White Cane Safety Day 2014 proclaimed in the City of Des Moines

In the lead up to the Iowa Department for the Blind (IDB)’s White Cane Safety Day Open House on Wednesday, October 15, students and staff of IDB’s Adult Orientation Center attended the Des Moines City Council meeting on the afternoon of Monday, October 6. The group was there to participate in the public reading of the City of Des Moines’ proclamation of White Cane Safety Day 2014.

Des Moines Mayor T. M. Franklin Cownie called up IDB representatives Orientation Center Program Administrator Shawn Mayo and student Darryl Rochford to the front of the room to speak for the group. Shawn thanked the Mayor for the opportunity to be present for the City’s proclamation of this day so significant to the blind. Darryl then spoke with words of advocacy on behalf of the students and all blind citizens of the city.

 “I would like to thank you for this proclamation and recognizing the value of the blind community and what we can give to you. Through this proclamation, the white cane is our symbol of freedom and also helps us navigate safely around. Through all this, we can become productive members of society and do all the great things the city of Des Moines has to offer. We look forward to seeing you out there in the community, whether it is dining, going to a sporting event, employment, or whatever it may be. We’re here, we’re blind, but we can do it like everyone else. So, thank you for this recognition on behalf of all students of the Iowa Department for the Blind.”

Mayor Cownie then read the proclamation. Here is the text and image of the City of Des Moines’ proclamation of White Cane Safety Day 2014.

After the students and staff assembled under the impressive vaulted ceiling of the second floor area of Des Moines' City Hall for a photo, the group poured out onto the sidewalk for a beautiful evening walk back to the Iowa Department for the Blind building.