Support our new “Healthy Living” program
Maintaining a healthy lifestyle can be a challenge. But it’s even more challenging if you live with vision loss. A sedentary life can increase the chance of weight gain, heart disease and diabetes. With your support, BALANCE can help blind and vision impaired adults make active living a reality.
What is our new program?
In 2006, we launched Healthy Living as our new fitness and recreation initiative. The first focus was to expand our existing programs in daily living, orientation & mobility, and community access. As a result, more BALANCE participants are curious about getting active and asking for instruction in exercise routes, meal planning, and connecting to sports and fitness programs.
In 2007, we began our popular presentation series on adaptive recreation activities—yoga, sailing, tandem cycling, running, cross country skiing, curling, and walking clubs. Today more and more adults with vision loss are using new walking routes, picking up a sport, and joining gyms and recreation centres.
What lies ahead?
Our goal for 2008-09 is to expand our Healthy Living program and community outreach by adding the services of a nutritionist and a recreation coordinator. Your gift of sponsorship can help us to:
- deliver online workshops on healthy eating, recreation, and fitness to blind and vision impaired adults in Toronto and across Canada
- augment our website, Braille, and large print resources on healthy living
- promote accessibility to large centrally located gyms
- work with BALANCE instructors to build fitness and healthy lifestyle choices into skills training—using a white cane, for example, as a stretching tool, and cooking with low fat recipes
How you can help
Support BALANCE today in making active living a reality for blind and vision impaired adults.
For a gift of $250 you or your organization will receive:
- A BALANCE for Blind Adults T-shirt
For a gift of $500 your organization will receive:
- Your name on our website
- A BALANCE for Blind Adults T-shirt
For a gift of $1,000 your organization will receive:
- Your name & logo on our website and special event materials
- A BALANCE for Blind Adults T-shirt
- Sensitivity training workshop for employees
For a gift of $2,000 or more your organization will receive:
- Your name & logo on our website and special event materials
- A BALANCE for Blind Adults T-shirt
- Sensitivity training workshop for employees
- Workplace accessibility audit
To become a Healthy Living program sponsor, contact Sue Archibald, Executive Director, at 416-236-1796.