BVA staff members at the National Headquarters have been busy the past few weeks putting together and mailing a variety of White Cane Day resource materials and promotional items to VA Visual Impairment Services Team (VIST) Coordinators, regional groups, and individual BVA members who have requested them for activities and programs scheduled for the officially designated White Cane Day, October 15, or for Veterans Day on November 11.

Items still available include a limited number of brochures, pens in the color and shape of a white cane, and cards that simulate the different causes of blindness in both English and Spanish. Also available are extra copies of past issues of the most recent BVA Bulletin and handouts that summarize the history of White Cane Day, what to do when attempting to help a blind person, and how to host a White Cane Day event.

Please send requests, with the ideal number of items to be received, to info@bva.org or call (202) 371-8880, ext. 316. Please allow 24-48 hours to receive a response and approximately five business days to receive the materials. In return for the materials, BVA Happenings asks that those using the materials provide a summary of the event with a photo or two and names of those who participated to the same info@bva.org email address. An editor will likely follow up to request additional details when needed.   

Because the entire month of October is Blind Awareness Month, White Cane Day activities can be scheduled on an alternate date that is more convenient for the planners or community hosting the event. Apart from the worldwide pandemic years, BVA members have actively participated in White Cane Day events for the past 20 years.