IAAD 2025
International Albinism Awareness Day
Sunday June 15th, 10.30am to 1.00pm
Venue: Guide Dogs, 2/6 Chandler Highway, Kew.
RSVP: by Wed 11th June (we need to know for catering)
https://events.humanitix.com/vic-iaad-2025
Great news, Guide Dogs have invited us to celebrate International Albinism Awareness Day (IAAD) in their lovely new facility, 2/6 Chandler Hwy Kew – a great opportunity to check it out and meet Liz Pepper our host.
There will be activities for kids, including a large screen for games (think Conference ’24 Mario Kart etc) in their kids’ room. We invite kids of all ages to bring their screens to share their favourite games and activities. We will also have tables for junior leggo, cards, drawing and board games.
With all that activity we have a quieter space next door for adults to sit and chat over a coffee. Lunch with a celebratory cake will be served at 12.00 for all.
It will also be an opportunity to learn about the new supports for unpaid carers through Carer Gateway, a government initiative, about 11.00am. Their grant through Holstep Health will finance our light lunch.
We hope to see you all there in this central location – a great opportunity to introduce your kids to those like them and for everyone to make new acquaintances and meet old friends!
Any queries, please contact our new Vic Reps Shaun Kay or Mary Kelleher Kay via Facebook Messenger or Sandra 0421058882 (retiring rep)
A VERY BIG THANK YOU to Guide Dogs Vic and Carer Gateway Holstep Health
IAAD 2024:
Vic IAAD today! A lovely lunch with 6 families, 20 people and dotty the GDog! Lots of conversation and sharing of tips (adults), new connections, some old hands returned and lots of kids interaction.
Amazing how kids who only meet now and then have formed some very close friendships and pick up on where they last left off. Great to hear of sports they are playing (Blind tennis, goalball, go-kart racing and Basketball) and developing skills (writing poetry and stories, robotics with young ones at kinder and primary school) – nothing much holds them back! The bigger boys spent most of the time in the games arcade and only appeared for food! Big thanks to Shaun K for organising the day – Shaun and Sandra managed to avoid the camera in photos below.
IAAD 2023; A lovely Day with the support of Zagame’s Caulfield!
IAAD 2022: “UNITED IN MAKING OUR VOICE HEARD”
With Covid still lurking, Vic members held small events with family, friends, or at work! Some samples below.
Kate took some flyers to work to celebrate at a morning tea and shared some of the AFA power points that explain albinism, with family and friends.
Emina – theatre nurse
Emina took some AFA flyers to work and put them up in the operating theatres. This prompted lots of conversation and questions, especially when they realised that she does have albinism (the OA variety). But you don’t have red eyes/white hair? We thought that you could see!
Much of the day was spent discussing albinism and the use of technology for her low vision, as she got on with her theatre nursing job. The most significant was probably convincing an ophthalmologist that women can have ocular albinism (is not always x-linked for males only) – and yes she did have a genetic test as proof! Great work Emina!
IAAD 2021:
Unfortunately this 2021 event was postponed and then cancelled due to Covid.
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