Becki:
I'm Becki Zerr and welcome to Raising Kindness, a podcast all about promoting volunteerism within our community. Join me each month as I'm joined by my 12-year-old son, Bennett, and his friends demonstrating that together, despite my vision loss, we can definitely make a positive difference in others' lives. We may not always know what we're doing precisely, but we're going learn, meet new people and have a lot of fun during the process. So grab a friend and join us on our volunteering adventure that we call Raising Kindness.
Welcome to Raising Kindness, the video podcast that's all about volunteering and giving back to your community, regardless of your challenge or your age. I'm Becki Zerr and I'm your host that will be navigating us throughout this exciting journey. I'm going to be joined by 10 different organizations that we have the opportunity to volunteer at and give back to. Participating beside me at each of these volunteer activities will be my 12-year-old son, Bennett, as well as one of his amazing friends.
In addition to these adorable kids, you are likely going to notice my cute guide dog. She will be right by my side as she helps me navigate through each of these experiences. I'm a blind wife and mom, yet I'm here to prove that I can contribute to my society and give back in a meaningful way. Let's get started. In this episode of Raising Kindness, we had the opportunity to connect with an organization that is near and dear to my heart. As a person living with vision loss, I have to say that I've received so much support from the CNIB over the years. So let's just say that I was a little bit excited when I realized that there was an opportunity for us to volunteer and participate at this year's CNIB Kids Camp. Joining me today to tell us a little bit more about the CNIB foundation is Ashley Nemeth, Provincial Director for the Manitoba Saskatchewan region. Welcome to the show, Ashley.
Ashley:
Thanks, Becki.
Becki:
Can you just share a little bit of the history behind the CNIB and what brought the organization to where it is today?
Ashley:
Yeah, so CNIB is an organization that is more than a hundred years old. We were established out of two major events, those events being the Halifax explosion and World War I. We emerged from those two events as the primary vision rehabilitation organization in Canada and we now serve Canadians across the country offering quality of life programs for individuals who are blind or partially sighted. And so with that here in Saskatchewan, we offer all sorts of programs and those have evolved over the years and will continue to evolve. And we're always looking for different ways that we can serve the community.
Becki:
CNIB provides a variety of supports to people like myself living with various degrees of vision loss. And I'm just wondering if you could maybe share a few examples about how your services can directly impact the clients.
Ashley:
Our programs try to encompass the whole person. So focusing on everything from their emotional wellbeing, with peer support groups, for example, which are a huge part of what we offer. And peer support groups are more than just people coming together, sitting around a table and complaining about how the world wasn't made for them. It's really about supporting individuals in their vision loss journey, where they're at and where they want to go, having some laughs and some social time and being able to just be yourself in an environment where individuals understand what you're going through on some level. And so peer sports are a large part of what we do.
We also offer sports and recreation programs, which are really important for people. Sport and recreation is important for someone's mental health as well as their physical health and a lot of individuals, especially if they're new to vision loss, are nervous to go into a recreational program with fully able-bodied individuals, individuals who are sighted, and so we offer them the opportunity to try out something new, maybe it's a yoga class or a strength and fitness class, and then once they're comfortable with the skill and the activity, we encourage them to be able to participate in that activity outside of CNIB with their greater community. So we're working on building their skills, their confidence, but integrating them back into the community, because ideally we want individuals to feel confident and independent. They can participate in life fully within their community.
Becki:
So the CNIB is providing so many amazing supports that directly affect the clients. But in order for this to all take place, this organization does rely heavily on donations as well as volunteer supports. Can you maybe comment a little bit on the impact that volunteers are able to make?
Ashley:
Being a nonprofit, CNIB relies solely on donations and funding through grants to be able to provide the programs that we offer. Outside of the funds, because those funds are so limited, we also rely on volunteers to be able to offer those programs. So all of our programs are overseen by staff of CNIB, but they're volunteer-led and so we really want the community to be able to support each other and facilitate those programs and support each other through this vision loss journey. We wouldn't be able to offer the wide range of programs that we do without the support of our amazing volunteers and our team of staff rely heavily on our volunteers, and we see them as a part of our staff. And so they really are the backbone to CNIB and allowing us to offer the services that we do for our clients. I think it's great whenever kids can be involved.
I myself got my start at CNIB as a volunteer. I volunteered with CNIB long before I was an employee at CNIB and once I was employed, when you work in a nonprofit, many people know, your family becomes your extra employees. So my kids have also been voluntold to help out over the years. And I think allowing kids to volunteer and experience different things like working with individuals who have a disability builds empathy and kindness within our youth. And I think it's such a huge asset to our kids going into, as they grow and build their careers and figure out what they want to do, I think there's a lot of empathy and kindness missing today that we see and so having youth be involved is huge. And I think it also allows them to understand a little bit better that individuals who have a disability or a difference from them enjoy life and the same things that they do, maybe just a little bit differently, but they still are able to do all those same things and so I think it's amazing whenever we can have youth be involved in our programs and in volunteering.
Becki:
And if people would like to learn more about the CNIB and the services that they provide or how they can get involved themselves, where can they best find this information?
Ashley:
The best place to go would be to our website, so CNIB.ca. There is a volunteer interest form on our website that you can fill out and if you have any questions, we'd be happy to answer them.
Becki:
Thanks so much, Ashley, for taking time on a year busy day to come and have a conversation with me.
Ashley:
Thanks, Becki.
Becki:
Next up, I'm excited to welcome a long-running volunteer of the CNIB, Michelle. Welcome to the show, Michelle.
Michelle:
Thanks, Becki.
Becki:
Michelle, I'm wondering if you can share what got you started with volunteering at the CNIB.
Michelle:
I've been a CNIB client since I was a little kid. So it just seemed natural that as I grew to be an adult, I used that as an opportunity to give back.
Becki:
Clearly, you've been doing this for a while. So I could imagine that you've had quite the array of volunteer opportunities with them. Can you maybe share a few examples of some different volunteer opportunities that are available at the CNIB that you're aware of?
Michelle:
Sure. There's the summer Kids Camp for youth with sight loss. We used to have Night Steps as one of CNIB's fundraisers. They've had a few online events with COVID and things. In the past... That's kind of the two big ones I can really think of.
Becki:
So today, the kids and I had an opportunity to volunteer during a small component of the CNIB Kids Camp, and obviously the kids camp it's designed for kids within the community who are blind or partially sighted and it's just a really great opportunity for them to get together and be with kids that are themselves. And I have to say just how much laughter and happiness was just flowing through that entire environment. It was just so much fun for everybody. But I'm just curious, Michelle, from your perspective, what impact do you think that volunteers can make on participating in things like the Kids Camp?
Michelle:
Well, with lots of different nonprofit organizations, volunteers are vital to day-to-day operations or helping with the kids camps, helping with just the organization in general. So I would say they're very vital and it doesn't take much to volunteer.
Becki:
What would you say to somebody who's considering volunteering at the CNIB?
Michelle:
Practice your verbal skills. So things like the chair is three feet to your left or the table is 10 feet to your right, rather than just the table is over there. Cause folks that are partially sighted or totally blind won't know where over there is. So that's one thing that might be beneficial if you could go in having that practiced, you'll be set.
Becki:
I love that because I still say to my family, I catch them every once in a while, and they're like, "Just right in front of you, right over there." I'm like, "Where's there?" That's not an actual direction, but that's a great tip to have, I think. But what do you find to be the most rewarding part of volunteering in general?
Michelle:
Learning some of the new techniques like TikTok and Snapchat and some of the new things that are out there, like the floss dance, and I don't know, things that I just never knew existed when I was a kid. Or on the flip side, just teaching the younger kids that they're going to be fully functioning adults someday. They're still going to have sight loss, they're still going to have a disability, how do you be an adult in an adult world and do adult things when you have sight loss?
Becki:
That peer support, it's so vital. I completely agree. But I'm wondering what your thoughts are, obviously you know that Bennett, his friend, Ryland and myself, spent a little bit of time at the Kids Camp today. What are your thoughts on sighted kids being part of the volunteer force at the CNIB?
Michelle:
It's a good idea. Lots of siblings have... like I have an older brother and a younger brother that are fully sighted. So it's good to get them... And they're going to understand what it's like to have somebody who has sight loss, because they're just used to it. So it's nice to be able to have that integration of sighted people and able-bodied people mixing with folks that have disabilities. And everybody's helping everybody just as one big giant community.
Becki:
Absolutely. Thanks so much, Michelle, for coming on our little podcast today, and thanks so much for all of your amazing volunteering that you do for the CNIB, and really for the blind community in general. I know you do a ton and thanks for coming on the podcast.
Michelle:
Thanks. I thought I'd wear my green CNIB volunteer shirt from Night Steps for this occasion today. I thought that was appropriate attire.
Becki:
Totally. I have a blue one. Thanks for joining us. Well, we've made it to the part of the show where the kids are about to be unleashed. There's no filter, no rehearsing, but rather only the pure honest thoughts of what the kids thought of their volunteer experience. Today, I have with me my son, Bennett, whom you will see with me at each episode of Raising Kindness. And I also have one of Bennett's friends who will take turns appearing throughout the various episodes. Today, we're both excited to welcome his friend, Ryland. Welcome to the show guys.
Bennett:
Thank you.
Ryland:
Thank you.
Becki:
So this was both of your first times to volunteer for an organization, and I'm just wondering if we can start off our chat by having you share a little bit about what volunteer activity we participated in and a little bit about our day.
Bennett:
So we went to the CNIB Kids Camp and we went to, it was at the Northwest Leisure Center, and we went swimming, we played UNO and I actually didn't know until we were about halfway through, but the cards had in the top right and bottom left corner, hand corner, it had a little bit of braille which showed the number and the colour, I'm guessing. The kids didn't need to say it out loud because they could see enough to see what the person behind them or what the person played to play their card.
Becki:
Okay. I'm curious to hear what you guys thought about the experience. I mean, there were kids around your age who were blind or partially sighted. What was that like?
Ryland:
It was kind of surprising that they could do all the things that we do as normal, like kids and stuff. They could play basketball in the pool or play UNO with us before we went in the pool. So it was very surprising that they could do all that like normal kids.
Bennett:
And they very brutally beat Ryland and I at UNO.
Becki:
Was there anything that surprised you today that maybe you weren't expecting?
Bennett:
Yeah, they actually remembered our name. They were calling me and Ryland's name. Yeah. It was just super fun. Super fun.
Ryland:
And I have one more thing to add. It was kind of surprising that one of the kids, his name was Tegan or Keegan, I think.
Bennett:
Keegan.
Ryland:
And I was surprised that he could play football as he told us when we were introducing ourselves to him.
Bennett:
Yeah.
Becki:
Are there any last-minute thoughts or comments that you'd like to share?
Bennett:
I think it was a little bit easier for me to interact with the blind kids or partially sighted kids. I kind of actually forgot that the kids were blind.
Ryland:
It was a little hard, a little bit at the start hard for me to interact with them because I'm not used to talking to people that are blind or partially blind. So it was a different experience for me.
Becki:
Well kids, thanks so much for volunteering with me today at the CNIB Kids Camp. I had a total blast with you guys today. But before you two get up and run away, it's time to do what I think is one of the most exciting parts of the show. The Raising Kindness challenge. How this all works is at the end of each episode, the kids are going to put together a kindness challenge, encouraging you, our viewers, to get involved and help us spread kindness all around communities throughout the country. Once you've had the opportunity to complete the kindness challenge, I then want you to post your pictures on our social media pages. Post a picture and a description of what you did during the challenge. Then together, we can watch the positive impact that we're able to make.
Bennett:
So we, mom has a guide dog. Her name is Lulu. She is from the CNIB. And when I was little, I went and donate... or collected a whole bunch of durable dog toys from all of my family and like a whole bunch of people and we went and gave it to the CNIB guide dog puppies. And I know that they were so happy. So our challenge for you to do is to go to your local pet store and buy a durable dog toy and bring it to your local CNIB office of your choice and take a picture with you in front of the office with your dog toy and post it to our social media, include a description. It will brighten the dogs' day I know that. I'm looking forward to you guys doing the challenge. Thank you.
Becki:
I love that challenge you guys. What a fantastic idea. Lulu loves to play with her toys when she's off the harness. And I think you're going to make a lot of future guide dogs really happy. My takeaway from today's volunteer experience for me really wasn't too surprising. If I'm being completely honest, I kind of strategically plan to have the CNIB Kids Camp be our first volunteer opportunity. People who are blind or who don't have typical eyesight, sometimes for them going into a new environment and try new things can really stir up a lot of stress and anxiety. Trying to learn a new environment, communicate your needs to people and then trying to complete the new activity on top of it all. Well, let's just say that it can be a bit challenging to pull it all off successfully and feel really good about it.
Since I experienced my vision loss, which was about nine years ago now, I have been volunteering in different capacities with the CNIB. I've helped to do things like advocating for increased government funding, I've helped at other kids' camps, I've been their spokesperson on several occasions and I've been part of the Guide Dogs With Purpose planning committee. And last but not least, I'm currently serving on my second term for the CNIB Advisory Board of Directors. And I've received a lot of support from this organization over the years so I'm very happy to be able to give back in a way to them. But to see my son and his friend, Ryland, volunteering for the organization today, it just made me feel so proud. They interacted with the kids by being aware of their vision loss, but they didn't make it their primary focus, which I felt was absolutely fantastic.
Really to the onlooker, they would've just tagged them as a typical group of kids just playing and having fun. Overall to me, today was such a great day for somebody who is living with vision loss and considering volunteering, I would definitely consider recommending that they start off at the CNIB or a similar organization. It would be a great first step just to help you boost your confidence and get you started. And that brings us to the end of this episode of Raising Kindness. We look forward to seeing you participate in the kindness challenge, so be sure to tag us in on all of your social media accounts. Take care and thanks for watching.
And that's a wrap on this episode of Raising Kindness with me, Becki Zerr. Thanks so much to all of my guests and to you for tuning in. Be sure to check us out on social media. You'll find us on Facebook and Instagram, at raising.kindness.podcast and don't forget, you're going to want to like and subscribe to the podcast on YouTube and your favourite podcast platform. See you again soon.
