Youth Services
Watch our youth and staff in action on the San Francisco Bay. The piece featured the group's July kayaking trip to Angel Island with Environmental Traveling Companions. The segment aired on the local NBC affiliate station (Ch. 11) and Channel 3.
http://www.nbcbayarea.com/on-air/as-seen-on/Traveling_Companions_Bay_Area-126782983.htmlYouth Group
Our Youth Group engages in events that are recreational and educational, and of special interest to blind and visually impaired youth. 
The Youth Group presents a tremendous 
opportunity for students and parents to meet with each other and with blind rehabilitation professionals. It also enables us to alert our students to other recreational, educational, vocational, and scholarship opportunities.
We provide Youth Group opportunities for school children of all ages. For a complete list of events or for more information, please contact Paul Raskin at 650-858-0202 extension 112.
A partial list of past events includes:
Self Defense
Our students received instruction in community safety, being aware of their environment, knowing how to get help, and strategies for avoiding trouble and fending off attacks.
Surfing
Always popular, Ride-A-Wave, a non-profit organization composed largely of volunteer firefighters and police officers who enjoy surfing, spent a day with our students, teaching them to surf.
Kayaking
Our youth group received instruction in kayaking and then paddled around the San Francisco Bay, taking time to eat lunch at an isolated beach.
Holiday Ice Skating Party
Following two hours of ice-skating, our youth group and their families enjoyed food, music, games, contests, crafts, karaoke, and Santa.
A Night at the Museum
Our students spent the afternoon at a local museum and, once the museum closed, brought in their sleeping bags and spent a fun night camping out among the exhibits.
Described Play
Wearing headsets, our students attended a major theatrical production while listening to a narrated description of the action on the stage.
Winter Holiday Party
Our youth group members and their families enjoyed
music, entertainment, dancing, karaoke, games, arts and crafts, good company, and truly good food. This annual event provides an excellent opportunity for Youth Group members, families and friends, grandparents, teachers, prospective Youth Group members, volunteers, and anyone interested in Vista Center to meet and have fun.
Overnights
Overnight events are an especially fun way for our students to spend time together. We have kayaked to Angel Island and then set up camp, and we have also slept in a zoo, in a decommissioned submarine, and near the beach in Santa Cruz.
Braille Challenge
Vista Center is pleased to be a host of the Northern California Regional Braille Challenge. The Braille Challenge is a celebration of braille literacy in the form of a contest among blind school children. The contestants are public and private school students in grades one through twelve.
Divided into five groups based on reading level, the students engage in a fun day of braille challenges that include writing, reading comprehension, chart and graph reading, spelling, proofreading, and word search. Each participant in the Braille Challenge is a winner and receives an award of achievement. The students who achieve the highest scores in each reading level receive prizes and an invitation to participate in the national championship.
This short video clip is of seniors during a timed event where participants are scored on speed and accuracy.
Please note this video is not sped up. They are really that fast!
Visit our Photo Album on Flickr
Youth Group permission form (MS Word document)
Advocacy Skills and ADA
Come join us for an informative workshop presented by Junior Blind of America, in collaboration with the California Department of Rehabilitation and hosted by Vista Center for the Blind and Visually Impaired.
Students and their parents will learn:
- ADA law and common ADA myths
- Self-advocacy skills for youth
- What is new about on-line accessibility
- The role of the Department of Rehabilitation and what it can do for transition-age youth
When: Saturday, May 21, 2011
Time: 12:00 to 3:30
Where:Vista Center
2470 El Camino Real, Ste. 107
Palo Alto, CA. 94306
Visit www.vistacenter.org for directions
RSVP by Monday, May 16, 2011.
Seating is limited to 30 participants.
Please reserve your space by contacting
Alice McGrath, amcgrath@vistacenter.org
or call 650 858-0202, ext. 130
Refreshments will be served
Advocacy Skills and ADA Flyer(MS Word)