The 100 Mile House & District Blind & Visually Impaired White Cane Club is holding a surprise sale at the Cedar Crest Thrift Store to celebrate its third year working with the Cedar Crest Society.
The sale will run from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 21.
Lori Fry, one of the club’s founding members, said club members started working in the store on Sundays as a three-month pilot project.
Three years later, she said it’s proving to be a “win-win” collaboration.
Having club members work the thrift store on Sundays eliminated the issue of ransacked or weathered donations left out over the weekend.
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It’s also given the club a steady revenue stream and has relieved some fundraising pressure.
“It’s a social platform as well,” said Fry. “The public, generally speaking, are wonderful. We get a lot of feedback that customers really enjoy coming in on Sundays. It’s a festive atmosphere.”
Fry, who’s also a national representative for the Canadian Council of the Blind B.C./Yukon, said working in the public gives them the opportunity to educate and spread awareness of vision loss and blindness. Plus, it highlights the abilities rather than the disability, she said.
“We can still get out there and function.”
Fry said she’s noticing her vision impairment is deteriorating towards total blindness, but that she is still able to complete the tasks in the store.
“I just always tell people, ‘Just get out of my way.’” she laughed.
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The club, which is a chapter of the Canadian Council of the Blind, has been active for over 27 years.
There are 27 members including the vision impaired, legally blind and the sighted.
“You don’t have to be legally or totally blind to be a part of this group,” said Fry.
The club promoted education and awareness, serves as an informational resource to point people dealing with vision loss in the right direction, it advocates for accessibility, but its main goal, according to Fry, “is really helping an individual adjust to vision loss through social recreational activities, at their pace, at their level.”
She said there are some people who phone for advice or just to talk and wish to remain anonymous.
Fry even recalled thinking she didn’t need to belong to a support group.
But ultimately, she said it’s helped her to grow and adjust and she’s learned that “the easiest way to help yourself is to help others first.”
For more information about the club or for support with vision impairment, you may phone Lori Fry at 250-395-2452 or Marilyn Vinson at 250-395-4070.
beth.audet@100milefreepress.net
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