White Cane Day marked with 5K Run/Walk at Stone Oak Park

In recognition of White Cane Day roughly 200 people embarked on a 5K run/walk at Stone Oak Park Saturday. Both sighted and visually impaired participants joined in the event that also raised money for the San Antonio-based Low Vision Club.

Observed each year since 1964, National White Cane Safety Day celebrates the achievements of people who are blind or visually impaired and signifies a commitment by the sighted community to improve access to basic services for those with disabilities.

With the goal of raising awareness and bringing the sighted and visually-impaired communities together, race director Kim VamHooser hopes Saturday’s race will become an annual event. All proceeds collected Saturday will help support the Low Vision Club, an organization promoting the independence of people with limited or no vision through education, mobility assistance, support groups and socialization.

The club’s president, Bonnie Truax, began the organization after she lost her vision 11 years ago. “I thought I was starting just a small support group and it just grew and grew,” she says of the club which now tops 900 members.

Among the club’s services is OWL Radio, a daily broadcast of newspapers, magazines and other information for people who can no longer read.

The Low Vision Club welcomes all members 18 years of age and older, although Truax admits they were having trouble luring the younger generation. After a bit of prodding, the youthful group admitted they wanted to socialize through challenging outdoor activities and not at the club’s regular meetings. That’s where VamHooser, who is also visually impaired, came in. An athlete and member of the Low Vision Club’s Board of Directors, VamHooser has already taken a group rock climbing and planned a kayaking trip, on top of organizing Saturday’s 5K Run/Walk.

Truax is thrilled with where her club is headed. “The thing I am most happy about is that we now have a Board of Directors in place to help us grow even more,” she says, adding that along with offering the visually impaired the hope that they can be independent, “we hope to fill any niche that’s not being offered by the community.”