Touching God with Rabbi Lenny Sarko
White Canes Connect
In Episode 101 of "White Canes Connect," hosts David Goldstein and Lisa Bryant engage with Rabbi Lenny Sarko to discuss his pioneering work on the Braille Torah. Rabbi Sarko, who is visually impaired himself due to complications from diabetes, shares his unique journey of adapting the Torah into Braille to facilitate inclusive religious participation for the blind and visually impaired within the Jewish community. The episode delves into Rabbi Sarko's motivation, which stemmed from his fear of losing complete sight and realizing that no Hebrew Braille Torahs existed globally. This led him to...
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A Conversation with President Mark Riccobono to Celebrate Our 100th Episode
White Canes Connect
In this 100th episode of White Canes Connect, Mark Riccobono, President of the National Federation of the Blind, joins Lisa and David for a celebratory and insightful discussion. President Riccobono reflects on the podcast's journey, emphasizing its role in amplifying the voices of the blind community and fostering a sense of belonging and empowerment. He shares his journey with blindness, highlighting the transformative impact of finding mentorship and a supportive community within the Federation. President Riccobono discusses the significance of advocacy, the evolution of technology...
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DCIU's Vision: Success for All Students
White Canes Connect
While educating a child with a disability can be challenging, the Delaware County Intermediate Unit, or DCIU, offers many tools and supports to meet that challenge head-on, preparing every student for a successful future! In this episode of White Canes Connect, Simon Bonenfant speaks with Jason Gonzalez, DCIU Professional Development Specialist, and Holly Short, DCIU Orientation and Mobility instructor, as they discuss the wide range of service offerings the DCIU provides, each unique to every student. The DCIU will hold two upcoming transition fairs for parents and students in Delaware...
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See the Spectrum: Understanding Low Vision
White Canes Connect
In this episode of White Canes Connect, presented by the National Federation of the Blind of Pennsylvania and hosted by Lisa Bryant and David Goldstein, listeners are treated to an enlightening conversation on living with low vision, commemorating February as Low Vision Awareness Month. The episode featured insights from Certified Vision Rehabilitation Therapists Lachelle Smith from Salus University and Steve Kelley from Hadley, alongside Pam Baquaro, a blind vendor and President of the Pennsylvania Association of Blind Merchants. The discussion highlighted the challenges and misconceptions...
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Beyond Blood Sugar: The Full Diabetes Prevention Plan
White Canes Connect
In this episode of White Canes Connect, hosts Lisa Bryant and David Goldstein explore the Diabetes Prevention Program with special guests Joani Schmeling from the Health Promotion Council and NFB of PA President Lynn Heights, a diabetes coach. The program, developed by the CDC, is designed to support individuals with prediabetes through lifestyle changes over a year, emphasizing the importance of diet, exercise, and stress management. Lisa shares her commitment to participating in the program, highlighting its potential to prevent the progression from prediabetes to diabetes, a...
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A Conversation with Blind Black Leaders Dr. Carolyn Peters & Sabrina Rice"
White Canes Connect
In this episode of White Canes Connect, Lisa and David speak with Dr. Carolyn Peters and Sabrina Rice from the National Organization of Blind Black Leaders. They discuss the importance of the organization and when it became a division of the National Federation of the Blind. They review all the planned Black History Month events the organization presents (see the listing below, along with the Zoom links.) The ladies also explain how important it is to simply show up and the difference that it makes. Show notes at Links Mentioned Learn more about Eye Learn...
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Arts Access for All: Introducing the Audio Description Learning Network
White Canes Connect
In this episode of White Canes Connect, Simon Bonenfant speaks with ADLN program coordinator Lee Etzold and newly trained audio describer Gina Pisasale as they discuss how the program was formed, how the training was conducted, and who was selected to participate. They also discuss the strong support team of blind and visually impaired coaches, other audio describer mentors, and audio description trainees. While audio-described performances in the Philadelphia area have been available for quite some time, there is a need for more audio describers, particularly from diverse backgrounds....
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Diabetes Awareness: A Conversation with NFB's Leading Voices
White Canes Connect
In this episode of White Canes Connect, Lisa and David speak with Christine Palmer, the organizer of the NFB of PA's Diabetes Support Group, Debbie Wunder, the President of the NFB's Diabetes Action Network, and Anil Lewis, NFB Executive Director and DAN Second Vice President about diabetes. Christine tells us why she wanted to start the group here in Pennsylvania. Debbie explains that one in four people don't even know that they are diabetic. She also mentions that diabetes is the number one cause of blindness. Anil discusses the structure of the NFB and its Divisions and the...
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January 2024 Monthly Digest
White Canes Connect
Welcome to our January 2024 monthly Digest: a monthly newsletter of the National Federation of the Blind of Pennsylvania! The events and information listed below will be within the National Federation of the Blind of Pennsylvania and any pertinent information from the National Federation of the Blind and the Pennsylvania blind community. If you or anyone you know have any upcoming events or information that can pertain to the blind community in Pennsylvania, please send them to Stacie Leap at by the 27th of the month so it can be added to our calendar for the following month. ...
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Recapping 2023 State Convention in Your Words
White Canes Connect
In this episode of White Canes Connect, Lisa and David look back at the 2023 NFB of PA State Convention with emails and a voicemail from attendees. The emails were read using AI, so let us know your thoughts. We also talk about the 2024 State Convention in Erie coming in November. We share some audio clips with holiday messages from previous guests of the podcast, like Suzy Wilburn from Southeastern Guide Dogs (,) Sue Brasel, The Blind Angel Gardener (,) and Juliette Warren from Philly Achilles () to name a few. We discuss some of our favorite episodes of the year and look at what will...
info_outlineIn this episode of White Canes Connect, we talk to Karthik Kannan, a co-founder of Envision, and Hope Hein, an Envision Ambassador. They tell us what led to the creation of the app that allows the blind and visually impaired to hear what they want to see. They also tell us about Envision Glasses and all of their great features.
Show notes at https://www.whitecanesconnect.com/013
Learn More About Envision
You can check out more about the app and the Envision Glasses at LetsEnvision.com. There is also a 14 day free trial you can download from the App Store or Google Play. Envision is hiring. Go to LetsEnvision.com/careers to see all of the jobs that are currently available.
Contact White Canes Connect
Do you have an idea for a show or know someone who we should feature on an upcoming podcast? Email us with any suggestions, questions or comments at [email protected].
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