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The Jared Cochran Memorial Cane Bank

Jared Cochran was the son of GOPBC members. He passed away unexpectedly in February, 2007.

A cane bank has been established in his memory to help provide white canes to blind children who need them.

Different people have different reactions to visually impaired children using canes. If your child is blind or substantially visually impaired and you're wondering if he or she needs a cane the answer is probably "yes". If you're worried what others might think because your child is using a cane, they'll probably think your child needs a cane to navigate through his or her environment. If a child needed a wheelchair, who would question having one for him or her? Like that wheelchair, a cane helps a blind child become mobile and able to navigate the environment.

Please contact us if you want more information on canes, but in short, canes help compensate for information that typically-sighted people get through their eyes. You need to decide what is right for your child. If someone is telling you that a cane is not appropriate for your child yet, find out why they think that and then do some research on your own. Ultimately, it is your decision, not the school's or any other professional's decision to make.

Parents of blind children have to be advocates for their children so that their children get what they need to become their own advocates as adults. Having a cane is a step towards independence for your child. White canes are vital tools for the vast majority of successful, independent blind adults.

If you need a cane for your child, please contact the GOPBC at: president@gopbc.org

We will make every effort to help provide a cane for a child who needs one.