Blind Corps

Last Updated on: 26th January 2021, 05:10 am

I got an interesting email that I think deserves a post. I did a bit of googling, and nothing nasty comes up to say that it’s a scam or the founders aren’t to be trusted or whatever, so here goes.

Dear Friends and Family:

First thank you again for any and all support that you have given to Blind Corps in the past. As you know we had a very successful project last year with 32 graduating from our class. We were inspired by the eagerness of our participants to learn our approach to rehabilitation. We have been invited to provide our training again this year. In October we will provide instruction to 45 individuals the first week and 55 individuals the second week.

Our Blind Corps vision is that “We are opening doors into undiscovered worlds with the blind of developing nations.” Our purpose is to develop, motivate, promote and facilitate the hidden strengths and assets of the blind, and to assist them in building upon and enhancing living conditions and lifestyles for themselves. Our commitment is to extend and pass on the experience and success we have gained through our collective years of service working with the blind in the USA, in mutual and respectful exchange to blind persons of other nations. Because our Vice President, Fatos Floyd is a native of Turkey and was particularly familiar with resources and conditions in her homeland, it was only natural for Blind Corps to select Turkey as the location for our first service project.

While rehabilitation and services and general conditions for the blind to live, to work, to raise families, and otherwise enjoy a lifestyle of equality in the USA are far from perfect, they dramatically exceed anything imagined in developing nations. Practices and resources elsewhere in the world are often miserable at best. With your help we can go a long way toward addressing and correcting these existing realities. We have a pledge and commitment of support from interested individuals, organizations and Government in Turkey to provide transportation, lodging and meals to return our team of nine Blind Corps volunteer professionals to lead a two-week training and outreach program.

Additional partnership is needed to supply the necessary tools and equipment to outfit our trainees properly. Examples of materials we will need would include white canes, Braille writing and marking materials, sewing and cooking equipment, Braille compasses, and any functional used technology.
Your help is especially needed to assist with the acquisition of this and other material requirements. Finally, cash contributions to acquire the foregoing, as well as items that must be purchased in Turkey, are of course vital to the Project’s success.

Please accept our deepest thanks and gratitude for your kind generosity and consideration in this matter. We assure you that your gift will be put to the greatest use and service on behalf of the blind of Turkey. Please feel free to request a more detailed proposal for our project.

Blind Corps is a tax deductible non-profit corporation. For more information please visit our website atwww.blindcorps.org.

Respectfully,

Fatos Floyd, Vice President
Blind Corps

I think this is a great idea, and I hope it works out for them. I love the idea of teaching the methods to people who are from there so that they may continue the legacy. It’s also encouraging that the vice-president is from there, so she will know what would be considered acceptable and what would be thought of as pushing values on people to which they may not be receptive. I really hope that the group can carry it out. If they can, it will mean a lot, possibly inspiring others to do similar things in other countries. India and Pakistan spring to mind.

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