place at 10 a.m. Friday, July 31. Winners will be notified by phone.

Payment for tickets should be made on the foundation's online donations page at hullparkfortheblind.org. For more information on entering the raffle, visit bit.ly/OralHullRaffle.

Prizes range from an $800 Visa gift card to a rental of the pool at the Oral Hull Park for up to 15 people.

Tickets are $10 each, three for $25, or eight for $50. Only 500 tickets will be sold. For more information about prizes, visit bit.ly/HullRafflePrizes.

Donations of any amount are always welcome.

For those unable to give financially, Oral Hull also needs people to help maintain the grounds and the Garden of Enchantment.

If you have questions about the raffle or helping at Oral Hull Park, call 503-668-6195.

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See more here:
Foundation for the blind offers virtual community, resources - Pamplin Media Group

This entry was posted on July 12, 2020 at 8:46 am and is filed under Blindness. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed. |