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My name Is Yolanda and this is my story.
I was born a happy baby and grew as normal as can be. I got married in 2000 to the man of my dreams Pat.
My family doctor sent me to doctors specializing in the nervous system. All the specialists kept saying was, "it's just migraine headaches, don't worry". After an entire year of going back and forth to the doctors and the hospital for M.R.I. and C.A.T. Scans, the doctors finally diagnosed me with having "increased cranial pressure" or in plain English too much fluid in my brain and no way to drain it. To give you a better idea of what was happening, think of it as a faucet running into a plugged sink without a drain, the water just fills up. So in 2003, I had surgery and the doctors placed a Shunt (drainage tube) in me, from my brain, down the inside of my chest into my stomach where the fluid drains too. The tube has stabilized the pressure in my head but the damage to my optic nerves was too much and now I'm unable to see. That's when CNIB came into my life. A rehabilitation teacher named Bruno, from CNIB came to my house and taught me that life does not stop just because you lose your eyesight. He took the time to teach me computer skills and household hints on how to do everyday activities. He also got me involved in support groups, where I got to meet other people and heard their stories about their vision loss. CNIB also sent an orientation and mobility instructor, by the name of Karen, to visit me. She taught me how to take the local transit bus and train, she also taught me how to cross the street and how to get around the mall, among other everyday activities. In December 2004, after watching an episode of "The Apprentice", I will never forget Donald Trump saying to the contestants, never give up and follow your dreams. So I decided to put together a dinner dance fundraiser to support the organization that helped me so much, CNIB. I called it "Vision of Hope" for two reasons. The first reason is that I hope to inspire other visually impaired people to follow their own dreams and succeed. The second reason for the name Vision of Hope is my dream that society will embrace visually impaired people and view them as capable individuals in all aspects of life. On March 4th 2005, I held my first fundraiser, and by the pictures on my site it went off almost without a hitch. I had 185 people attend my first fundraiser and was able to raise $6,000. Not too bad for my first fundraiser after newly adjusting to loosing my vision. With the great
success of the first fundraiser, I was already thinking about year two. But in
between the two fundraisers, I became a mother for the first time. My husband
and I had a little boy and we named him Julian.
When I returned home from the hospital, CNIB was there ready to support and teach me how to take care of a newborn. Of course I could not do two things at once, so friends and cousins called me at home and offered their help and a Vision of Hope committee was put together. Now with a committee in place, a lot more work was off my shoulders. My committee members did a great job in contacting the previous years corporate support and new corporate support. On March 18th, 2006, the second annual Vision of Hope fundraiser was held. 175 people attended the event, and with all the great support from the corporate community, the event was able to raise $10,000 for CNIB. March 3rd, 2007 has come and gone and what a party!!! Over 250 people attended the 3rd annual fundraiser, even CNIB’s President at the time, Jim Sanders, and his daughter were able to attend. With over 120 prizes given away, almost everyone took home a prize. Andy and Massimo from Classy D.J. had the people dancing until 1am. When the final tally was done, we were able to raise $14,000 for CNIB. In just 3 years, with all the support from the corporate community and all the attendees, we were able to raise over $30,000 in support of CNIB. Then on March 1st 2008, 300 people enjoyed a fun filled evening of games, food, entertainment, and dancing. At the end of the evening a cheque was presented to CNIB for $12,000. But it did not stop there, after everything was calculated, I'm very happy to say that a total of $16,000 was donated to CNIB. February 28th, 2009 has come and gone, what a party, with a crowd of 320 people, and the fantastic performers entertaining us all evening. I was very happy to present another cheque to CNIB for $16,000. These funds will help other people who are visually impaired. What another fantastic evening, March 6th, 2010 was another great fundraiser. Have 300 people come out to Da Vinci Banquet hall, enjoying dancing, raffles and our live auction. I am happy to say that this year we raised $10,000 for the cnib. That goes towards programs that help other people that are visually-impaired. I would like thank everyone who came and enjoyed the evening as well as all those who could not make it and made private donations to CNIB. I say "THANK YOU!!"
I really want this to be a successful event, for many more years to come, where people and the corporate community come together to raise money for CNIB, an organization that helps so many people. 1 out of 4 people will use the CNIB's services at some point in their lifetime. 9 out of 10 people will have some vision loss over the course of their life.
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Vision of Hope name and all of its content is published by Vision of Hope 2005 -2011 CNIB's logo is a trademark
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