April 28th

Thank you to our volunteers at Gabe’s Day!

BBF is partnering with Kiwanis Club San Jose to host the 9th annual Gabe’s Day event, making toy bars and resonance boards for BBF families. This special day is named after Gabriel Carson, who received services from BBF before he passed away in 2003.  His family attends each year, bringing Gabe’s favorite strawberry lemonade and sharing Gabe’s story with our volunteers from Kiwanis and local high school Key Clubs.  The equipment made during Gabe’s Day will be given to BBF children and families throughout the year, creating adapted play spaces to support fun and learning.  We are deeply grateful to all of our volunteers, and especially to Kiwanis Club SJ for their generous donation of materials, tools, muscle and spirit!

This event is not open to the public – thank you again for the wonderful support from Kiwanis Club San Jose, Key Clubs of the area and all the volunteers that make this happen every year!

May 18th

10AM to 1PM: Santa Clara County Early Start Carnival

BBF will host a booth at the annual Santa Clara County Early Start Carnival held at Chandler Tripp School in San Jose from 10:00 AM – 1:00 PM.  It will be a fun family day of games, pony rides, food and resource networking with local agencies serving children with special needs. Please come and join us!
For a map of the school, please click HERE       

May 21st

1pm to 3pm: BBF Family Day at Habitot Children’s Museum

Come join BBF at Habitot Children’s Museum in Berkeley! This is a great opportunity for families served by BBF to have exclusive after-hours use of Habitot Children’s Museum. Come and enjoy the hands-on exhibits, the art activities, socialization and family bonding time!
For more details, click HERE for a flyer in English, click HERE for a flyer in Spanish
For a map of Habitot Children’s Museum, please click HERE

June 2nd

10am to 3pm: NAPVI FamilyConnect & Family Advocacy Workshop

SAVE the DATE
NAPVI (National Association of Parents of Children with Visual Impairments) Family Connect and Family Advocacy Workshop
Saturday, June 2, 2012 at California School for the Blind   10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Lunch Provided
Presenters:
Susan LaVenture, Executive Director, NAPVI  and Scott Truax, American Foundation for the Blind: Program Manager for Career Connect and Co-developer of the FamilyConnect website
Free for families of children and students with visual impairments, Birth to 22 years of age.; no childcare
Registration and Program Information to follow.
To learn more about NAPVI, click HERE
To learn more about FamilyConnect, click HERE 

June 10th

All day event: Silicon Valley Duck Race

BBF will be participating in the 5th annual Silicon Valley Duck Race at Vasona Park in Los Gatos.  This fun day of entertainment, activity booths and food will benefit local south bay agencies and El Camino Hospital.  You can help BBF by adopting ducks for $5 each.  A portion of the proceeds goes directly to BBF services for families and children.  Plus, you have the chance to win great prizes if your duck is one of the first to race down Vasona Creek!  Duck adoptions begin online at the end of April – be sure to adopt from Team BBF!
For more information about the event, click HERE
To adopt a duck (or several ducks!) for BBF, click HERE for the flyer 

Summer

Join BBF for a fun filled day at the beach with families, alumni and staff! Date to be announced.

Save the Date for the Sixth Annual BBF Golf Tournament!

Monday, August 27, 2012

TPC Stonebrae

K.I.D.S. Foursome

King & Spalding Foursome with BBF Alum Matt Cooper

Thank you all for coming to the 2012 Beeper Egg Hunts! To view photos from the events click on THIS LINK.

If you know that you took photos with the Bunny at the Bay Area Beeper Egg Hunt and do not see them, or for any other questions, please email April Souza at april@blindbabies.org

Thank you again for coming – see you all next year!

Barnes & Noble Books will donate up to 20% of sales to BBF between November 27th and December 2nd if you use the code #10601037 at checkout!

Click HERE to learn more!
Click HERE to get the flyer!

Blind Babies Foundation Alumni Association invites you to join us on November 27^th from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. at Barnes & Noble, 5604 Bay Street in Emeryville for an afternoon of fun at the Barnes & Noble Book Fair supporting Blind Babies Foundation.

Barnes & Noble will donate up to 20% of all sales from November 27 to December 2, 2011 to Blind Babies Foundation!  Our Blind Babies Foundation Book Fair ID #10601037 will be valid at any Barnes & Noble bookstore nationwide, as well as online at www.bn.com/bookfairs.  If you are planning to purchase a book, DVD, or coffee in the Barnes & Noble Café, now is the time.  Please spread the word on Facebook, Twitter to all your friends and families nationwide.

The Book Fair will feature a discussion and book signing by BBF alumni families and friends.   Authors include:

Mary Beth Phillips, alumni parent and co-author of Miracle Chase.

Belo Cipriani, friend of BBF and author of Blind:  A Memoir.

Julie Riera Matsushima, alumni grandparent and author of For the Love of Aimee: A Memoir.

and

Leon Borensztein, alumni parent and author of American Portratis 1979-1989.

Here’s how it works:

Either give the cashier our Blind Babies Foundation Book Fair ID #10601037 or provide the number #10601037 at www.bn.com/bookfairs payment page after you check “book fair order.”  Your purchase will count towards the Blind Babies Foundation Book Fair total.  Eligible purchases include items from the Barnes & Noble Café (including Starbucks), DVDs, magazines, games, greeting cards, special orders and all store stock.  Items that are not eligible are gift cards, textbooks, magazine subscriptions, Nook Simple Touch, digital books, digital magazines, downloadable audiobooks, and video games, hardware and software.

Thank you for supporting the Blind Babies Foundation Barnes & Noble Book Fairs.

Click HERE to log in to the Blind Babies Foundation
Alumni Association Forum

Thank you to those who attended our kick-off event at the CSB in Fremont! For those who could not attend, we hope to see you at the next event!

Click here for the PROGRAM from the event

BBF Alumni Association Benefits

To join please call April Souza at (510) 446-2229 or email april@blindbabies.org

All memberships include the ‘Basics’:

Mailing of the Alumni Newsletter, Access to the Alumni Only Portal on BBF website including access to view the alumni forum and alumni resources, Invitations to Alumni Networking Events, and Access to approved benefit providers. Join at the level that you feel most comfortable:

Membership Levels

Life Member – $1,000
All of the ‘Basics’ and ‘Alumni & Family’ benefits PLUS a 25% discount on all BBF event   fees

Visionary Member – $500 Annually
All of the ‘Basics’ and ‘Alumni & Family’ benefits PLUS a 15% discount on all BBF event   fees

Sustaining Member – $250 Annually
All of the ‘Basics’ and ‘Alumni & Family’ benefits PLUS a 10% discount on all BBF event   fees

Corporate Member – $100 Annually
All of the ‘Basics’

Friends – $35 Annually
All of the ‘Basics’ and ‘Alumni & Family’ benefits for the friends of BBF

Alumni & Family – $30 Annually
All of the ‘Basics’ PLUS an invitation to all BBF Family Regional Events and access to post on the Alumni Forum Message Boards

 Please contact April Souza at april@blindbabies.org or call (510) 446-2229 if you would like to become a member!

Blind Babies Foundation’s Alumni Working Group is establishing  the Blind Babies Foundation’s Alumni Association.  One of our first initiatives in establishing a network of alumni is to update our alumni database to ensure we know how best to communicate with you and to keep you up-to-date on BBF alumni association plans, events, and services.

From Carl Washington, BBF Board Member and alumni parent:

Our vision for the Blind Babies Foundation Alumni Association is to form a community that will:

· Provide a network of families to share information, resources and best practices
· Establish a platform for families to support each other through transitional periods in their child’s life
· Create a forum for parent advocacy
· To network with other BBF alumni through a BBF Alumni Career Network to provide career counseling and other career services
· And many more services

Blind Babies Foundation recently celebrated 60 years of serving families with children who are blind or visually impaired.  With over 500 families being served each year we have the opportunity to create an extensive network of families and alumni of BBF.

BBF Forms Strategic Partnership with MassMutual Financial Group to Serve Alumni Families

Blind Babies Foundation is pleased to announce a strategic partnership with Todd Friedman, Financial Services Professional, MassMutual Financial Group.  The partnership will benefit the more than 5,000 Blind Babies Foundation alumni throughout the northern and central California.
Click HERE to read the press release.

Click HERE for more information on benefits to Alumni Association members.

Thank you to all alumni, family, friend and sponsors that joined us for our Fifth Annual “Swing for Kids” Golf Tournament!

Presents the Blind Babies Foundation

Fifth Annual  “Swing for Kids”

Monday, August 29, 2011

Click HERE to view photos from the day

Click HERE to view photos of the foursomes

TPC Stonebrae
Hayward, CA

Sponsors:

SFPOA
Michael Hostetler
Clare and Jack Friedman
Dottie Bridge and Fernando Robleto
SBP & Co.
T2
WSGR Foundation
NCompass Recruiting
Global Equipment Services & Manufacturing, Inc.
King & Spalding
Ellen Leznik, Esq.

A new article from The Chronicle of Philanthropy highlights the challenges nonprofits are facing in 2011.

Click here to read the article.

Click here to make a donation today that will help Blind Babies Foundation provide services to children with visual impairments for years to come. Imagine the possibilities.

Everyone had a great time at both the Central Valley and Bay Area Beeper Egg Hunts! Thank you to all of our sponsors, volunteers, staff and families that attended!

Blind Babies Foundation would like to thank the following for their generous support of the Beeper Egg Hunts:

Golden Egg
Eye Surgical and Medical Associates

Malted Egg
Frederick and Michaela Ruiz
San Francisco Police Officers Association

Caramel Egg
Britz Fertilizer, Inc.
Dottie Bridge and Fernando Robleto
Jack and Clare Friedman
San Francisco International Wine Competition
Tulare Host Lions Club

Chocolate Egg
Carl Zeiss Meditec, Inc.
Diamond Learning Center
Richard and Sharon Sacks
Roma Lodge
Russell and Marta Bassett
Visalia Breakfast Lions Club

In-Kind Contributers
Aidells Sausage Company
Asheba’s Caribbean Music for Children
Bay Cities Produce Co., Inc
Carl Zeiss Meditec, Inc.
Colombo Baking Company
Folkmanis
Guittard Chocolate Company
Pacific Fine Food
Safeway
San Francisco Fire Department
See’s Candy
Semifreddi’s
Starbucks Coffee
Sunset Scavenger
Trumpette

Event Volunteers
Andrea Urqueta Alfaro
Allison Connell
Becky Cordero
Beth Pate
Bob Wilson
Brooke Bassett
Carl Zeiss Meditec family and friends
Carly Wood
Gail Cunningham
Greg South
Guide Dogs for the Blind
Ingrid Mayer
Janelle Logazino
Jared and Lauren Cornell
Jenny Cordero
Jordan Smith, family and friends
Liz Cordero
Margaret Southern
Mike Haralambides
Rebecca Washington
Roman Fan
Roni Turner
San Francisco Delta Gamma
San Francisco Fire Department Engine Number 20
Sarah Calvello
Save A Bunny
Terry Merritt
Variety Club Children’s Charity of Northern California

Come and join the Stockton Stingrays Beep Baseball team for a fun filled demo and practice your new beeper baseball skills this Saturday!

When: 10AM to 1PM

Where: Krusi Park – 900 Mound Street, Alameda 94501

For more information on beeper baseball please click here.