Posts Tagged ‘Sports and Recreation’

Check Out Beep Baseball on ESPN Tuesday May 14

On Tuesday May 14, at 4:00 p.m., E:60 will air a segment on Beep Baseball. The segment will feature local legends, The West Coast dogs. This will be the team’s fourth championship in a row–seventh in thirteen years.

Check out the YouTube promo.

Cycle for Sight 2013 Team LightHouse – The Biggest Team Yet

Saturday, April 20 blossomed into a beautiful blue-sky Napa day, perfect for wine tasting, food, and most importantly, a good long bicycle ride with over 2,000 other cyclists, all part of the 2013 Cycle for Sight fundraising event for Enchanted Hills Camp. Rotary of Napa hosts the event each year, and proceeds are split between our camp and the Napa Veteran’s Pathway Home.

This year, Team LightHouse had the largest number of team participants of the event, including an astonishing 40 tandems. Those who stayed the night at Enchanted Hills Camp were treated to a carbolicious spaghetti dinner the night before and a hearty breakfast that morning.

After the ride cyclists and their friends and family enjoyed food, drink and music at the Cycle for Sight Wine and Music Festival. LightHouse maintained a table which served as a meeting place for the Team members who shared their camp stories and memories. Lucky raffle winners picked up special hydration backpacks donated by Osprey.

“My family and I rode 15 miles along the beautiful and scenic roads in Napa and had a blast! We were one tandem in a group of forty tandems–plus a handful of single bikes–that hit the rode in a united effort to make a difference in the lives of blind kids this summer in Enchanted Hills Camp. “
–Lisamaria Martinez

We thank the riders and supporters of Enchanted Hills for their enthusiastic participation and for making this year’s event the best Cycle for Sight so far. To see photos from the event go to our Cycle for Sight 2013 Facebook photo album.

Volunteer at Enchanted Hills – Share Your Skills with our Campers

Do you have a special skill you’d like to share, while enjoying time spent in the beautiful outdoors? Would you like to teach a sport or an art class or take a group of campers out hiking? Enchanted Hills Camp is looking for volunteers for this summer’s camp sessions.

Enchanted Hills Camp volunteers bring their already acquired skills to camp to help staff create an enriching and vital camp experience, while maintaining a fun, supportive, and safe environment.

Each summer we utilize over 50 volunteers to assist in these areas and more:

• Arts and Crafts: ceramics, painting, jewelry, and weaving
• Nature/Science: hiking, ecology, Native American history, gardening
• Sports and recreation: archery, goalball, soccer, beep baseball, bowling, boating, yoga, horseback riding and swimming
• Enrichment: acting, dance, music and journalism
• Staff assistance: cooking, office work, maintenance, driving, and reception work

If you’ve got a skill or two to share, are a team player and enjoy working and living in the community atmosphere of camp, this volunteer opportunity is for you. You’ll need to be able to work a 12-hour day and travel independently. You’ll be asked to demonstrate emotional maturity, sensitivity to blindness and the ability to accept people as they are. Most of all, you must share the desire of the LightHouse to promote the independence, equality and self-reliance of people who are blind or visually impaired.

For more information contact Camp Director Tony Fletcher at 415-694-7319 or afletcher@lighthouse-sf.org.

Featured Community Services Classes

It’s springtime at the LightHouse there are a slew of classes and events we can highlight, but here are just two we chose to whet your appetite with. If you’re curious about joining in the fun, please contact Director of Community Services John Liang at jliang@lighthouse-sf.org or 415-694-7334.

Guitar Class
Are you bored with playing air guitar and willing to try the real thing?In early March we launched our brand-new guitar class for blind and visually impaired musicians. The class is intended for blind learners and will make use of tactile and other techniques that maximize learning pace and proficiency. Volunteer Chad Carrion has been playing guitar for 14 years and has a background in classic and alternative rock styles. He will instruct a small group of beginner and intermediate students on basic chords, chord progressions and how to tune a guitar.

JAM Class
Since February, a group of LightHouse clients have been meeting at the San Francisco Conservatory of Dance on the third Saturday of the month to get in touch with their inner JAM at the LightHouse JAM class. Led by a dedicated volunteer staff of professional dancers, blind and low vision dancers turn that spontaneous jam into practice.

The class operates by listening to and following the rhythms, soulfulness, funkiness, histories, memories, and many shades of joy that already live inside our bodies. JAM class does not aim to teach people how to dance, but rather encourages the inherent ability to dance that everyone already has in them. We’re waiting for you to join us in the dance – sign up now.

Reservations Going Fast for EHC Summer Sessions

The schedule is up and reservations are going fast for our Summer Sessions at Enchanted Hills Camp for the Blind and Visually Impaired. From babies to gray-hairs, there is a session designed for you! There is even a new session of Family Camp just for residents of Napa County! And after a few year’s hiatus, we are bringing back the Deaf-Blind session!

What’s New At EHC?

• Enjoy the outdoor talent shows at our brand new redwood theater!
• Explore new hiking trails parts of the campground that haven’t been visited in years!
• We’ve upgraded our tandem bike fleet so that more campers can ride!

Sessions are listed below. For more information, visit the Enchanted Hills Camp 2013 page on our website. For questions please call us at 415-694-7310 or email us at EHC@lighthouse-sf.org.

EHC Sessions List
Chemistry Camp: May 3 – May 5
Napa Resident Family Camp: May 17 – 19 (call 415) 694-7310 for registration)
Blind Babies Family Camp: June 14 – June 16
Family Camp I: June 20 – June 23
Adults with Special Needs: June 29 – July 3
Adult/Alumni: July 5 – July 10
Family Camp II: July 11 – July 14
Kid’s Session – 3rd through 8th grade: July 15 – July 21
Family Camp III: July 24 – July 27
Teen Session – 9th through 12th grade: July 28 – Aug 3
Deaf-Blind Session: August 15 – Aug 18

The LightHouse is Hiring Camp Counselors

Are you attracted to helping blind youth and adults grow in their abilities, skill and self-confidence? Perhaps you attended camp, and have experienced the life-changing power of Enchanted Hills firsthand? Then perhaps this summer you might want to join our spirited camp in the rolling Napa foothills and have some fun while doing a whole lot of good.
For 63 years Enchanted Hills Camp for the Blind has hosted hundreds of blind California youth and adults in summertime camp sessions. Sprawling across 311 idyllic acres on Mt. Veeder in Napa, Enchanted Hills Camp is a place for blind children to explore and create, gain courage, try new things, learn about the environment and make lifelong friends. The wooded camp offers all the usual summertime activities from swimming to horseback riding, from sports to art. But beyond the summertime fun is a powerful agenda – to increase the self-confidence and self-respect of campers who may often have no other time in the year to meet blind friends
and role models who are successful and living an actualized life. Your job will be to make sure campers grow in their own potential while at the same time have a summer experience which is powerfully fun and engaging.

 We’re looking for people who know how to build camp spirit and contagiously involve all campers in trying new activities, sports and blindness techniques. You are not required to know much about blindness when you start, but we expect that you will quickly learn much about the can-do spirit and techniques which all successful blind people use. Or you may be blind or visually impaired yourself. So whether your background or interest is in education, psychology, rehabilitation, crafts or sports, if you think you can bring your spirit and knowledge to bear on inventing the best camp ever, we want to hear from you.

Camp counselors are part of a 20-person counseling team. Camp runs from June 14 through August 18. If you are interested in having a fun filled summer at a storied camp, applications are now available. Let us hear from you soon. Our application period closes on March 30, 2013. For further information contact Tony Fletcher, Enchanted Hills Camp Director at (415) 694-7319 or afletcher@lighthouse-sf.org.

Come Cycle for Sight on April 20 and Support Enchanted Hills!

The Napa Rotary Cycle for Sight ride will be held on Saturday, April 20. Sign up to ride as a cyclist and enjoy the beauty of scenic Napa and the challenge of a 15, 25 or 50 mile route with 2,000 other cyclists. Register today at www.cycle4sight.com and ride for Team LightHouse! Proceeds support Enchanted Hills Camp.

Where: Beautiful, scenic Napa. Go to www.cycle4sight.com for route information, start times and to register
When: Saturday, April 20 starting and finishing at Justin Siena High School in Napa

Join Team LightHouse! Interested in piloting a tandem bike for a blind stoker? Or, are you a blind stoker in need of a pilot? Contact Tony Fletcher via email at afletcher@lighthouse-sf.org or 415-694-7319 to join Team LightHouse today!

Blind cyclists wishing to register can do so simply by calling the lighthouse at 415-694-7348 and speaking with Chuck to walk you through the online registration.

If you want to give to a very special cause, please consider supporting Team Lighthouse in this year’s Cycle for Sight ride to be held on Saturday April 20. To sponsor a rider or make a donation, go to www.lighthouse-sf.org/donate and choose Cycle for Sight as your designation. Thank you for supporting Enchanted Hills Camp for the Blind!

Check out our Facebook Event page!

Special Chemistry Camp Informational Phone Conference

When: Tuesday, March 12 from 6:00-7:00 p.m. Pacific time
Call (218) 339-2500 and use access code: 958093

During this call you’ll get an overview of camp by founder and coordinator Hoby Wedler, and get important information about filling out the application and applying for Chemistry Camp, details on camp logistics, and perhaps most importantly, hear testimonials from past mentors, instructors, and student alum! There will be plenty of time for your questions and comments throughout the call.

If you want more information on how blind students can study extremely visual subjects or want information on talking constructively with people who tell you that you can’t study visual subjects, this call is sure to answer some of your questions about accessibility and most importantly, about how you or a blind or low vision high school student you know can easily participate in the 2013 chemistry camp.

Blind Backpackers Hit the Trails on First Outing

Many blind people have spent much of their lives being sheltered by well-meaning relatives, and discouraged from exploring. The LightHouse’s Blind Backpackers Club contests this trend, offering adventurous spirits an opportunity to follow their bliss and take on the challenges of wilderness. On a beautiful Sunday afternoon last month, the LightHouse Blind Backpackers and Outdoor Adventurers clubs hit the trails at Point Reyes National Seashore for their first outing. With warm temperatures, gentle ocean breezes, and relatively mild terrain, the several-mile-hike provided the hikers with the perfect training ground for the more ambitious, multi-day backpacking trips they have planned.

See more photos from the trip in our Facebook photo album. Need more inspiration to hike? Read this recent article about a blind hiker who traversed the Appalachian Trail using a GPS device and trekking poles.

Come join us! Contact John Liang, Director of Community and Volunteer Services for information on the Blind Backpackers and Outdoor Adventurers clubs, at jliang@lighthouse-sf.org or 415-694-7334.

New! LightHouse Presents: Jam Class at the San Francisco Conservatory of Dance

Everyone has jammed out at one time or another, whether it was at a wedding or late at night to a song on the radio. Jam Class turns spontaneous jam into practice. The class operates by listening to and following the rhythms, soulfulness, funkiness, histories, memories, and many shades of joy that already live inside our bodies. Jam Class does not aim at teaching anyone how to dance, but rather at bringing out the inherent ability to dance that everyone already has within them. The class starts slow and quiet, discovering the seeds of rhythm deep within one’s body and momentum. This class is intended for young adults ages 17 to 30. The only precondition for participants is the ability to stand for one hour.

If you want to move and be moved, Jam Class is for you. Jam Class will be held on the third Saturday of each month through May, 2013.

Here is the schedule:

• January 19, 12 to 1:00 p.m.
• February 16, 12 to 1:00 p.m.
• March 16, 12 to 1:00 p.m.
• April 20, 12 to 1:00 p.m.
• May 18, 12 to 1:00 p.m.

The class is led by Malinda LaVelle and Emmaly Wiederholt and is limited to ten people, so sign up now! To reserve your space or for more information, please contact John Liang, Director of Community Services at jliang@lighthouse-sf.org or 415-694-7334.

Malinda LaVelle is the artistic director of Project Thrust, a dance-theater company based in San Francisco. Since its inception in 2010, Project Thrust has performed at Z Space as part of the San Francisco Conservatory of Dance’s Summer Dance Series, at ODC Theater, at The Garage as part of Resident Artist Workshop (RAW), and in the Women on the Way Festival. Project Thrust is currently in residence at the San Francisco Conservatory of Dance, Malinda’s alumni, where she currently serves on the faculty. Originally from Colorado, Malinda LaVelle graduated from the University of Arizona with a BFA in Dance. Malinda has performed with Alex Ketley’s The Foundry, Alyce Finwall Dance Theater, Manuelito Biag’s Shift>>>Physical Theater, and in 2012, she was awarded a 2012 Isadora Duncan Award for Outstanding Performance.

Emmaly Wiederholt resides in San Francisco and is a founding member of Malinda LaVelle’s Project Thrust. She also writes about dance; she founded, edits, and writes for Stance On Dance (stanceondance.com), and has contributed to In Dance, The San Francisco Examiner, and the San Francisco Bay Guardian. She is originally from Albuquerque, NM and graduated from the University of Utah with a BFA in ballet and a BS in political science. She is an alumna of the San Francisco Conservatory of Dance and has performed with Vabang! Dance Company, Amy Lewis’ Push Up Something Hidden, Christine Cali (Cali & Co.), Alyce Finwall Dance Theater, Katie Faulkner’s Little Seismic Dance Company, and in David Dorfman’s choreography with AXIS Dance Company.

The San Francisco Conservatory of Dance was established in 2004 by veteran dancer/teacher Summer Lee Rhatigan with a team of collaborators whose principal goal was to create a new kind of dance school specifically designed to guide and support young people in their discovery, understanding, development, and application of the tools necessary to thrive as an artist. Since its inception, some one thousand talented young dancers have participated in the Conservatory’s programs, studying classical and modern technique and learning/performing a huge number and variety of works. Located at 301 8th Street (at Folsom), the studios are drenched with natural light through skylights and north and west facing windows.