Listen To This Space
That's right, listen! - To AIRS Los Angeles, a reading service for those who are blind, sight impaired, print impaired, have macular degeneration, low vision, or other eye diseases that make it difficult or impossible for them to read. Our mission is to podcast to this specialized group, a variety of news, information, and entertainment that's otherwise inaccessible to them. Daily PodCasts are now online!
Why Is This Web Site So Plain?
There's a good reason why we don't use glitzy, whiz-bang, cutting-edge visuals here - because they are confusing to the blind and visually-impaired users for whose benefit the site was created. So please forgive us, dear sighted user, for our plain vanilla nature.
Introducing This Years Braille Challenge!
On June 28, 2008, AIRS will broadcast the Braille Challenge live from Los Angeles, California, the location of the finals in the largest nationwide Braille competition. The top sixty regional finalists from throughout the United States will compete to determine who is the most proficient reader and writer in Braille. We are recording the ceremony live so that friends and family members of the competitors can cheer their students on! To listen on the day of the event, go to our streaming page for instructions. If you can't make it at the exact time, you can listen to a podcast version later by going to our Braille Institute Programs page.
New Podcasts!
AIRS is pleased to announce the inauguration of three new podcast series. The first is called "Dodger Daily Clips" and is read by Ken Miller, longtime Los Angeles Dodger marketing executive. Ken will give you a weekly summary of insider Dodger information you positively won't find anywhere else! The second new podcast series is titled "For Family and Friends of the Blind" and includes information that all who come into intimate contact with a low- or no-vision person will find useful. Finally, AIRS is pleased to offer a new series titled "Personal Finance with Max Flehinger". Max is a Financial Planner who is also the founder of AIRS. His experienced guidance should be a great benefit in everyone's quest for financial security.
We also are in the process of inaugurating an addditional podcast series. It is a series of interviews hosted by Kristin Macdonald and titled "The Lowdown on Low Vision." Kristin, who has low-vision herself, has been conducting these interviews of media personalities, physicians and researchers for about a year now. You can check out past episodes at BigMediaUSA.com.
FFB VISION Seminar Series Announcement
On Saturday, March 15, the Foundation Fighting Blindness, Los Angeles Chapter sponsored a free seminar for people affected by age-related macular degeneration, retinitis pigmentosa and related retinal degenerative diseases. The seminar was supported by an unrestricted grant from Genentech.
Each of the sessions was recorded by AIRS and is now available in Podcast form:
- Overview of the science of vision loss. What's happening on the research end? - Timothy Schoen, PhD, Foundation Fighting Blindness
- Causes and risk factors in common forms of blindness. - Ron Gallemore, MD, Retina Macula Institute
- A clinical overview - developing a retinal degenerative disease clinical program. - J. Jill Hopkins, MD, Retina Vitreous Associates
- How a low-vision specialist treats your symptoms. A review of promising treatments. - Bill Takeshita, OD, FAAO, FCOVD, The Center for the Partially Sighted
- A vignette about Arthur - Changing attitudes about the tools that increase living skills and mobility. - Sophia LeDuc, MA, The Center for the Partially Sighted
- The role of genetics, gene testing and gene therapy in vision care. - Michael B. Gorin, MD, PhD, Jules Stein Eye Institute, UCLA
CTEVH Conference Rewards
AIRS recorded a session of the Braille Institute's Story Garden program at the conference. It features Tom Kenny, the voice of SpongeBob Square Pants, reading stories to the assembled visually-impaired children. The delightful tales include "Trouble at the Crusty Crab," a SpongeBob Story, and "The 500 Hats of Bartholomew Cubbins," by Dr. Seuss. You and/or your children can now listen to Tom in podcast form.
iConnect
The Center for the Partially Sighted Invites You to i-Connect, A free series for active adults with impaired sight
- Hear experts discuss issues important to you
- Socialize with other people having impaired sight
- Have breakfast with friends
Where: The Center’s Tarzana Office 18425 Burbank Blvd., Suite 706, Tarzana (Just east of Reseda Blvd.)
When: Last Saturday of the Month from 9:30 to noon
Topic for Saturday, Apr 26: Cell phones and other Gadgets
Dr. Bill Takeshita demonstrates talking MP3 players, GPS systems, and accessible cell phones, as well as providing you with some interesting shortcuts to access technology.
iGive Support
Please suppport AIRS by joining iGive.
You Shop, AIRS Wins! Help your favorite cause for free! At over 680 brand name stores, a portion of each online purchase is donated to your favorite cause! Your stores, your cause (AIRS), their money. As an added bonus and part of their surfathon promotion, iGive is making $1,000 donations to 5 causes every month through July 2008. Visit online stores through IGIVE and every time you visit a new store (no purchase necessary), it counts as an entry in the sweepstakes. You must be a member and shop through the store links on the iGive website.
We Support VISIONWALK
VISIONWALK is a walk-a-thon fundraising program of the Foundation Fighting Blindness. Last year FFB raised over $1.3 million to fund sight-saving research through VISIONWALK. As promising treatments move into critical human studies, the need for research funding is greater than ever before.
Our Audience
Our audience can get the news from several broadcast media, but not directly from newspapers, magazines, and other primary sources. Through the magic of streaming audio and podcasting, we provide word-for-word readings of print material and other news and entertainment, focused on and designed for our visually-impaired listeners.
AIRS is incorporated in the state of California and has received a 501(c)(3) tax free non-profit status designation from the Internal Revenue Service. This means your donations are tax-deductible!
AIRS can't do it alone. We need your help and we are pleased and grateful to receive donations in any amount. CONTACT US if you can help. Thank you.
