15th October is the International White Cane Day. It was established to commemorate the invention of white cane used by visually impaired persons. A white cane enables people with visual impairment to explore the road ahead and symbolizes a positive means of mobility and independent living for the visually impaired..
“Cane-a-thon” on International White Cane Day is an annual flagship fundraising event of Hong Kong Blind Union (HKBU). Since 2003, the “Cane-a-thon” has been successfully held every year. The charity event provides an opportunity for participants to understand the abilities of visually impaired persons, so as to promote social inclusion. It also helps raise funds for HKBU to support its advocacy work and services for the visually impaired.
ABOUT THE EVENT
A group of visually impaired persons will hold their white cane and walk independently in the “Cane-a-thon” this year to embrace the spirit of Independence, which is the core message of the International White Cane Day.
EVENT DETAILS
Date:
8 October 2017 (Sunday)
Ceremony:
2:00 – 2:45 pm
Walking:
Starts at around 3:00 pm
Starting Point & Finishing Point:
Piazza, Tsing Yi Promenade
(5-10 minutes walk from Tsing Yi MTR Station Exit A, passing through Maritime Square to the Starting Point.)
Route:
The route starts from the Piazza, proceeds along to Tsing Yi Northeast Park and ends at the Piazza. The Journey takes about 1hour to complete.
PARTICIPANTS' DONATIONS
Individual:
A minimum of HK$500 has to be raised.
Group:
At least 10 people as a group and a minimum of HK$100 has to be raised per person.
Sponsoring White Cane:
An additional donationof $100 can sponsor 1 white cane for the event. The cane will be given to a needy visually impaired person after the event to foster self-reliance.
SPONSORSHIP CATEGORIES
Sponsors can make donations in cash or in kind. Based on the amount of donation, sponsorship will be recognized in different categories as follows:
Title Sponsor: HK$ 300,000 or above
Diamond Sponsor: HK$ 100,000 – 299,999
Jade Sponsor: HK$ 50,000 – 99,999
Gold Sponsor: HK$ 20,000 – 49,999
You will experience …
Participants can put on an eye-mask and pair up with a visually impaired person to walk in the dark together or they can form a team of two, each one can take turn to put on an eye-mask to experience the darkness. The whole journey takes about an hour to complete. Before the walk starts, participants will be taught the basic techniques of guiding visually impaired persons. Safety ambassadors will be arranged to ensure the safety of the participants along the route. There will be also some carnival games in the charity event.
