Walking blind with white canes

 

ALACHUA – The Alachua Lions Club (ALC) will be hosting their annual White Cane Walk Saturday, Oct. 12.

 

From 9 am to noon, the walk will take place from the old Alachua City Hall, on County Road 241, to the library to the Lions Club, 15115 NW 142nd Terrace, across from the new city hall building.

 

The walk is intended to educate the community about Florida’s White Cane Law and the difficulties of being visually impaired.

 

“There are more than 4500 blind people in Alachua County and many current drivers are not aware of Florida’s White Cane Laws, which requires drivers to come to a complete stop when a visually impaired pedestrian with a white cane or guide dog is crossing a public street,” said John Hopkin, vice president of the ALC.

 

“Nationally, in one out of three cases where a traffic accident involves a blind pedestrian, the blind pedestrian is killed,” said Jack Varnon, second vice president of the Alachua County Council of the Blind.

 

Participants of the walk could be blind or visually impaired, or they could have normal vision. People who aren’t visually impaired will have a chance to be blindfolded to understand the array of challenges faced by impaired pedestrians on a daily basis.

 

Walkers wearing blindfolds will attempt to complete everyday tasks such as opening a door with a key, signing checks, filling a glass of water, placing a Band-Aid properly and making change. Elected officials will be there also with a voting machine for the blind to practice casting a vote.

 

The Wal-Mart Foundation’s Local Community Contribution Outreach Grant Program will be supporting the walk for a second year. In attendance at the event will be several community leaders, including current and former Alachua mayors, Gib Coerper, Clovis Watson and Jean Calderwood.

 

The ALC White Cane Walk began as an Alachua Eagle Scout project by Adam Boukari. Since its beginnings, the walk and cookout have become an annual event for the City of Alachua and its citizens. The city has declared the month of October as White Cane Month.

 

ALC has partnered with the Alachua Police Department, the local Police Explorers Club and Boy Scout troop, Santa Fe High School, Alachua County Council for the Blind and others to provide walkers, escorts, cooking and demonstrations for the walk.

 

In the United States, the introduction of the white cane is attributed to George A. Bonham of the Lions Clubs International, according to the ALC. In 1930, a Lions Club member watched as a man who was blind attempted to cross the street with a black cane that was barely visible. The Lions Club painted the cane white to make it easier to see. President Johnson then declared Oct. 15 National White Cane Day.

 

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