CONCORD GRADUATE STUDENT TO COORDINATE WHITE CANE AWARENESS DAY
CONTACT: Nicole Smith, PR Manager
Concord University Office of Advancement
PO Box 1000, Athens, WV 24712
(304) 384-6312
nlsmith@concord.edu
www.concord.edu
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: October 4, 2023
CONCORD GRADUATE STUDENT TO COORDINATE WHITE CANE AWARENESS DAY
ATHENS, W.Va. – White Cane Awareness Day is an annual advocacy event to promote education regarding the blind and visually impaired. Coordinated by graduate student, Cole Sweeney, the event will be held at Concord University in the Student Center Ballroom on Wednesday, October 18th from noon to 2pm.
White Cane Day is a nationally recognized day that celebrates the independence of individuals who are blind or visually impaired; the event seeks to provide advocacy and promote social justice through education. Event activities will allow participants to understand better what being visually impaired entails. Utilizing a white cane obstacle course, blindness simulation technology, blindness trivia, and demonstrations of accessible technology, participants will genuinely be seeing blind!
Local agencies, from Beckley, West Virginia, such as the West Virginia Division of Rehabilitation Services (DRS/Voc Rehab), Appalachian Regional Hospital (ARH), and FMRS Health Systems, will provide resources for Concord University students.
ABOUT THE FOUNDER: Cole Sweeney, twenty-three, of Beckley, West Virginia, is the event founder and coordinator of White Cane Awareness Day. Cole attends Concord University, where he is enrolled in the Master of Social Work (MSW) program. As a visually impaired individual, Cole is passionate about promoting social justice and advocating for the blind community through education. Cole believes that, through education, he can bridge these gaps in knowledge about blindness. Cole states that “the best way to understand something is through experience, so his event seeks to do just that!”
For more information, please contact Cole Sweeney at 304-573-8825 or sweeneyc30@mycu.concord.edu.
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Persons with disabilities should contact Nancy Ellison, 1-304-384-6086 or 1-800-344-6679 extension 6086, if special assistance is required for access to an event scheduled by the University on campus. Concord University may take pictures at these events for publicity purposes.
