Balance for Blind Adults
2340 Dundas St. W, Suite G-06, Toronto ON M6P 4A9 Toronto, ON, Canada

February is Black History month. At BALANCE, we are highlighting Black and Blind individuals who have made great strides in society, and have left a lasting impact on the world. First up this month is politician and 11th President of the Senate of Jamaica, Floyd Morris. ... Mr. Morris began losing his sight during high school due to glaucoma, and lost it fully six years later. He traveled to Kingston to seek assistance from the Jamaican Society for the Blind, where he learned Braille. He eventually went on to receive a Bachelor of Arts in Mass Communication from the University of the West Indies, and later a Masters of Philosophy in Government. Through organizing efforts, Morris was appointed to the Jamaican Senate by Prime Minister P. J. Patterson in 1998, and eventually in 2013 he was appointed president of the Senate, which he served until 2016. He now hosts a two-hour weekly radio broadcast called Seeing From a Different Perspective, which focuses on disability and societal issues. He has also written an autobiography called By Faith, Not By Sight- The Autobiography of Jamaica's First Blind Senator.

The CCB Toronto Visionaries Chapter and Canadian Council for the Blind proudly present Solo Piano with Michael Arnowitt. This is the second performance in their online concert series, and will take place on Friday February 12th, 2021 at 7:00 PM eastern time. The show will stream live on YouTube at https://youtu.be/UtuDtPFOvyY Access to this show is absolutely free! There are no tickets to buy, no registration or access keys required. ... The program will include classical pieces by Debussy, Bach, and Bartok as well as jazz improvisations on music by George Gershwin and Stevie Wonder, and featuring the premieres of Michael's new composition Chicago Avenue and his jazz arrangement of selections from Carl Orff's Carmina Burana. Michael, who is blind from retinitis pigmentosa (RP), is from the USA and is making his new life in Toronto. So join CCB for a great evening of live music, with Michael Arnowitt!

Toronto Public Health is setting up a COVID-19 Community Pop-Up Testing site at the Davenport-Perth Neighbourhood and Community Health Centre. If you have any symptoms or think you may have been in contact with someone with COVID-19, drop by and get tested. There is no cost and no appointment needed. The testing site is open on Monday February 8th and Monday February 22nd from 12:00 PM to 6:30 PM.... 1900 Davenport Road, Toronto ON, M6N 1B7 For more information, please visit toronto.ca/covid19 or call the Toronto Public Health Hotline at 416-338-7600.

Do you know about Tofiri Kibuuka? Tofiri is a Blind Paralympic athlete who has competed in both the Summer and Winter Paralympics. He was born in Uganda, and in 1968 was one of the first blind people to successfully ascend to the top of Mount Kilimanjaro. The publicity from this brought him to Norway where he remained permanently. In 1976 he became the first African to compete in the Winter Paralympics, competing in Men’s Short Distance and Men’s Middle Distance. Even tho...ugh he was living in Norway, he competed for Uganda up until 1984. After becoming a Norwegian citizen, he represented his new country in the summer Paralympics as a runner. Interestingly, he competed for Uganda in the Winter Paralympics in cross country skiing, and he competed for Norway in the Summer Paralympic games in mid and long distance running. Even though he moved to Norway for his potential as a Winter Paralympian he won all of his five silver medals and one bronze medal in the Summer Paralympics as a runner. He last competed in the 2000 Paralympics, where he entered one marathon. Unfortunately, he ended up injuring himself and could not finish the race. You can listen to his interview on the BBC where he talks about his life and achievements here: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/w3cszh4w

For the past 20 years, Ontarians with vision loss have been fortunate to have benefited from the ADP, which has partially funded some of the costs associated with their essential assistive devices. The technology revolution has impacted the lives of people living with vision loss to such a dramatic extent that there are very few activities that a person who is blind or partially-sighted cannot participate in today when quipped with the appropriate technology. For White Cane... Week 2021, join the Canadian Council of the Blind Toronto Visionaries Chapter Virtual Expo Forum on Saturday February 13, from 2:00pm to 4:00pm eastern time. Listen to moderator Dr. Keith Gordon (BALANCE Board Vice-Chair) speak with panelists Ian White, Mike Potvin, Samantha Moore, and Minette Samaroo about the question In its present form, is Ontario’s Assistive Devices Program (ADP) adequately serving people living with vision loss? Register for this webinar at the following link: https://zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_hUgBCGuCSySUMclwVKl6sQ

BALANCE is hiring. If you are an OTA or OT student or recent grad, this part-time position might be of interest! https://www.balancefba.org/careers/