This upcoming event of the Blind & Vision Rehabilitation Services of Pittsburgh may be of interest to older adults and caregivers in your communities.
Age-Related Vision Challenges
Blindness Awareness Day for Seniors and their families
Saturday, May 7, 2011
9:30 a.m.—noon
Radisson Hotel, Green Tree
101 Radisson Drive
off the Parkway West Green Tree exit
Registration starts at 9:00 a.m.; no charge / free parking.
This Blindness Awareness Day focuses on age-related vision loss with presentations by these specialists, who will discuss what the diseases are; the symptoms; what treatments are available, and where you can go for help.
Dr. Louis Lobes – Macular Degeneration
Dr. Marshall Stafford – Cataracts and Glaucoma
There will be ample time for your questions for the specialists. The event also will include demonstrations of low-vision aids aimed at helping those who are losing their vision learn to improve and enjoy their lives.
Blindness Awareness Day is made possible by The Bureau of Blindness and Visual Services Pennsylvania Association for the Blind* presented by Blind & Vision Rehabilitation Services of Pittsburgh
1800 West Street, Homestead, PA 15120, 412-368-4400.
www.blindvr.org
*with funds provided by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act
Friday, April 22, 2011
Thursday, April 21, 2011
Top Ten Most Frequently Challenged Books-2010
An entry from the Office for Intellectual Freedom's Blog:
The Office for Intellectual Freedom has released its Top Ten Most Frequently Challenged Books list of 2010, as part of ALA’s State of America’s Library report during National Library Week.
1. And Tango Makes Three, by Peter Parnell and Justin Richardson
2. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, by Sherman Alexie
3. Brave New World, by Aldous Huxley
4. Crank, by Ellen Hopkins
5. The Hunger Games, by Suzanne Collins
6. Lush, by Natasha Friend
7. What My Mother Doesn’t Know, by Sonya Sones
8. Nickel and Dimed, by Barbara Ehrenreich
9. Revolutionary Voices, edited by Amy Sonnie
10. Twilight, by Stephenie Meyer
And Tango Makes Three is an award-winning children’s book about the true story of two male Emperor Penguins hatching and parenting a baby chick at New York’s Central Park Zoo. The book has appeared on the ALA’s Top Ten List of Frequently Challenged Books for the past five years and returns to the number one slot after a brief stay at the number two position in 2009 behind Lauren Myracle’s Internet girl series ttyl, ttfn, and l8r g8r. There have been dozens of attempts to remove And Tango Makes Three from school and public library shelves. Those seeking to remove the book have described it as ”unsuited for age group,” and cited “religious viewpoint” and “homosexuality” as reasons for challenging the book.
OIF recorded a total of 348 challenges in 2010. For every challenge reported to OIF, however, we estimate that there are 4 or 5 challenges that go unreported. We continue to monitor challenge situations across the country, providing information and assistance to librarians and teachers facing attempts to remove or restrict materials in schools and libraries. The good news is that, thanks to the dedication of countless individuals, materials do remain accessible to users in a majority of cases. OIF thanks you for your work and commitment to defending the freedom to read! Check out our challenges to library materials page for more information on how to report a challenge and get support from the Office for Intellectual Freedom.
Banned Books Week will be held September 24 through October 1, 2011.
Free Training for Seniors and Caregivers
Below is information from our partners at the Consumer Health Coalition on a FREE training next week for seniors and caregivers.
The training is being done by a national group, “Community Catalyst” and by Consumer Health Coalition. The focus is to educate folks on how to be a better advocate and a self advocate and how to utilize one’s personal story to make it powerful, compelling, and impacting.
Here are details:
WHAT: “Lift Up Your Voice” Advocacy Training for Seniors and Caregivers
WHEN: Tuesday, 26 April and Wednesday, 27 April, 4:30 pm – 6:30 pm --- Dinner provided both nights!
WHERE: 4 Allegheny Center, Mezzanine Room, Pittsburgh, PA 15212 --- on the North Side!
To register, please contact Sally Jo Snyder at (412) 456-1877 x 203 or ssnyder@consumerhealthcoalition.org
The training is being done by a national group, “Community Catalyst” and by Consumer Health Coalition. The focus is to educate folks on how to be a better advocate and a self advocate and how to utilize one’s personal story to make it powerful, compelling, and impacting.
Here are details:
WHAT: “Lift Up Your Voice” Advocacy Training for Seniors and Caregivers
WHEN: Tuesday, 26 April and Wednesday, 27 April, 4:30 pm – 6:30 pm --- Dinner provided both nights!
WHERE: 4 Allegheny Center, Mezzanine Room, Pittsburgh, PA 15212 --- on the North Side!
To register, please contact Sally Jo Snyder at (412) 456-1877 x 203 or ssnyder@consumerhealthcoalition.org
Tuesday, April 19, 2011
Directory of Health Centers and Clinics for the Underinsured or Uninsured
Allegheny County Health Department has recently expanded and updated its directory of local health centers and clinics that serve people with minimal or no health insurance.
Click here to access the directory as a PDF.
Click here to access the directory as a PDF.
Friday, April 15, 2011
Screen-Free Week
Allegheny County Department of Human Services Encourages Kids and Adults to Go Screen-Free April 18-24
PITTSBURGH—The Allegheny County Department of Human Services will join thousands of schools, libraries and community groups nationwide in a coordinated effort to encourage millions of Americans to turn off televisions, computers and video games from April 18-24 and turn on the world around them. Screen-Free Week is a chance for children to spend more time with friends and family reading, playing, pursuing hobbies and being more physically active. “Screen-
Free Week is a much-needed opportunity to remind children and families of the alternatives to allowing the screen media to dominate our lives,” said Glenna Wilson, DHS Office of Community Services Safe Start coordinator. “We hope this awareness week will encourage everyone to make screen-free time a significant part of their lives so they can rediscover the joys of life disconnected from technology.”
On average, preschool children spend more than four and a half hours a day consuming screen media, while older children spend more than seven hours a day, including multi-tasking. Excessive screen time is linked to significant problems for children, including childhood obesity, poor school performance, sleep disturbances and problems with attention span.
Screen-Free Week (formerly TV-Turnoff) is coordinated by the Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood, a national advocacy organization devoted to reducing the impact of commercialism on children. Since the week’s founding in 1994, it has been celebrated by millions of children and their families worldwide.
For more information, visit www.alleghenycounty.us/dhs/screen-free-week2011.aspx .
For national information, visit http://www.screenfree.org/ .
PITTSBURGH—The Allegheny County Department of Human Services will join thousands of schools, libraries and community groups nationwide in a coordinated effort to encourage millions of Americans to turn off televisions, computers and video games from April 18-24 and turn on the world around them. Screen-Free Week is a chance for children to spend more time with friends and family reading, playing, pursuing hobbies and being more physically active. “Screen-
Free Week is a much-needed opportunity to remind children and families of the alternatives to allowing the screen media to dominate our lives,” said Glenna Wilson, DHS Office of Community Services Safe Start coordinator. “We hope this awareness week will encourage everyone to make screen-free time a significant part of their lives so they can rediscover the joys of life disconnected from technology.”
On average, preschool children spend more than four and a half hours a day consuming screen media, while older children spend more than seven hours a day, including multi-tasking. Excessive screen time is linked to significant problems for children, including childhood obesity, poor school performance, sleep disturbances and problems with attention span.
Screen-Free Week (formerly TV-Turnoff) is coordinated by the Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood, a national advocacy organization devoted to reducing the impact of commercialism on children. Since the week’s founding in 1994, it has been celebrated by millions of children and their families worldwide.
For more information, visit www.alleghenycounty.us/dhs/screen-free-week2011.aspx .
For national information, visit http://www.screenfree.org/ .
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)