Bosma Enterprises Logo, Navigating Blindness

INSIGHT

A Bosma Enterprises Magazine

Bosma Enterprises Logo, Navigating Blindness

Summer/Fall, Issue 9

COVER PHOTO: 2 Schwab Volunteers enjoy the zoo with a Bosma client

PARTYING WITH THE ANIMALS PG 4

Inside Front Cover: LOU’S VIEWS

“I HAVE LEARNED THAT SUCCESS IS TO BE MEASURED NOT SO MUCH BY THE POSITION THAT ONE HAS REACHED IN LIFE AS BY THE OBSTACLES WHICH HE HAS HAD TO OVERCOME WHILE TRYING TO SUCCEED.”

~Booker T. Washington

Dear friends,

When I look at the history of Bosma Enterprises, our success is clearly defined by the challenges we have overcome. From the early days as a private non-profit we struggled, but from those challenges we became the thriving company we are today.

We now have nearly 200 employees and over 50 percent are blind or visually impaired and employed at all levels of our company. Last year, we had over $60 million in revenue, a large portion coming from our contracts with the Department of Veterans Affairs. We are honored to serve those who have fought to protect our freedom.

Not only am I proud of the accomplishments of our company but also how the people we serve have overcome the many obstacles life has set before them. Everyday, I see the devastation caused by vision loss. However, as you read through the pages of this InSight magazine, you’ll see how people have turned their tragedy into triumph. You’ll learn about people who give their time to enrich the lives of others, one man’s journey from vision loss to racing, a group of people traveling to Washington to advocate on Capitol Hill and so many more extraordinary stories of perseverance.

I am proud to lead a fantastic, hard-working team whose goal is to make sure others are able to live independently. The success of those we serve is the success of each and every employee at Bosma Enterprises.

I want to thank you for your support over the years. Bosma Enterprises would not be here without you. I know you will enjoy this issue of our magazine.

Sincerely,

Lou Moneymaker, President and CEO

PAGE 1: HASBROOK AD

PAGE 2: ANSELL AD

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Page 3: CONTENTS

4 PARTYING WITH THE ANIMALS

A simple, rainy day at the zoo may have changed a few lives forever.

11 LET YOUR FINGERS DO THE WALKING

Nick Leon, O&M instructor at Bosma, uses a 3D pen to create a tool that can help people who are blind or visually impaired navigate the world.

15 RACING WITH BLIND FAITH

The Blind Faith Race Team wants to change minds about the

capabilities of people who are blind or visually impaired.

18 INSPIRED TO CREATE CHANGE

A former Bosma client was inspired to create a place for people to come together for support and learn basic skills.

20 TACKLING THE ROAD AHEAD

Chris Dunlavy partnered with John Skelton after vision loss to run the 500 Festival Mini Marathon and rebuild his confidence.

22 PUBLIC POLICY

Showing people who are blind they have a voice.

24 BHR BULLETIN

Business Honor Roll (BHR) had a successful year supporting Bosma’s comprehensive rehabilitation services and programs.

27 BOSMA GIVES BACK

Employee volunteers from Bosma enjoy giving back to the

Indianapolis community.

Pages 4-8

PARTYING WITH THE ANIMALS

“SOMETHING TELLS ME IT’S ALL HAPPENING AT THE ZOO...

I DO BELIEVE IT’S TRUE.”

A day at the Indianapolis Zoo can be a test of endurance under any circumstances. Now imagine it with impending storms and what seemed like thousands of preschoolers on field trips.

Sounds daunting, yet that is exactly what happened May 26, 2016, as volunteers from Charles Schwab escorted a group of clients from Bosma Enterprises through the pathways and exhibits at the zoo.

A wide range of clients participated in the outing – some with limited vision, others with no vision at all. After a brief training session for the Schwab volunteers on the do’s and don’ts of guiding a person with visual impairment, the groups split up and were off to visit their zoo favorites.

Lisa, a client who was finishing the Bosma program the next day, was anxious to see the baby giraffe and orangutan. She has no vision in her right eye and very limited vision in her left and like many others, brightness makes seeing more difficult. Fortunately, the morning was overcast. Unfortunately, torrential rains were on the way.

Lisa’s vision loss was due in part to a stroke brought on by stress and diabetes. She was a night manager at a large retailer when she had the stroke. She says the hardest thing she’s had to learn is how to relax.

As Lisa Wagoner and Jennifer King from Schwab escorted Lisa to the first exhibit, it became clear that this soft-spoken woman was still in the process of finding her way in a life that forced her to slow down. She spoke of simple joys like drawing, photography, learning all that her tablet and phone could do for her, and cleaning. Yes, she actually finds cleaning her house relaxing!

Jennifer and Lisa helped her locate the animals in each exhibit the best they could and Lisa’s persistence in trying to get the animals into her field of vision was inspiring. She patiently scanned the exhibit, staying with it until she got them in her sights. As the zebra or lion or giraffe came into focus she would break into a wide smile, draw their outline in the air with her finger and marvel at their beauty.

One of her Schwab guides, Lisa Wagoner, is an Associate Financial Services Professional hired by Schwab because of her extensive work experience in client services—skills that were obvious during her outing with Lisa. Using Lisa’s iPad, Wagoner would photograph the animals and favorite flowers so Lisa could enlarge and view them at her leisure.

The two Lisa’s bonded and dropped into easy conversation quickly. “I’ve volunteered lots of places like Gleaners, but I wanted an experience with more personal engagement,” explained Wagoner. She found it that day at the zoo.

Jennifer King has been with Schwab for nine years in the Retirement Division. Although she is a “seasonal” employee, she has enjoyed the full benefits of their volunteer program every year, watching it grow from Volunteer Day to Volunteer Week. The company currently provides their employees 23 volunteer event opportunities with 16 local organizations, including Bosma.

According to Michael Dixon, Vice President, Client Service and Support, approximately 40 percent of all Schwab employees participate in their corporate volunteerism program, providing over 1500 hours per year of much needed volunteer help. The program began 12 years ago and according to Michael, “It attracts new talent, creates employee engagement, lets our employees know that we are purpose-driven and makes them feel that they are part of something meaningful.”

The Bosma experience came full circle when Schwab employee, Tony Williams, signed up as a volunteer for the zoo outing. Tony is a former Bosma client and former employee and the first employee with a visual impairment to be hired into the firm of 1500 employees. He jumped at the opportunity to pay it forward as a volunteer for the day and joked that it literally would be the blind leading the blind!

Tony, who has distorted central vision, came to Bosma after graduating Purdue University. He realized that he had all the academic tools he needed, but finding the right employment situation for him seemed impossible. His vocational rehabilitation counselor at Purdue introduced him to Bosma – a referral that changed Tony’s life.

Tony was hired as a financial services professional and his introduction into Schwab included working closely with another of the day’s volunteers, Iketta Ricks. A cient services professional, Iketta was assigned to help Tony not only acclimate to the new job but also to find the right technology to make his employment successful. Tony, Iketta and Bosma’s technical services team continue to work together at Charles Schwab to achieve the best technical solutions.

Iketta had never worked with a person with vision loss and she says that it was life changing. She explained, “My association with Tony taught me patience and an appreciation for what we have the ability to do in life.” She continued, “I signed up for the zoo outing to embrace the Bosma experience.”

Tony and Iketta were the Schwab escorts for Quinn, a lanky, likeable guy who has quite a story to tell. Quinn has open-angle glaucoma and since age three his eyesight has diminished dramatically.

Always successful academically, Quinn served as Youth City of Indianapolis Deputy Mayor in high school, was recruited by several colleges including Notre Dame, and is back in school to get his law degree. Quinn’s dream is to go into politics where he likely will leave his mark.

He came to Bosma just two months ago to learn Braille because he knew one day his vision would be completely gone. He learned quickly and actually is writing Braille now. He describes his experience at Bosma as an awakening. “I always knew I was smart, but I had forgotten how much I liked learning new things. Being at Bosma has awakened that in me,” he explained.

Quinn’s vision is at its best in low-light areas and he enjoyed the Oceans and Orangutan Center a little more than the outdoor exhibits. When the rain caught his group in the Orangutan Center, Quinn, Tony and Iketta, along with Kristy Russell, Bosma’s employment services manager, began sharing their stories and experiences. Tony summed it up beautifully, “I don’t get up every day and think about inspiring people. I’ve got a daughter to raise, a mortgage to pay and bills to take care of. I’m living life like everyone else does. I try to turn a disability into an opportunity to become able. Focus on what I can do, not what I can’t do.”

Quinn was inspired by Tony’s story. They have much in common and hearing about Tony’s journey gave him the energy to explore the opportunities Schwab and companies like it have to offer. Perhaps one day, Quinn will be a corporate volunteer, as well.

Something tells me a simple, rainy day at the zoo might have changed a few lives forever.

PHOTOS: Lisa, a Bosma client, enjoyed her day

at the zoo with Charles Schwab volunteers. Quinn enjoyed the Oceans and Orangutan Center a little more than the outdoor exhibits due to his visual impairment which is at its best in low light.

INSERT: CORPORATE VOLUNTEERISM

Corporate volunteerism is gaining strength and we are all the better for it. Nearly 6 million people on LinkedIn identify themselves as volunteer ready. America’s Charities 2015 Snapshot reports that 88 percent of employers believe effective employee engagement programs help attract and retain employees. And, 78 percent of employees would rather work for an ethical and reputable company than receive a higher salary according to a Volunteer IMPACT Survey published by Deloitte.

If you would like to schedule a volunteer opportunity for your company, please visit bosma.org/volunteer to find out how you can be a part of changing the lives of people who are blind.

PHOTO :“I try to turn a disability into an opportunity to become able, “ says Tony, a Charles Schwab employee who is visually impaired.

PAGE 8: ASCENT ERP

PAGE 9: ANTHEM AD

PAGE 10: MOLNLYCKE AD/PATORA AD

Pages: 11-14

LETTING YOUR FINGERS

DO THE WALKING

A pen that creates a way for people to feel their way through

city streets.

When it comes to 3D pens many people have found myriad uses in arts and crafts. However, Nick Leon looked at a 3D pen and saw an opportunity to create tools that can help people who are blind or visually impaired navigate the world. Nick is an orientation and mobility instructor in the Bosma Enterprises rehabilitation facility. His job is to train people who have lost their vision to learn to navigate safely and effectively. Nick often creates tactile maps for his clients. Tactile maps have raised lines indicating spaces like a building layout or a street layout.

“These maps help a person who is blind or visually impaired visualize a specific area and better understand spatial layout,” Nick said. “They can be useful for memorizing the order of streets in an area like downtown Indianapolis or a complex intersection like a roundabout.”

However, it can be very time consuming to create them. The current methods require the use of hot glue or puffy paint. Both required considerable time to dry and quite a bit of advance planning. They also did not allow him to be reactionary for his clients when they were having trouble navigating a certain area.

TACTILE MAPS ARE A VERY IMPORTANT TOOL IN LEARNING ORIENTATION AND MOBILITY.

Nick heard about 3D pens and he started to do some research on their applications. What he found is that they are used a lot in arts and crafts and as toys. He couldn’t find much in the way of practical applications in orientation and mobility training. After conducting his research on how they work and what some of the best pens might be, he purchased a 3D pen to try. The investment was minimal. The pen runs somewhere between $40 and $100. But if his idea worked, he could be a more effective instructor for his clients. It took some trial and error, but Nick found ways to use the pen in a very practical way. There were some initial challenges getting the plastic filament to stick to maps, but he found a few techniques that made this possible. A major benefit of the 3D pen is that there is no drying time. The maps he creates are ready to use almost immediately. This allows him to meet the needs of his clients in near real time and be more effective in his teaching.

Nick’s idea is catching on. He has been asked to present his work at the Association of Education and Rehabilitation for the Blind and Visually Impaired international conference this summer.