White Cane Safety Day

The Lighthouse for the Visually Impaired and Blind will celebrate National White Cane Safety Day on Saturday, October 15th with a special walk.

By Patricia Porter

The Lighthouse for the Visually Impaired and Blind invites the public to participate in a special white cane walk to celebrate National White Cane Safety Day, Saturday, October 15^th. The walk starts at 10:00 a.m. and will be held at Anderson Snow Park, 1360 Anderson Snow Road in Spring Hill. Sighted individuals interested in learning what it looks and feels like to be blind or visually impaired will have the opportunity to try simulator glasses or blindfolds, and walk with a sighted guide to ensure safety. Participants, also, are encouraged to walk with an individual who is visually impaired to learn about them and their experience. 

The white cane walk is held every year to celebrate the white cane which has become a symbol of a blind person’s independence and ability to come and go on his own. It, also, promotes awareness of the White Cane law which requires drivers to come to a complete stop when they see a pedestrian with a white cane or guide dog crossing a street.

 Throughout the ages, canes, staffs and sticks have been used as aids by the blind. However, it was not until the twentieth century that the cane became a symbol to alert people that an individual was blind. The introduction of the white cane in the United States has been attributed to Lion’s Clubs International when, in 1930, a member watched a blind man trying to cross a busy street with a black cane. The club decided to paint the cane white so that it would be more visible to motorists and began a national program promoting the use of white canes for the blind.

In the 1960’s, organizations across the country who served the blind urged Congress to proclaim October 15^th as White Cane Safety Day. On October 6, 1964, a joint resolution of Congress authorizing the President to proclaim October 15^th as White Cane Safety Day was signed into law. Lyndon Johnson was the first President to do so. 

For more information about the White Cane Safety Day, please call Sandy Eckart at 352-754-1132.