To all our new group members and subscribers at Tactile Collective, I’d like to send out a huge huge welcome, and thank you, for joining and supporting my passion, something that I hope will have a positive impact in the VI world.
For all our new international friends, I thought I’d send out a quick post explaining our Tactile Collective community Facebook Group ‘Tactile Collective Buy, Sell, Trade & Donate braille and Vision Goods’. This is so everyone has a really clear understanding in what Tactile Collective is trying to achieve, how it will benefit our VI community, and how you can get involved & become a person that can change lives. Hold on tight….it’s a long one…but please see it through to the end. It’s worth it, as it could potentially benefit families and students who are blind or have low vision around the world.
Tactile Collective’s mission is to create a kind & safe community for families, teachers, specialists and organisations who are involved with the vision community. This community allows a space where members can communicate freely with each other, and provide support in accessing items no matter where families are located, or what their socio-economic status may be. I think it’s really important to inform everyone that Tactile Collective does not receive a financial profit from this Facebook page, however, we do receive the gift of watching members share and create accessibility for each other around the globe.
In Australia, the buy/sell pages on Facebook are really popular. We often have these for various suburbs or postcodes, or for North or South sides of the city, specific styles or brands. People join these groups for many reasons including; reducing consumerism by recycling products, being able to receive goods for a reduced price, or to donate goods to others that may not be able to buy these products at full retail price.
The Facebook page always has an original creator who becomes the official page administrator, whose role is to manage the group and ensure it’s a safe space for sharing information & goods. They also ensure that what’s posted fits the groups guidelines. However, asides from this, the page members are free to post their items they choose to sell, buy, trade or donate and discuss or negotiate this with other group members. Usually, a ‘Sold’ is placed in the comments to confirm the purchase, and even a ‘SNIL’ to request ‘Sold Next in Line’.
As a member on this Facebook page, you may be able to find a product that you've been looking for over a long period of time but were unable to purchase from the original source due to price, postage location, or lack of access of that material. In the Vision world, items can pop up from any time frame, and occasionally, you can be lucky enough to snag a vintage piece. Or, you may be a member who has the skills & products to be able to provide to others, whether it’s selling braille books, braille resources, or donating braille books to members in need.
I’m really hoping that this Facebook group benefits our VI community by reducing the accessibility gap globally for people who are desperately in need of braille & low vision items. Since starting Tactile Collective, I was astounded by the numerous requests from families in South Africa, the Philippines, South America, and Pasifika Islands who are in desperate need of simple items like braille books, Perkins braillers, keyboards, old computers, etc. Anything that can help their students learn at the same level as their peers, or just simply, learn. It honestly breaks my heart that they're unable to access these simple items. These students are at a disadvantage from a very young age, in both learning, and being able to grow and choose how they would like to contribute in our world.
As a community, we can all work together to ensure that we don't have students or families in this situation in the future. If you would like to become a part of our community, please head to www.tactilecollective.com.au and click on the Facebook button underneath our introductory blurb on our home page. Or, alternatively, click the button at the end of this paragraph. This will take you to the 'Tactile Collective Buy, Sell, Trade & Donate Braille & Vision Goods' Facebook group. Please check out what's being offered, or, share what you may have to offer someone else.
It may just change a tactile learners life!
I would love to hear from you!
Kind regards,
Jax@TactileCollective
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