Members of ACB Next Generation know Janeen for her enthusiasm, vibrant personality, and gregariousness. Whether volunteering for her local community or ACB, Janeen has an infectious passion for connecting with others, and helping all people find friends and build community. She firmly believes that friends are the family we create. She currently serves on the Membership, Programs, and Fundraising Committees in ACB Next Generation. She is a member of so many ACB affiliates that our editors would need a separate blog to list them all. She takes particular pride and joy in her work with the Activities Committee in the Florida affiliate, which she created and now chairs. That platform allows her to bring people together over fun activities and experiences.
Janeen lost her vision suddenly during her adulthood in 2019, which changed her life irrevocably. When she was sighted, she was an event planner, creating spaces for people to gather. She did not know how this would change after she lost her sight, and was afraid she would not be able to enjoy her other hobbies, such as baking and theater.
When the ACB Community was created as a result of the pandemic, Janeen threw herself into doing what she loves and sharing that with other people. She created a community call entitled “Wake, Make, and Bake,” in which she walked participants through making a simple meal to help them build up their foundational cooking skills. She also hosted “Celebrate You,” a monthly call which celebrated birthdays for that month. Currently, she hosts “Double Talk,” a community call which is held biweekly, in which participants are rotated to different Zoom breakout rooms to meet others.
Once she discovered audio description, Janeen knew she would still be able to enjoy one of her other beloved hobbies even with vision loss. She is a faithful attendee to the Orlando Fringe festival, the longest-running theater festival in the country. Now, she works with them on their accessibility efforts so everyone can enjoy the festival activities and shows.
In order to celebrate love and acceptance among all people and wear it loud and proud, Janeen recently created a clothing design alongside Blind Girl Designs. The design says “Love is love is love” in varying fonts of print and in Braille. The design is available on t-shirts of varying color options, as well as a full-zip hoodie, pullover hoodie, two zip tote bag colors, and two apron colors. All proceeds from the fundraiser will go toward supporting community theaters with providing audio description for their productions. You can check out the items available at this link.
Janeen loves to connect, and believes there is a place for everyone in this world to feel accepted and appreciated. In her spare time, she loves to make tactile crafts, play board games, and spend time with her rabbit, Chewbacca. She proudly declares that her favorite word is “fluffy,” and states that you can learn a lot about a person by asking them their favorite word. With great sincerity and compassion, she advises us: “Call or text one person from your contacts every day because you never know when they will no longer be here.”