SHARP builds confidence, independence and friendships for kids with visual impairments

SHARP programs return for the summer at Foundation for Blind Children. SHARP is designed for kids and teens with visual impairments to develop social skills, independence and confidence. Equally as important, the program connects visually impaired kids with peers just like them through fun activities.

SHARP also runs every Saturday throughout the school year. Past participants from the 2021-22 school year capture the success of the program best. Read their favorite memories below typed themselves during an assistive technology session:

Nikhilesh
My favorite memory from Sharp this year is going to the farmer’s market. You can see everything and you can taste food. People can get things for their house. So I liked going to the farmer’s market!

Cattleya
My favorite memory is the county fair. My favorite part was going on the Carousel with Ms. Claire. I liked how it spins. SHARP is fun!

Kyah
My favorite memory is learning math in school. I like to work with Miss Ringolle. I am almost a first grader. I can’t wait to use the big playground!

Laila
My favorite memory of sharp is the science center, because it was fun learning and having fun at the same time. My favorite thing was the forces of nature, we stand in the middle of this black thing and different effects happen. I would totally go to the science center again.

Isaac
My favorite thing was go0ing to a picnic and riding a two seater bike with an adult in the park.

Alex
One of my favorite memories at Sharp was when we had gone to the spring fair. It was one of my favorite events because all of us had a good time and I went on one of the biggest rides there! Another event that I enjoyed was Summer Sharp. This was one of the best summers I have ever had because I got to hang out with my friends and we made one of the best podcasts ever (in my opinion) i also met some really cool teachers like Mrs. Cassy, Mrs.Claire and Mrs. Veronica (who took care of me for Daisy lol).I also got to go backstage of it all because my aunt Daisy works here, this was cool because i got to come early and basically eat anything from the teachers lounge.

Ahmare
My favorite Sharp day was the Lock-In, because the food was good, and I played Minecraft with Alex and Hayden. I also enjoyed the time when Jennifier killed the Minecraft horse. She used the leather to make a shirt from the horse. I also enjoyed when I saw Jennifier eat the horse like it was a piece of cheddar cheese. And drank the blood like she didn’t drink for a year. I also enjoyed it when we went bowling.

Ashley
One of my favorite memories was playing among us in real life in the summer. My friend Alex was an impostor. We got to play air hockey. It was fun. Do a pizza with my friends. The last day of summer we went. My fun teachers that I met were Ms.Athena…and Mackenzie ms claire and Ms. cassy and Ms. veronica And Ms. code they are fun. A fun thing was Doing the rockwalk. Also, a fun thing I did was art class . Another cool thing I did was cook different things.

Another thing I did was go to the technology we do different things on the computer. I met lots of friends like alex and my sister Leilanny pass this year.

Jennifer
One memory that is a favorite of mine is when I went to my first cane quest this year. Another favorite memory of mine is when I went to Bumble Bee Ranch and we rode on the horses and when we did karaoke.

Nithin
At FBC it is fun. We play, do things, and use a cane. We learn to use a puck, bat, and a telcolongy. We also cooked and played beep kickball. These are all the things that I like at FBC.

Frances:
During this year of sharp, the activity that I enjoyed the most was The market place that we did in january. This event allowed me to make beautiful pieces of art and sell them. Doing this I was able to earn over one hundred dollars meaning I reached my goal of saving up for an iPad for school and personal activities. So far it has helped me an incredible amount. I am even teaching myself to better do digital art. I hope to eventually be able to sell the art I make on a regular basis.

Another activity I loved was taking part in the second bumble bee ranch. Knowing my hobbies Of horseback riding, It was another activity that just made me smile being able to do the things I love most. Before I started horseback riding it was the few times a year that I got to ride horses. I am so grateful that I was able to take part in this year of sharp.

Julian
My favorite part of this sharp year was when we went to BumbleBee Ranch! To me, I liked how we had to ride horses and more. Such as we went on the razors. Karaoke. And got to have a cabin instead of a tent, I was grateful for that. It was also the only trip I went on this year. It was really fun and I had a great time there. I cannot wait for next year. I love Sharp!

Marilin
Once upon a time we were little and came to sharp and that is when the memories begin the life of our SHARP story. SHARP has been fun! It has probably changed our life with the activities we do. For example cooking, tech, and sports help us to be more active indoors or outdoors. We also learned how to create art by painting and drawing. My favorite part about SHARP is going on multiple field trips like going camping and exploring Phoenix. I have also made new friends every year!

Zoe
I liked when we went to Bumble Bee Ranch. My favorite part of Bumble Bee Ranch was the horses. My horse’s name was Mico. My horse was really nice but sometimes it went into a canter. It was really fun. I liked riding freely the most.

I also liked the hummers. They went fast but most of the time we were going slow stuck behind the other hummers. For the most part it was fun besides the dust that got all over us.

The little thing like at the end talking and eating candy. I also liked at night me and meadow were the only ones who slept outside. We gotta talk all night.

Heaven
I Liked when we went to the county fair and went on the Hawaiian express. I went to the swing. I like the rides that go fast at the fair. I went on the bumper car ride. I love sharp!

Emily
When we were in Sharp there were many memories that were made with lots of people. Although there were a bunch of great memories there is one memory that will stay with me for years to come. That one memory that will stay with me is when they had their lockin after not being able to due to covid. When they had the lock-in I highly remember that I hung out with in my opinion the best people. I also remember that the people who started up later than the others ended up staying up the whole night. We planned to stay up till seven in the morning and we started this challenge at midnight. I do remember that when the time got closer to seven, more of the people that decided to stay up started to fall asleep, and the people who stayed up got more crazy as time went on. When we were getting closer towards the time we had found ways to pass the time. Things that made us laugh and made us feel like time was passing by rather quickly, while it really wasn’t. This has become one of my favorite memories that I’ve had because it helped me escape the reality of the world during that time and have been able to feel the feeling of a sleepover again since covid made that quite challenging.

Eric
My favorit about sharp is when we went to the fair.

Joaquin
My favorite part about SHARP this year was tandem biking. I liked that we did it in a place that we could ride for a long ways. I got to ride on the back of the bike. It felt really good to be on a bike again. I would absolutely like the chance to ride a tandem bike again.

Andrea
My favorite part of SHARP this year was playing the spider tactile game in fitness. I liked that the game was playable with multiple people,.this game was more fun than I expected. This is my final day at sharp, before I ae outoin hear on the weekends and seein

Leo
My first time at SHARP was when I went to Super Saturday because everyone was excited for me when I came back to SHARP. Another memory from SHARP was when I went to the golf event. I am not good at golf, but I am good at beep kickball. Another event I liked was when we rode the tandem bikes.