Story by Maggie Lindsay
On a warm day at the beginning of October, Foundation for Blind Children (FBC) held its annual White Cane Walk in honor of National White Cane Day. Along with the walk, familiar tables staffed by FBC employees and volunteers, as well as tables run by partner organizations like the Arizona Talking Book Library gave guests the opportunity to learn about the visually impaired community and the resources available. You would also have gotten the chance to walk along a pre-determined route to show your support for white cane awareness. But unlike previous years where the White Cane Walk was held at FBC or a nearby church, this year’s event was held outside the Arizona Science Center in downtown Phoenix.
White Cane Walk and the Arizona Science Center
FBC’s Event and Volunteer Coordinator, Cody Alvarez, and the Arizona Science Center’s Senior Manager of Science Experiences, Lauren Pool, Senior Scientist of New Audience Experience, Ren Martin, and Science Communicator of New Audiences, Hani Abdulle began planning the White Cane Walk back in February. Alvarez said, “I was just sharing with them the different events we do here, and Lauren was like yeah let’s do the White Cane Walk here.” Hosting the White Cane Walk downtown would be a win-win. She said it would be a publicity boost for both organizations. It gave people who visit the Arizona Science Center but don’t know about FBC the opportunity to learn about FBC and accessibility. It also gave people who visit FBC but who don’t know about the Center the opportunity to visit it. Alvarez said this year’s White Cane Walk was “…a great community opportunity… people had to come to our event to come to the Science Center.”
How I Enjoyed the White Cane Walk
Despite the 100-degree weather, around 200 guests came to the White Cane Walk this year, a number Alvarez said is comparable to previous years. Some of the guests were FBC staff who weren’t volunteering, or the families of kids in the SHARP program. I met the mother and aunt of a 2-year-old who was part of the Early Intervention Program. But I also met a family who had never heard of FBC before, and came to the White Cane Walk because they were curious about the event that was happening in the Science Center’s courtyard.
From my spot in the courtyard, I could hear how excited the people going on the walk were. As they gathered to start walking, kids were laughing and lots of people grabbed extra canes to show their solidarity. After they left, the courtyard was silent. Almost no one came to my table because they were all enjoying the walk. So, I visited some of the other tables. I made myself a PB&J sandwich at the FBC run table where people could learn to do that while wearing a blindfold. I also got to touch a machine that simulates how earthquakes make buildings fall at one of the tables run by an employee of the Arizona Science Center. Over the course of the White Cane Walk, I spelled more than 50 people’s names in Braille on note cards they could take home and decode using a handout.
Alvarez told me she thought the White Cane Walk was a success even though they had to cut the route short because of the heat. She said of FBC’s partnership with the Arizona Science Center, “Oh yeah it’s been absolutely awesome and it’s so cool because they’re so well-known and they have a lot of awesome resources that we can partner with them… and knowing that small changes within science experiments and stuff can make [science] accessible.” She hopes FBC and the Arizona Science Center can collaborate on future events. Hopefully, it’s not quite as hot next year!
