Overbrook School for the Blind’s Post

What is Next Step Skills? Next Step Skills is a free, virtual mentorship and work-readiness program for blind/visually-impaired students ages 14-24 in Pennsylvania! AmeriCorps members serving at the Overbrook School for the Blind facilitate five Next Step Skills sessions throughout the year. Students participate in weekly virtual social activities, focus lessons, and 1 on 1 mentoring. All OSB AmeriCorps members and the students they serve are close in age and share the experience of living with visual impairments. This creates especially powerful near-peer mentoring relationships. Image Description: The image is an infographic with the words What Is Next Step Skills in yellow with a red background. There are 3 textboxes with text. The first box says MENTORING: Weekly 1 on 1 mentoring sessions with a mentor who is also blind or visually-impaired. Students build confidence through a variety of activities: Exploring Assistive Technology, Goal Setting, Mock Interviews, Job Searching, Sharing Experiences and Advice. The second box says SOCIAL ACTIVITIES: Weekly games and bonding activities that help students connect with blind/visually-impaired peers. Social activities include: Jeopardy, Family Feud, Trivia, Improv Games, Scavenger Hunts. The third box says FOCUS LESSONS: Weekly professional development workshops designed for young adults preparing to enter college or the workforce. Some topics include: Self-Advocacy and Disclosing Disability, Researching and Applying to Colleges, Career panels with blind professionals, Professional Communication. At the bottom is a logo and text for "Overbrook School for the Blind AmeriCorps."