Seeking: Blind Mentors for 2014 LIFE Program

Seeking: Blind Mentors for 2014 LIFE Program

Are you looking for a job this summer?

Are you a blind college student or young blind professional who is enthusiastic and confident in your blindness skills?

Do you want to inspire while promoting a positive image of blindness to up and coming blind youth and young adults?

Do you want to work with blind youth to help them reach their full potential and encourage them to have high expectations for themselves? 

If the answer to these questions is a resounding YES, then the VRCBVI 2014 LIFE summer program needs you to work as a mentor!

The Virginia Rehabilitation Center for the Blind and Vision Impaired (VRCBVI) is seeking three blind college-age mentors to work with our 2014 LIFE Program with the possibility of working in our 2014 College Assessment Program.

Learning Independence, Feeling Empowered (LIFE) is a five week residential summer program for high school-age blind and vision-impaired youth who want to learn the skills of blindness, develop a positive attitude about blindness, and have fun while getting to know their blind peers from across the state.

VRCBVI is recruiting for three mentors who will work alongside our instructional staff in the areas of Braille, Personal and Home Management, Access Technology, and during after-hours confidence building activities.  If you are enthusiastic about giving back to the next generation of blind and vision-impaired youth and you want to have fun while working, then being a mentor in the 2014 LIFE Program is the place for you.

Dates of the LIFE Program: July 6 – August 8, 2014

Where: On the campus of VRCBVI in Richmond, VA

Hours: 40 hours a week which includes some evenings and weekends

**Dates of employment for mentors: July 4 – August 8, 2013.

Rate of pay: $9.00 an hour plus room and board

**Special note: there is the possibility that the mentors will have the opportunity to work with our College Assessment Program (CAP). In that case, mentors will need to arrive on June 10.

Requirements for mentors:

·        Excellent blindness skills — Braille, ability to travel independently using a long white cane or dog guide, proficiency in non-visual Access Technology, etc.

·        Maturity — ability to remain professional at all times

·        A level head, sense of humor, and enthusiastic sense of adventure.

·        Mentors will live in the dorm apartments on the VRCBVI campus

·        Pass background check

How to Apply:

·        Submit the following by mail to Amy Phelps, 401 Azalea Ave, Richmond VA, 23227 or by email to amy.phelps@dbvi.virginia.gov

o   Cover letter

o   Resume

o   Three professional references

o   500 word essay explaining why you would be the best candidate for the position and the role mentoring has played in your success

·        Deadline for application: All items must be received by no later than April 21, 2014.