Podcast

IN-SIGHT’s monthly book club recently marked its fifteenth anniversary. The group meets monthly and has read and discussed more than 200 books since its founding in June 2008.

The idea came from a tour that members of the IN-SIGHT staff took of another agency that offered a very well-attended group that listened to books through the Talking Books program and then met to discuss them. Our vision rehabilitation therapist, Carla Ferreira, contacted a few clients, including the late Freda Goldman, to start a similar group in Rhode Island.

Initially, the group met twice per month, but after a couple of years moved to monthly gatherings to allow everyone enough time to read the assigned title. During the COVID pandemic shutdowns, when in-person meetings were not possible, the group continued to meet via Zoom, providing a much-needed source of socialization. While the group has returned to in-person meetings, some members with transportation issues or who reside out of state during the winter continue to participate virtually.

Each group participant selects a book provided to all members via the free Talking Books program. The ninety-minute meeting is focused on discussing the plot, characters, themes, and other topics related to the book.

In a recent survey of past and present Book Club members, 91% indicated that their primary reason for joining the group was to enjoy reading and discussing books. Many also said the group allows them to meet and socialize with others with vision impairments. Everyone agreed that they enjoy the program and that it has met most of their expectations.

The IN-SIGHT Book Club meets on the third Friday of each month from 10 AM – 11:30 AM at IN-SIGHT and via Zoom. For more information or to join, please use the Contact Form below to let us know.

Registration for summer programs is now closed. For more information, contact Lucille at (401) 941-3322.

Ceramics Workshops
Mondays, August 14, 21, and 28
10:30 AM – 12:00 PM
In-Person Workshop at Mudstone Studios

Join us at Mudstone Studios for our summer ceramics workshops. The summer series will be a guided project using the pottery wheel to make drums and bells. These instruments will be made using clay molded by each participant, maximizing creativity.

Staff from Mudstone Studios and IN-SIGHT are available to offer guidance and support. Mudstone Studios is located at 30 Cutler Street in Warren, RI, and is accessible via the RIde program.

Tissue Flower Bouquets
Friday, August 11
10:00 AM – 11:00 AM
In-Person Workshop at IN-SIGHT

Join IN-SIGHT Vision Rehabilitation Therapist Carla Ferreira for this creative workshop, where you will learn how to make tissue flower bouquets using various colored tissue paper and green pipe cleaner stems.

This outing is now sold out. For more information, contact Lucille at (401) 941-3322.

For this year’s summer outing on Thursday, August 24, we are heading to Webster, MA, home of the lake with the longest name of any place in the United States, Lake Char­gogg­a­gogg­man­chaugg­a­gogg­chau­bun­a­gung­a­maugg, for a peaceful ride on a historic paddlewheel riverboat and a relaxing lunch overlooking the water.

Motorcoach transportation will be available from the Westerly Senior Center and IN-SIGHT. Participants may also meet us at the Indian Ranch in Webster, MA.

The cost of this outing is $35 per person, which includes the boat ride and lunch. Agency donors are funding the cost of the motorcoach transportation. Each Visually Impaired Person (VIP) may bring one guest.

Cancellations must be made by Friday, August 11, to receive a refund.

Itinerary

On May 26, 2023, we packed up two carloads worth of tools and headed down to the Westerly Senior Center for a daylong workshop on building independence.

Thirteen clients and several family members learned about almost three dozen simple and inexpensive tools that can make a big difference for people with visual impairments. These items included things like 2020 pens, bump dots, signature guides, oven rack push pulls, and bold-lined paper.

After a delicious lunch, the participants learned about various assistive technology devices, including video magnifiers, smartphone apps, Talking Books machines, digital recorders, and computers.

As there is little public transportation in the Westerly area, it is often very difficult for clients from there to get to IN-SIGHT for individual training or small group workshops. This event was an effort to bring this important information and skills to them.

IN-SIGHT’s spring client outing on May 1, 2023, featured a visit to the Wicked Tulip Farm in Preston, CT, followed by lunch at the Matunuck Oyster Bar and ice cream at the Green Line Apothecary.

Thirty-three clients and several sighted guests enjoyed the opportunity to walk through vast fields of thousands of tulip blooms featuring a variety of bright colors. Each participant picked ten stems, which were wrapped so that they could bring them home and enjoy them.

2022 Donor Impact Report

2022 Audited Financial Statements

2022 Internal Revenue Service Form 990

In early April, IN-SIGHT sponsored a free screening of the film Going Blind, which tells the stories of a handful of people learning to adjust to the challenges of living with a visual impairment.

More than sixty people, including those with visual impairments and their family members, attended the event at the Warwick Public Library. The program aimed to help the participants realize that their experiences with vision loss are not unique and that training and support make anything possible. For family members, the hope was that they would better understand the challenges their loved one faces and the best ways to offer support.

After the program, participants were mailed a survey and asked what they learned from the film. Here are some of their comments:

• ” I am not alone.”
• “Life goes on after blindness. 1000x harder emotionally than physically.”
• “People can function in society and even be productive despite their blindness.”
• “I feel that my husband became better aware of my disability.”

In early April, a group of IN-SIGHT clients got together to learn how to make two simple desserts: personal-sized trifles and robin nests created with puffed rice or pretzel sticks. With just a few ingredients, no need for cooking, and just a couple of steps, the desserts were the perfect way for folks to increase their confidence in preparing delicious treats.

“With time, creativity, and ingenuity, making desserts and other cooking skills are possible,” said one participant after the program. Another said she planned to teach the techniques to the kids in her Sunday School class.

IN-SIGHT offers a wide range of individual and small group classes focused on kitchen skills, including adaptive techniques for measuring, pouring, reading recipes, using common small appliances, safely using the stovetop and oven, and operating the microwave. For more information, contact us!

Skills for Living with Vision Loss

Friday, May 26

10 AM – 2 PM

Westerly Senior Center

Join us for this free hands-on demonstration of skills and tools to help you be more confident and independent. Topics during this workshop will include:

• Simple and inexpensive tools that can make daily tasks more manageable, like 20/20 pens, signature guides, and bump dots. Each participant will receive some items to take home and use.

• Strategies for organizing and labeling items such as food, clothing, paperwork, and kitchen appliances to make them easier to find and use.

• Assistive technology devices such as video magnifiers, smartphone apps, tablets, and other items that can help with daily tasks.

A light lunch will be provided. Each participant may bring one sighted guest. Register using the form below:

Thank you to everyone who supported IN-SIGHT during this spring’s 401 Gives campaign. Over $18,000 was raised to support various programs, including our summer youth camp, adult learning workshops, supplies for our independent living programs, and much more.

401 Gives, an annual effort organized by the United Way of RI, builds support for more than 500 participating nonprofits statewide.