Rosette Gonzales
Their senses weren't directed at watching the performance. Instead,
members of the Foothill Service Club for the Blind listened and
clapped to the beat while singing along to Irish tunes.
The Foothill Service Club for the Blind celebrated St. Patrick's
Day a week early with a musical show. It was just as friendly as the
club's regular weekly meetings, as member Mary Ann Stotts played the
piano and vocalists Pat Wagner and Steven Keyes entertained the
audience with jokes and lyrics.
"We do appreciate her, especially when you know she plays
everything by ear," said Wagner of pianist Stotts, who has been a
member of the club for 33 years.
"You mean not with her fingers?" member Eileen Kennedy joked from
the audience.
Members, volunteers and caregivers enjoy attending activities at
Foothill Service Club for the Blind because of the fun, social
atmosphere.
"I meet the nicest people that more or less have something in
common, such as our eye trouble," said Mary Beth Schook, who has
macular degeneration, an eye disease that leads to blindness. "We
share our troubles, and then we laugh about them."
Being with others who are experiencing or have experienced similar
sight problems is what Charlotte Chall values too. She has been a
member since 1957.
The Foothill Service Club for the Blind is more than 70 years old
and is partially sponsored by neighboring Lions Club chapters.
Membership fees are $1 a year. It is the only social club for blind
and visually impaired in Glendale and is financially self-sufficient,
Chall said.
Among social services, the club offers a computer with an
oversized screen, enlarges print on utility bills, has crafts and
plays radio shows. Members all share tips to help one another cope
with sight problems.
"You try to help them in their daily living skills," said Frances
Mannino, president, who has been blind since age 16. "You try to help
them in what helped you."
The social services of the club can help them realize that life
continues after blindness, Stella Rosenblum said.
"Their central vision is not there, and therefore they are lost,"
said Rosenblum of those dealing with macular degeneration. "They have
to see that things go on."
* To contact the Foothill Service Club for the Blind, call (818)
242-3551 or write to 117 E. Los Feliz Road, Glendale, CA 91205.
