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News and Events
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Benton County Sunshine School Receives Gifts
Arkansas Group Distributes Funds From Garden Party
This article was published on Saturday, September 1, 2007 10:12 PM CDT in Our Town Section of The Morning News
Related Photos
ROGERS -- Children at Benton County Sunshine School were treated to several gifts on Wednesday as part of a check presentation by Arkansas National Association for Parents of Children with Visual Impairments.
A gift of $2,500 was presented to the school by Dave and Patty Bushland and Shelli Moore, co-founders of Arkansas NAPVI.
The money was raised from the organization's first garden party fundraiser on May 12, which netted more than $30,000. Leaders hope to make the garden party an annual event.
The organization also donated 22 dual vision books to the school. The books contain both Braille and printed words.
Touch & Feel Dinosaur books were distributed before the check presentation.
Several children reached for books wrapped in shiny silver paper in a box that read: Teach my little hands to read! The children nestled into therapists' arms to read the new books.
Michael Hatch with Boy Scouts Troop 222 explained the boxes drawing attention in the lobby. The Little Rooms project will allow him to earn an Eagle Scout ranking.
He and other scouts constructed the "little rooms" from peg board and PVC pipe.
"It wasn't too hard to assemble," Hatch said. Scouts worked on building the rooms. They are used to stimulate blind babies with dangling objects like a slinky or metallic tissue paper.
The rooms allow them to explore the world around them in a safe area.
Bushland said Arkansas NAPVI is experiencing tremendous growth.
"We will have to hold another fundraiser in the fall to support all our projects," he said.
The organization has 40 new members, he added.
Money the nonprofit raises supports visually impaired children and their families. Arkansas NAPVI has awarded two college scholarships.
In June, 12 families attended the first Sensory Safari Kiddie Camp for visually impaired children ages infant to 5.
The event was made possible through a partnership with the Arkansas School for the Blind in Little Rock.
The Bushlands and Moore have children who have Leber's Congenital Amaurosis, a degenerative disease that results in a severe loss of vision.
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Arkansas NAPVI Grows from Garden Party
May 12th was a historic evening for Arkansas NAPVI. On that night the organization held its first fundraiser, “Mary Rose’s Garden Party”. The event was hosted by Scott and Christy Lamers of Rogers Arkansas, friends of Dave & Patty Bushland. Kathy Farnan, Jean Reiff, and Christy chaired the event.
“It was a night I will remember forever. We were completely blown away by the generosity of the community to help our cause. I was really touched by their desire to help make a difference in Mary Rose’s life and other visually impaired children like her,” Patty Bushland, co-founder of AR NAPVI, said of the event.
Over 250 guests enjoyed wine tasting, sponsored by E&J Gallo Winery, great food, entertainment, and a silent auction. By the end of the evening, over $30,000 had been raised for Arkansas NAPVI!
“This is just a special community,” said Dave. “For so many businesses and individuals to want to help us help parents of visually impaired children and the kids themselves, is really amazing. It inspires us to want to make an even bigger difference!
Added Shelli Moore, the chapter’s other co-founder, “The party was absolutely beautiful. It was a wonderful way to talk about NAPVI and to raise awareness about the challenges that parents of visually impaired children face.”
While final numbers (gotta pay the expenses!) and logistics (e.g. lots of “Thank You” cards) are still being completed, it’s not time to relax. “I already had someone ask me how we are going to top this next year!”, said Dave. Better get planning!
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2007 Arkansas NAPVI Scholarship Winners!
Arkansas NAPVI is pleased to announce that Everett Elam has been awarded the 2007 Arkansas NAPVI Scholarship award. This $500 award will help Everett attend the University of Arkansas Little Rock where he will pursue a degree in English with a minor in Music. In his application Everett wrote that "I’ve thought of working with younger blind or visually impaired children on social skills or Braille skills. This might be my own personal vendetta since I was quite behind socially when I was a child, but my heart goes out to those children who are struggling socially and believing they can’t do things simply because they’re blind. I’d very much like to start an organization which works with visually impaired kids on a one on one basis concerning these matters."
Arkansas NAPVI salutes Everett and his dream and is glad to have the chance to help him "bloom" to his full potential!
Also, Arkansas NAPVI is please to announce that it has entered into an agreement with the Arkansas School for the Blind to award the Valedictorian of the school a $500 scholarship to recognize the student's academic achievement. This year's winner, Amy Craig, will attend Henderson State University and pursue a Bachelors of Science in Special Education. In addition to being class valedictorian, Amy also participated in Key Club, was captain of the cheerleading squad, ran track, and was elected Homecoming Queen. Congratulations to Amy on all of your accomplishments!
Arkansas NAPVI is committed to ensuring that all visually impaired children bloom to the full potential.
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Sensory Safari - Kiddie Camp
Arkansas NAPVI in partnership with the Arkansas School for the Blind just finished its first Kiddie Camp June 7-9th in Little Rock. The event was attended by a dozen families and had over 50 people attend at least one session.
The highlight of the camp was the Sensory Safari! Participants were treated to a behind the scenes look at the Little Rock Zoo. This look included the chance to examine some of the residents in a very up close manner. You have not lived until you see a 2 year old handle an Australian Skink for the first time!
Other sessions featured pool therapy, brushing techniques, a clinical Q&A on eye conditions, and a tour of the Arkansas School for the Blind (ASB). Guests stayed at ASB and were treated to a wide menu of culinary delights!
Special thanks to Jim Hill, Shelli Moore, and Bette Parker of ASB for organizing the event along with the countless number of volunteer from ASB and our guests speakers who made this happen.
Next year's event is already being planned! Stay tuned.....
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Tournament brings Sunshine to Non-profits
JASON BEATTY Staff Writer jasonb@nwanews.com
Posted on Wednesday, November 7, 2007
Area golfers braved some chilly winds Oct. 26 to show their support for the future of Arkansas ’ children. The Sunshine School of Benton County and the Arkansas Chapter of the National Association for Parents of Children with Visual Impairments benefited from the first of hopefully many annual golf tournaments in Bella Vista, according to Patty Bushland, one of the event organizers. Approximately 27 four-person teams competed in the tournament, held on the Dogwood Hills course of the Metfield Golf Complex. The strong turnout for the inaugural tournament raised roughly $7,000 for the two nonprofit organizations, which was most welcomed by the event organizers.
" I don’t think anyone expected it. It just grew and grew, " said Shelli Moore, a representative with NAPVI. Moore was one of the volunteers working to provide golfers a one-of-a-kind experience at the tournament.
One activity that distinguished this tournament from others was the "blindfolded " hole, where golfers could take part in a unique closest-to-the-pin challenge on Dogwood’s 13 th green. Participating players were required to put on a mask, eliminating the use of their eyes, before teeing off. The contest not only gave golfers a good laugh at some wild shots, but it also helped to give them a better understanding of what challenges the visually impaired must overcome, Moore said. While not everyone whiffed a ball into the woods - as Don Wheat found out when he sent a straight shot roughly 250 yards toward the green - all seemed to appreciate the importance of sight and the reasons for the tournament.
The Arkansas chapter of NAPVI was revived in January by Bushland, Moore and others for networking and support purposes. The group helps address the needs of visually-impaired individuals from birth up to 21 years old.
The Sunshine School is a standalone nonprofit agency in Rogers that caters to children with developmental disabilities. The school focuses mainly on children from birth to 5 years old, but it serves all age groups, according to Diane Byram, director of development with the school. The school relies heavily on donations as it receives no funding from school taxes, she noted. The new golf tournament is just one of a number of fundraisers these groups host every year. More information about the organizations and their upcoming events can be found online at www. nwabcss. org and www. arkansasnapvi. org.
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