Thursday, July 09, 2009

Club VIBES teach special skills to the visually impaired

Club VIBES offers skills to visually impaired
Sue Buckley, second from right, teaches kitchen skills to visually impaired students, from left, Sarah Holloway, Erin Moore and Nicole Anderson at Buckley’s West Knoxville home. Buckley is helping the young women become more independent through an organization called Club VIBES, a mentoring program.

Photo by Briana ScrogginsNews Sentinel

Sue Buckley, second from right, teaches kitchen skills to visually impaired students, from left, Sarah Holloway, Erin Moore and Nicole Anderson at Buckley’s West Knoxville home. Buckley is helping the young women become more independent through an organization called Club VIBES, a mentoring program.

Sue Buckley, second from right, teaches kitchen skills to visually impaired students, from left, Sarah Holloway, Erin Moore and Nicole Anderson at Buckley’s West Knoxville home. Buckley is helping the young women become more independent through an organization called Club VIBES, a mentoring program.

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The lesson plans at Club VIBES include how-to's on flirting, cooking, socializing and even reading mail, all of which pose a unique challenge for the club's members.

Club VIBES, which stands for Visually Impaired and Blind Enhanced Services, is a mentoring program in Knoxville designed to help blind or visually impaired teens transition from high school to the work force or college.

Knoxville couple John and Sue Buckley spearheaded the program with the help of area vision teachers and some of the blind youth in the community.

Both John and Sue are blind themselves.

"John's been visually impaired his whole life," Sue Buckley said.

John Buckley was born with glaucoma and cataracts. By age 17, his vision was almost completely gone.

Sue Buckley's vision didn't completely disappear until she was 33.

The couple have learned to live life without sight. The pair can't drive, but they do just about everything else. They cook, clean, shop, manage a household and work. Sue Buckley even competes in triathlons. She placed third and second in her age division in her first two triathlons and was the only blind person to compete.

The Buckleys will pass the life skills they've learned over the years to the new members of Club VIBES. The group already has 15 members, more than John and Sue expected. The young men and women, most of whom are between ages 21 and 24, meet once a month.

During the meetings, the Buckleys said, they address members' concerns about finding employment, arranging transportation and living independently.

The Buckleys want to pick up where the school systems left off.

"The schools just don't have the time to keep up with all of the skills a blind or visually impaired person needs to know," Sue Buckley said.

On a recent afternoon, Nicole Anderson, Sarah Holloway and Erin Moore, all members of Club VIBES, met at the Buckley residence to cook.

The three girls sat around the table as Sue Buckley retrieved a large knife - just what she needed to show the girls how to cut a watermelon. One by one, the girls stepped up to the counter and placed their hands over Sue's to feel how Sue positioned the knife and guided it through the fruit.

"Teachable moments" - that's what Sue Buckley calls them.

The girls said they like to learn these various life skills, but they also value Club VIBES for another reason.

"I am just excited to be able to get together with other visually impaired people," Anderson said.

The group has loftier goals, though. The club's members will pass what they learn to younger children who are in a similar situation.

"Right now, the group has to learn to gel, but eventually we want them to do outreach in the schools," Sue Buckley said.

Lindsey Ziliak can be reached at 865-342-6336.

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