Collaboration at Work by Shelley Ann Morris

I have been employed in the non-profit sector for the past twenty years.  I worked in the employment field, helping job seekers with barriers to prepare for, find and keep employment. My current position with Volunteer Ottawa involves assisting our member organizations to recruit volunteers. I also manage a group of volunteer public speakers who represent V.O. in the community. Occasionally, I facilitate workshops for people looking for volunteer opportunities.

I was born with limited vision.  Thankfully adaptive technology, education and a strong support system have helped me to conquer the barriers that visual impairment imposes. As I have some sight, my visual impairment creates very few limitations at work.

As a teenager, I felt excluded as many of my peers were already working and I was not.  A wise high school guidance counselor suggested that volunteering would be a good alternative.  Her sage advice helped me to develop the skills, experience, references and above all, the confidence that I needed to eventually take my own place in the world of work.

Coming Out of the Starting Blocks by Jon Dunkerley

I am a blind runner competing in a site classification reserved for those athletes with no, or very little site, thus I require a guide runner to help me navigate the track. This can pose some very unique challenges for sure, but when mastered, I’ve been told there is nothing sweeter to watch…

Yup, I am a blind 400meter runner and in just two short weeks, I’ll be jetting off to the UK to prepare to represent Canada in the Paralympic games, beginning in London on August 29th.

Competing as a blind sprinter comes with it, a host of unique challenges that when mastered at the elite level, can result in some ridiculously fast times being run. One of ‘said’ challenges that needs to be conquered before one can even consider running at a world class level is mastering the start. The start is the first component to a sprint race, and is hard enough to execute on your own, never mind tethered to a guide runner. Yeah I run with a guide runner, so not only do I have to be on the ball, but so does he.