Speaker 0 00:01:02 And good evening. Thank you for joining disability and progress, where we bring you insights into ideas about and discussions on disability topics. My name is Sam. I'm the host of this show. Thanks so much for tuning in Charlene doll is my research team. Hello, Charlene,
Speaker 2 00:01:20 Rudy evening, everyone.
Speaker 0 00:01:22 Tonight, we have us a two-part program. And our second part, I hope you'll hang with me to hear about Jim justice and talking about I link he'll tell us what they're doing and, and what they've been up to. But first we have the 2022 top dog convention or conference where with Sarah Calhoun, Sarah's treasurer for Missouri guide dog users. Good evening, Sarah.
Speaker 2 00:01:52 Hello. Thank you.
Speaker 0 00:01:55 Thank you so much for joining us. We really appreciate it. I also want to take just a quick note to remind people that if you'd like to be on our email list to find out great things like this that are coming up, you can email
[email protected]. That's disability and
[email protected] and you can find out what's coming up each week. And also occasionally we send out something really interesting too, in regards to disability stuff. So thanks again, Sarah. Um, first of all, can you tell us what is the 2022? Uh, well, what is top dog conference to begin with?
Speaker 2 00:02:35 Okay, well thank you. And thank you so much for the invitation to be on your show. I'm top dog. It started around 2006, um, sometime in that area and it was hosted by, um, three, uh, guide dog, uh, groups, one Dixie land guide, dog users, and they're located in South Carolina and then you have Georgia guide dog users, and then you had guide dog users of Florida, and they would, uh, kind of like take turns hosting top dog, and they would have it every other year. And, um, so that's how that started. And then in, uh, 2019, it was in, uh, uh, South Carolina in Charleston, and then they put, they made an announcement that if any other, uh, guide dog organization would be interested in hosting to let them know. And so Missouri guide dog users said, yes, we would love to host it one year. So a little bit that started.
Speaker 0 00:03:57 Yeah. I remember seeing, um, announcements in regards to top dog in the past years and thinking the topics looked so fascinating. Um, but of course I never had enough money to go. And finally, when I did there was COVID so, you know how that goes. So I'm really happy. I've talked a couple of times about this conference, telling people how interesting, I thought it looked and, um, trying to get people to plan to meet there so we could kind of have a little reunion, you know, so I noticed that, well, tell us how it works. Like what happens, how long is it in and what goes on during that time in general?
Speaker 2 00:04:40 Oh, okay. Um, the, for this year and we did have it planned for 2021 COVID, you know, so anyway, now we're into 2022 and we're all in full swing, but it begins on may Thursday, May 19th of this year. And then it's the last day is Sunday the 22nd, but the main of bet will be, uh, all day Saturday. Um, but Thursday night we have, um, the, where the hotel is situated. It's in, uh, Westport Plaza in St. Louis, Missouri. And there is an kind of like an outside mall right there, uh, next to the hotel. And so you can just walk out, you don't have to worry about crossing streets or a sidewalk, and then there's restaurants and there's stores and different, uh, venues. And one of the places is funnybone comedy club. And we are going to have a group going to funny bone on that Thursday night and then Friday, um, we were working on some tours.
Speaker 2 00:05:58 We not sure that is going to develop or not. Um, but, um, we will have some kind of an activity on Friday after noon. Um, Friday night we have a pizza party, it's a meet and greet. So there'll be a great time to meet your friends or make new ones there. And then Saturday is when we will have, uh, all of the presentations and the guide dog school updates and, um, door prizes. We're going to have raffles, we'll have a bag with, um, just all kinds of the activities on Saturday and starting on Thursday, we will have an exhibitor and vendors room. So, um, there'll be some fun things to buy and guidelines. The gadgets will be there and, and Sensi and the schools, a lot of the school representatives will be there.
Speaker 0 00:06:58 Okay. How many of the school representatives usually show up?
Speaker 2 00:07:02 Well, I know that one in 2019 very had 11 and right now we have, uh, six and of course they're kind of coming in, you know, a little bit, but, um, so I'm sure we'll be, have a few more that will come, uh, to the conference.
Speaker 0 00:07:26 So how do you decide each year where it will be, how do you decide who's taking turns now you have, do you have, did I understand you have three people or four and the list?
Speaker 2 00:07:38 Um, not well counting Missouri guide dog users, there's we're number four. Um, and I'm not really sure how it will be, um, uh, introduced to other organizations, uh, for the 20, what 24, um, most likely get in. We would be getting in touch with the, uh, president of the big C land, Georgia guide dog users in Florida to see how they want to handle it since they are the primary. I, you know, um, organizations that, that got this started. So, um, I'm sure we'll refer to them and they might want to put it on again. And
Speaker 0 00:08:27 So I'm wondering, you know, I know the pandemic kinda skewed things a little bit, but a lot of people kind of had a virtual presence of some sort. Um, was there any particular reason why you guys decided not to do that?
Speaker 2 00:08:44 Well, we did think about it and, um, there is a lot of planning, uh, to, as you know, to put on a virtual or a portion of it. And right now we don't have the expertise plus the funding. Um, we did get hit a little hard with, uh, far as the sponsors that originally were going to help us when we were going to be a sponsor 2020, uh, one, but a cool COVID, you know, and everybody's watching them money. We understand that. So, and then the extra cost and plus trying to put it together so quickly, I just don't know if we could, um, unless there's some other ideas that, cause that's not an, an area that I know much about.
Speaker 0 00:09:41 Yeah. It does take a little bit of a savviness of that kind of, you know, computer room stuff. Um, I wonder, so did you say the exhibit place or the place that we'll be hosting? Little things to look at is Friday or Saturday?
Speaker 2 00:10:01 Uh, well, um, it will be, uh, Friday and Saturday and we will have the, the room, the vendor and exhibitors room open on Thursday for those who are coming in on Thursday, if they want to set up on Thursday, most likely after noon, but for sure, Friday and Saturday,
Speaker 0 00:10:24 How big is the exhibit room?
Speaker 2 00:10:27 Well, I know they have at least 20 tables. Um, they're like the six feet by 32 inch tables. So, and I believe if we needed more, we would be able to, the hotel would be able to accommodate, but
Speaker 0 00:10:47 Does it cost to be an exhibitor
Speaker 2 00:10:50 $25 a day? And if you need electric, uh, and this is the hotel, um, guidelines that they would come in and put down a, a power strip and that is $10 a day. That's um, what they charge
Speaker 0 00:11:11 That's really quite inexpensive. When you think about how much it costs to be in some of these other conventions.
Speaker 2 00:11:18 Um, yeah, we wanted to keep it low so everyone could benefit. Yeah.
Speaker 0 00:11:26 And his top dog of 5 0 1 C3,
Speaker 2 00:11:30 Well, not top, top, not top dog, but Missouri guide dog users are 5 0 1 C3
Speaker 0 00:11:38 Conferences just type top dog, but you it's, whatever guide dog users, um, state hosts it, correct. It's kind of umbrella tender.
Speaker 2 00:11:48 Yes, yes. Correct. Yeah.
Speaker 0 00:11:51 What will be covered? Um, on Saturday, as far as lectures, I know you have some lectures and things like that, that you're planning. Can you talk a little bit about what you'll be doing?
Speaker 2 00:12:01 Sure, sure. Well, um, uh, as I mentioned, Friday night, the pizza party and that is that, uh, we're hosting that. So there's no charge for that. And then Saturday, we will have the opening ceremony we are going, and this has been a huge favorite in past, um, top dog is have a blessing of the dogs and handlers and anyone who wants to participate can, and, uh, normally there's at least two, maybe three, uh, pastures and then one at a time. And we will have volunteers to help with this you and your guide dog, and, uh, go up to one of the pastors and then they will say a blessing for you and your dog. And we usually, there's a little token that is handed out. It's been different things in the past of, you know, a pin across with his opinion of the cross on it or something like that.
Speaker 2 00:13:02 And then, um, after that, then there will be a little time for, to remember retired or guide out to that across the rainbow bridge. And then we will have the, um, uh, the guide dog schools. The representatives will be able to talk each school and give an update on, uh, what they're doing and any new things down the pipeline. And of course there's always time for questions. And then we will have a, uh, a representative, um, talk about transportation. As we know, that's kind of been, uh, uh, especially with the airlines that changes and things like that. Yes. And we will have, um, we're going to have what we call a wag walk, where we can all in a group, get out and with volunteers and then walk, um, like through the Plaza, the outdoor Plaza and, uh, in 2014, uh, Missouri guide dog users, we hosted America's guide dog conference.
Speaker 2 00:14:15 And we did that and it was a lot of fun. So we thought we would do that here at top dog, and then we'll have lunch. And, um, then we'll have another, um, presenter talking about advocacy. And, uh, then we will have for the bank, w our keynote speaker is Tony Ames and she Tony and her husband, but he had named, had passed away. They started the international association of assistance, dog partners, I AADP, and, uh, that organization is still going strong. And what is, it is a, uh, an organization that supports guide dog handlers, service dog, not just guide dog, but service dogs, whether whatever type of the service dog you have with, um, uh, they do have a benefit of, uh, it's a flea and tick. They, uh, you get some free flea, tick and consequent. You can get that three through them. And I think there's another type of a supplement that they offer as well, and they have newsletters and, uh, keep their members updated on what's going on within the, the S the service, you know, the dogs and service world guide dogs, service animals. Yup.
Speaker 0 00:15:57 Are they ACB or NFB affiliated?
Speaker 2 00:16:01 I believe they're both. I know ACB, but a lot of other, um, but anybody I know anybody does, if you're a member of NFP ACB, it doesn't matter, but I know they're not, uh, strictly affiliated with just one got the national,
Speaker 0 00:16:23 I wonder, how does top dog decide the topics that it's going to have on each, every other year, right. Every other year? How does it decide the topics?
Speaker 2 00:16:34 Ah, well, that's, um, uh, we have within the organization, the top dog team, you might say, and then there's separate committees and the committees will try to bring out what the topic, the main topics are in the guide dog service dog world what's going on. Um, of course advocacy is big. And, um, plus what would be interesting, you know, what would be interesting to guide dog handlers and enthusiasts? And, um, so we, we try to keep it, uh, surrounded around the guide dog service dog arena. And of course the guide dog school updates are a huge favorite. Oh, I'm sorry. And we're also going to have puppy raisers too. And so they'll be talking about puppy, how they are, what they do as a puppy racist
Speaker 0 00:17:36 And any particular schools, puppy raisers, or just puppy raisers from all different areas in general.
Speaker 2 00:17:43 Yeah. All, all different areas. Yes. Yeah. Um, because it it's, sometimes it depends, you know, some puppy raisers maybe that are in the St. Louis surrounding area close by might not have a puppy at the time, or, um, you know, but yeah, we have coming from leader, dog and guide a guide dogs for the blind and guiding eyes. And, uh, I think there's somebody else. I can't remember. I'm not on that committee. So
Speaker 0 00:18:20 Can you tell me, is it just guide dogs or is it other service dogs that, um, the, the convention is as a conferences for? I thought one time I saw something that they did some kind of police dog exhibit, but I wasn't sure if that was true. I may have never seen that. I'm just curious. Is it just, just guide dogs?
Speaker 2 00:18:46 No, no, not in, not just guide dogs, it's all different service dogs. And we did try to have, uh, someone come to talk about police dogs and things, but that, that didn't work out for top dog, but we thought that would be really quite interesting. And, um, but in 2019 in Charleston, there, uh, there were representatives from, um, uh, uh, the organization for PTSD dogs. Um, and yeah, they th they talked about their organization, what they do. And one of the, um, board members had her own PTSD dog. We had, um, some veterans and who were there and talked about how wonderful it was that they had, uh, their dog, not only maybe for PTSD, but for mobility. And there was another gentleman there who had a dog for seizure alerts, and he explained how that worked. And, oh my gosh, I think everybody was in tears by the time he was done. And plus also not only the dog had a harness on not like a guide dog, but it had a couple of handles that, you know, um, if you were on the floor and you needed to get yourself up with the assistance of your dog, that they're trained to steady themselves, um, had that kind of a harness on. And, uh, so no it's for, yeah. Any, any, uh, area of, uh, service dogs.
Speaker 0 00:20:38 Um, I want to ask my research person, Charlene, if she has any questions and kind of give her the opportunity to see if there's anything she might want to ask about that I'm missing.
Speaker 2 00:20:52 Uh, I just, I don't have any questions.
Speaker 0 00:20:57 Okay. I'm that thorough?
Speaker 2 00:20:58 Wow. Well, it sounds like it, it sounds interesting actually then the fact that you're bringing in other types of service dogs, we've done shows with local organizations here and, uh, there are some amazing things that dogs can do there. There are, it's, it's, it's amazing. And, um, I lost my vision 22 years ago then got my guide dog. And I have just been absolutely surprised on the many tasks that dogs can conserve and help people. It, it is it's, it's life changing for a lot of people.
Speaker 0 00:21:43 I'm wondering, um, do people ever take advantage of maybe getting help from schools? If they're, they're working on to work on something, maybe they have had a problem with their dog with something, um, are there ever schools that are available there to help work on little things?
Speaker 2 00:22:04 That's a terrific question. Yes. That is another favorite. Um, cause a lot of times, um, the we'll let people know who's going to be there cause we know what representatives going to be there. And somebody might, uh, from that school, contact them and say, can we meet up for a few minutes because I'm having this issue with my dog or, or they'll just run into them, you know, during the conference and have a, have a chat to talk about whatever issues or thoughts they had. So yes, and that the representatives are more than happy to do that. They just love interacting with, um, their clients and then any others, any other people who have questions, of course they won't work with those who aren't a client of that particular school, but they'll certainly cold the conversation. Yeah.
Speaker 0 00:22:59 Um, so what's all included in this conference cost, what's the cost of the conference.
Speaker 2 00:23:06 Okay. The registration fee is $125. And that includes, uh, you know, the, the Friday night dinner and then the, uh, lunch and the banquet and the w everybody gets a goodie bag and we're getting all kinds of neat stuff for the goodie bags. And we will have a hospitality room that will be open the entire time of the conference, um, during the day, not at night, but we will have coffee, we will have water. Um, I think we're going to have some soda and bags of chips and muffins, all kinds of snack type items and no cost to our guests. And, um, the, uh, and also if you register and if the top dog is canceled due to COVID, you will get your money back your $125. Nope, no questions that just be automatically refunded. Um, but we do also have a drawing that you can, it's $5 a ticket.
Speaker 2 00:24:19 If you want to try to win back your registration fee and you can buy as many tickets as you would like. And then the hotel room is separate it's. Uh, we have, uh, normally they go for like $179 a night right now, but our special cost is $107, but that does not include taxes. And, um, you can make your hotel reservation like now, and then put your, they ask for a card to be on file. They don't run your card and you have, uh, uh, 72 hours before the event to cancel if you need to. And there's no charge at all to you. So, um, and then we'll have,
Speaker 0 00:25:08 Um, can people, can people suggest topics for future top dog conferences?
Speaker 2 00:25:15 Oh, yes. Um, well for right now, you could send them to our email address, which is top dog conference,
[email protected]. So it's top dog
[email protected] with any suggestions, questions. And we, uh, we would just love any type of feedback on, um, on this top dog and, and future top dogs. That'd be terrific.
Speaker 0 00:25:50 And what would you like to see happen in the future for top doc?
Speaker 2 00:25:55 I would absolutely love it to see other organizations hosting it, um, in different parts of the country because, uh, every part of the country, the, you know, they have their own, um, um, ideas, excuse me, and how they, like in some environments like Florida, you're going to have more hot weather and then you go Northeast and it's cold, you know, those kinds of things. Um, but it would be great. I think we, we could reach more people if people, um, because it is costly to fly or, or take a train or something from, if you're living in Washington state to Missouri or even South Carolina or Georgia. So, um, kind of get it spread around so we could all have a taste of, of, uh, the guide dog, a service dog world throughout the United States. I think that would be terrific.
Speaker 0 00:26:57 Excellent. How many people are you expecting so far? Do you have an idea of what the attendance might be coming out of? COVID?
Speaker 2 00:27:06 Um, right now we have, at least we for sure. Good, good 50 close to 60 people confirm coming, which is pretty, pretty good concerning COVID. Um, in South Carolina in 2019, they had like 150 guests and it was like 97 guide dogs. And we certainly were hoping to reach that if we could, but with COVID we, you know, we just don't, it just really has kind of put us, you know, questionable, but, uh, yeah.
Speaker 0 00:27:50 Well, thank you, Sarah. I really appreciate you coming on. And I look forward to hearing more about top dog and I'll be emailing you.
Speaker 2 00:27:58 Thank you very much. Thank you so much for letting me talk about that dog.
Speaker 0 00:28:04 We have been speaking with Sarah Calhoun. Sarah is a treasurer from Missouri guide dog users talking about the 2022 top dog conference.
Speaker 0 00:28:22 This is cafe 90.3, FM Minneapolis and cafe.org. The second half of this show, we are with Eileen and Jim justice son. My name is Sam I'm the host of this show. Mason is my engineer for this part, Charlene dolls. My research team is always hi, Charlene
Speaker 2 00:28:42 Again, evening everybody.
Speaker 0 00:28:45 So we're talking about, I link with Jim justice. Hi Jim.
Speaker 3 00:28:50 Hi Sam. How are you?
Speaker 0 00:28:52 Good. Thanks so much for joining us as always. We appreciate it. Um, I want to start out by talking a little bit about what is I link and what do they do?
Speaker 3 00:29:05 Well, first of all, thanks for having me on you do a great job, Sam, and I think bringing information to all the whole disability community is just a great idea and something all of us want to do. We're trying to get the word out about Eileen too. So this really helps. I link is real simple. We're a fully nonprofit 5 0 1 C3, all volunteer organization. All we do is provide all kinds of assistive technology and equipment to people dealing with uncorrectable sight. Pretty simple, pretty simple.
Speaker 0 00:29:44 I didn't get its island. Get it start.
Speaker 3 00:29:51 How
Speaker 0 00:29:51 Did you guys get started?
Speaker 3 00:29:53 I founded vision loss resources and going through rehab and doing some of the things you teach a braille, one techniques, a daily living, keyboarding, things like that. And, uh, when it got time to graduate, uh, I found that after retiring from the telephone company and having a nice career, um, I could afford the equipment that we needed to have. And that would be, you know, in those days it was strictly a desktop or a laptop and the screen reader would normally be jaws. So, uh, most of my class, there were six of us in my class. And four people did not have the means to buy the equipment, the assistive equipment they needed, you know, to get access back for information and everything. So I, uh, my wife, Jackie just said, what are you going to do about that then? So we decided that maybe a foundation would be worth pursuing and it took a few years, but by 2000 we had formed the island foundation. And, uh, we got our first request for assistive equipment in 2001. So it's been 21 years of providing assistive equipment, uh, to people struggling with sight loss, uncorrectable, sight loss.
Speaker 0 00:31:20 Excellent. Well, thank you for that info who can qualify to use island?
Speaker 3 00:31:26 That's a great question. Um, we're working here, we're working hand in hand with state services for the blind and, uh, all those counselors refer people to I link. And the other side of it is we have websites and we're doing public service announcements. And fortunately, being on a show like this really helps us spread the word about Eileen. Anybody can apply, the applications are available at MN dot. I link that orgy. So MN dot E Y E dash L I N k.org G uh, all the information's available
Speaker 0 00:32:11 Visual impairment, right?
Speaker 3 00:32:13 Yeah. Yeah. That's, that's the qualifier. So you're asking for assistive equipment. Um, you probably have been referred by a counselor from state services from the blind and they all help you fill out that application. But here's the thing we're finding Sam, as a few people know about. iLet few people know about state services for the blind. When you start going blind, whether it's macular degeneration, RP, or whatever other diseases of the retina you might encounter, you don't know where to turn. And we're finding that out. Just people don't know what, what questions to ask who to go to. Usually their ophthalmologist might say, you know, you're gonna have to give up your driver's license. You're not going to be able to see very well anymore. And that's it. So, like I say, programs like this and other avenues really, really help us spread the word that I link is available and we can help.
Speaker 3 00:33:13 So it's on an application basis and, uh, we've got a wonderful board of directors, again, all volunteers, um, they're voting on these applications as soon as they're received. So, um, in the old days we were pre COVID that we'd have a meeting once a quarter and then review all the applications and the board would make the decisions and fund the applications, purchase the equipment, deliver the equipment and help set it up. So, uh, now we're doing it because of COVID online and it's working really well. So if an application came in today to I link Minnesota, uh, it would be decided upon within five days. And, uh, the applicant would know the results of that then, you know, by the fifth day.
Speaker 0 00:34:05 Okay. So I want to break some of this down. So do you have to have a referral from state services for the blind to qualify, to get equipment from you? Or can somebody come and fill out the application?
Speaker 3 00:34:21 Absolutely not. No. Anybody can fill out the application, our director of applications, the guy named Jeff Thompson. He works really, really well. And he's working with state services for the blind as well, uh, on a volunteer basis, heading up our large committee. So he looks at the application, talks to the applicant, finds out what they're using now, or if this is the first piece of assistive equipment they may have, uh, then it just goes to the board for a vote.
Speaker 0 00:34:54 Do they have to provide a, um, anything that states what their visual IQ it is or anything like that, Or that they have a vision problem in general?
Speaker 3 00:35:07 Yeah, we D we just assume that, uh, and once the director of applications talks to them, uh, we understand what the situation is right away.
Speaker 0 00:35:18 So you talked about that training, um, is provided, um, if say some training is provided how much?
Speaker 3 00:35:28 Well, it just depends on, on the equipment. Um, most people now, uh, we're putting out, uh, uh, equipment like a Ruby HD, and it's just a small machine with different kinds of backlighting different kinds of magnification. It's really pretty portable. There's only, I'm sorry, there's only three, um, you know, three buttons on it. So the training doesn't take very long and usually when a delivery is made with equipment, we'll help set it up. Excuse me. And, and, uh, do any, uh, training. The other side of that, Sam is, uh, which was, you probably know very well is if it's coming from SSP and the referral is coming from SSB, if you're going to a computer, a desktop laptop, but especially keyboarding, um, SSB will pay for your training and send you either the blind ink or vision loss resources. So, uh, people doing that, uh, we were working hand in hand with state services. Those that don't come from state services will, we might refer them back to state services because state services for the blind in Minnesota does provide some equipment, but, uh, at a very, very low level. Yeah, yeah,
Speaker 0 00:36:55 Of course you have to fit, you have to fit other qualifications for state services for them to offer equipment. Um, so give us some examples of, besides the, I think you said, uh, uh, Ruby, besides that, what other things have you, have you been able to, um, give people
Speaker 3 00:37:18 Well, we've given them everything you can think of? Uh, one of them is a DaVinci. It's a wonderful, wonderful machine that, uh, can boost font and type size. So you can read just about anything. Uh, the other side of it is when you're, you have no remaining vision and you're unable to read anymore any longer, uh, it's got an OCR optical character recognizer, and you can put anything document in that machine, uh, take, uh, take a picture of it and it will read the copy back to you out loud. So it's, uh, it's a great, great piece of software and hardware. So, uh, all combinations of that and in-between size wise and how, how the, the really work, uh, are all available through an application. So we try to fit that to the person and their needs. Uh, one of the other things we're finding out Sam, we're recognizing when you're losing your vision and, and you can't correct it back to 2020 or anything viable or finding that the background is pretty important. So a lot of people see black letters on a white background. We're finding now, especially macular degeneration, that different combinations are better. So, uh, uh, light blue on dark blue might work better for you. Uh, combinations of red, uh, on, on white might be better. Uh, we just don't know, but we test that out to find out. And then of course, you're dialing up the magnification. So the go magnify and boost the font and type size twice, three times, four times. So that's all dialed in and calibrated matching your vision needs.
Speaker 0 00:39:22 I'm just curious. Sometimes if somebody has been fully sighted or for whatever reason, they, they may not have a smartphone or they may have a different kind of phone. And when they lose their vision in all, a lot of people, although not a given tend to trend towards the iPhone, do you guys provide I-phones if they need assistance with the cost of the phone,
Speaker 3 00:39:47 We do.
Speaker 0 00:39:51 So maybe not the training, they would probably have to go through SSB with the training and they'd have to pay their, their monthly fee. Right. But you might be able to provide the iPhone itself.
Speaker 3 00:40:03 Yes, we do. And we'd been providing used, and we've been putting more voice on them. So you get, you get a lot of help with that. Uh, one of the other things that's come up, Sam, and I don't know if you're aware of it, but there's a wonderful apple product called seeing AI, seeing AI for artificial intelligence and that coupled with, uh, smartphones or anything else is really, really, uh, a leap forward for people that are struggling with sight loss. Uh, you can read prescriptions with it. It does facial ID. Uh, you can read the labels on catch-up bottles. Uh, anything else, it's this, uh, that's a marvelous piece of machinery. We're finding a lot of people using their phones now for food labels, uh, you know, recipes, anything else, he just, uh, he can, he can be at a Cub food market and start taking pictures and finding out the prices of some of the art, uh, you know, what you're looking for. So seeing AI as a free app from apple, you can go to the apple store and download it at any time, seeing a AI.
Speaker 0 00:41:18 How big is your board and how do you select the people who are on your board?
Speaker 3 00:41:25 Our board right now in Minnesota as, uh, nine people. Um, again, they're all volunteers. Um, they help sort through the mail, they do a donor prospecting where you have a person filing for grants to help us out. We only survive by the, by the generosity of our donors and I, the board is just extraordinary. Uh, they give up a lot of their time and again, it's, it's, it's all volunteer and they're just doing it to help people struggling with sight loss and, and the people we receive, we get, excuse me, Sam. Obviously they, uh, they can't afford what, we're, what they're asking for. So we don't have any income qualifications or anything like that. The people coming to us just need the help and can't afford to make that purchase of equipment on their own equipment. Like a Ruby HD runs, uh, $7,800 just for that, um, more esoteric equipment that does more, uh, and may add speech to, it runs between 25 and $3,500. So, uh, we provide that willingly and happily. And, uh, so as the wonderful thing, I linked MN dot Eileen, that orgy,
Speaker 0 00:42:53 You said you were born in Minnesota, at this island, have other, um, is, is I link in other states
Speaker 3 00:43:00 I link is spread out since 2016 to Wisconsin and North Dakota. We have volunteer boards. They're better all independent. So for example, the money that's raised in, in North Dakota, uh, goes to only North Dakota. People were registered in those states that have both has a 5 0 1 C3, and we have a federal EIN tax deferred, you know, uh, ID number. So we're nationwide to that extent, but each state has to separately file. So North Dakota is N d.eileen.org. G Wisconsin is WTI dot. iLet got NB, and that's how we're doing. Uh, they're starting to thrive. They're kind of new, but as the word gets out about island, uh, the people in those states are learning more and more that we're available and we can help.
Speaker 0 00:44:00 So how many people do you think that you have provided equipment for this year or per year, approximately? How many people do you serve per year?
Speaker 3 00:44:12 We in, in Minnesota has been running 30 to 45. And I can say Sam that with the lessening and the reduction of COVID restrictions and things like that, we're just being overwhelmed in Minnesota recently, since November and up until yesterday, we've received, uh, 20 to 25 applications. Uh, all of which have been filled with the exception of a few that are coming up, uh, today. Uh, so it's, it's been, uh, a real joy, our, our, uh, funding and contributions. Haven't quite caught up with that yet, but we don't care where we provide the equipment no matter what our condition is. So I'm just really grateful that so many people have joined us on this road to help people that are struggling with sight loss, because we've got a great, great donor base and people that realized the only way we survive and can help people is by their financial contributions.
Speaker 0 00:45:21 So do you compete with other organizations like you and if so, how are you different?
Speaker 3 00:45:28 We don't compete. And one of the things is, I think what we're talking about Sam is getting the word out. The more people that know about us, I think the more our, our applications are going to grow, I think there's an end point. Um, we're looking around the world around the United States. It looks like three to 4% of any given population are gonna experience uncorrectable site OSS. Uh, if we take that number three or 4% and apply it to the Minnesota population of 5.8 million, you kind of come out with how many people might be available or, or might need help. And those there's many people that need help that just buy their own equipment, you know, it's, if they don't come to Ireland or any other organization for help. So, uh, we're the court of last resort, so to speak.
Speaker 0 00:46:22 So the application that you have is it very long,
Speaker 3 00:46:27 Uh, two pages and it's, it's really pretty easy. Um, yeah. And the other thing I think we've learned is there's a Minnesota charities review council, and they review all charities, their effectiveness and efficiency and how well they perform their mission, but how effective they are, were regarded as one of the best in the entire United States and the best in Minnesota. Because right now, 90% of every dollar we receive goes toward the purchase of assistive equipment.
Speaker 0 00:47:06 That's pretty good. Actually. Do you have anything?
Speaker 3 00:47:11 Yeah. Do
Speaker 0 00:47:13 You have anything new? Do you have anything new coming up? I link. Uh, is there anything new that'll be happening?
Speaker 3 00:47:22 No, we don't. We're just, just, uh, you know, mining applications and getting the equipment out to people, getting it set up and getting them comfortable with it, then, you know, getting access to information again, it's, it's pretty important.
Speaker 0 00:47:40 So I, I presume that from COVID that, like, as you said, things are loosening up and people are, are starting to apply more.
Speaker 3 00:47:51 Yes. The thing that happened with COVID is people, you know, as, you know, didn't leave their houses, so he couldn't get them into some place for, uh, for testing and whatnot to find out how bad things were determined, their needs. Um, the counselors for state services for the blind, we're not going out and visiting homes and helping people out, finding what their needs were, finding how bad their vision was, and then also what they could do. So that started happening last August. And it's just like by November, this dam in Minnesota had broken again. The good news is we're getting applications every week, sometimes two a week.
Speaker 0 00:48:38 So how can people get in touch if they have questions?
Speaker 3 00:48:43 The best thing is to go online. M N dot. I link that orgy and that's E Y E dash L I N k.org G. And, um, uh, we can, we can handle it that way. On the website. There's a director of applications has his own email address up there and a phone number. People can contact him. And, uh, he just go from there, we're open for business.
Speaker 0 00:49:16 The websites of, um, Minnesota and Wisconsin to a sense were pretty global.
Speaker 3 00:49:22 Yeah. The websites are almost all the same except for the first two initials. So North Dakota is N D dot. I link that orgy Wisconsin is w I dot Eileen dot orgy. And again, I link is E Y E dash L I N K. And, uh, you'll get in, there's a lot of information on the sites about eyecare. I help, uh, we're promoting a reds to PreserVision, uh, as, uh, as a real asset to maintaining your, your retinol, uh, health. And, uh, then we've got other information about, uh, on there about new products and what might be going on to help, uh, people with no or low vision.
Speaker 0 00:50:13 Excellent. Is there anything else you'd like to leave us with?
Speaker 3 00:50:18 I just like to thank everybody, Sam, and especially you, but there's a lot of people that have been following us down this road and pathway to helping other people. And we're really grateful to them. Our donor base is extraordinary. Uh, we appreciate all that they do. And, uh, and keeping I link in their hearts and their hearts for other people. It's just a wonderful thing it's work worth doing. We love it.
Speaker 0 00:50:45 Thank you so much, Jim. We really appreciate you coming on and good luck with all the people that you can serve this year.
Speaker 3 00:50:52 Thanks Sam. And thanks for all you're doing.
Speaker 0 00:50:56 You're welcome. This is Ben disability and progress. The views expressed on the show are not necessarily those of cafe or its board of directors. My name is Sam opened. The host of this show. Mason has engineered this particular BESE Charlene doll as a research team. If you'd like to be on our email list, you may email
[email protected], that's disability and
[email protected]. For our part two, we would've have been talking to Jim justice from island. Thanks for listening. And I hope you tune in next week when we'll be talking with Andy from Metro mobility night.
