{"version":"1.0","provider_name":"The News Journal","provider_url":"https:\/\/qa.thenewsjournal.net","title":"Freeman hopes to educate about disabilities at Dinner in the Dark March 14 &ndash; The News Journal","type":"rich","width":600,"height":338,"html":"<blockquote class=\"wp-embedded-content\" data-secret=\"x1i3QQtgBH\"><a href=\"https:\/\/qa.thenewsjournal.net\/freeman-hopes-educate-disabilities-dinner-dark-march-14\/\">Freeman hopes to educate about disabilities at Dinner in the Dark March 14<\/a><\/blockquote><iframe sandbox=\"allow-scripts\" security=\"restricted\" src=\"https:\/\/qa.thenewsjournal.net\/freeman-hopes-educate-disabilities-dinner-dark-march-14\/embed\/#?secret=x1i3QQtgBH\" width=\"600\" height=\"338\" title=\"&#8220;Freeman hopes to educate about disabilities at Dinner in the Dark March 14&#8221; &#8212; The News Journal\" data-secret=\"x1i3QQtgBH\" frameborder=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" class=\"wp-embedded-content\"><\/iframe><script type=\"text\/javascript\">\n\/* <![CDATA[ *\/\n\/*! This file is auto-generated *\/\n!function(d,l){\"use strict\";l.querySelector&&d.addEventListener&&\"undefined\"!=typeof URL&&(d.wp=d.wp||{},d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage||(d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage=function(e){var t=e.data;if((t||t.secret||t.message||t.value)&&!\/[^a-zA-Z0-9]\/.test(t.secret)){for(var s,r,n,a=l.querySelectorAll('iframe[data-secret=\"'+t.secret+'\"]'),o=l.querySelectorAll('blockquote[data-secret=\"'+t.secret+'\"]'),c=new RegExp(\"^https?:$\",\"i\"),i=0;i<o.length;i++)o[i].style.display=\"none\";for(i=0;i<a.length;i++)s=a[i],e.source===s.contentWindow&&(s.removeAttribute(\"style\"),\"height\"===t.message?(1e3<(r=parseInt(t.value,10))?r=1e3:~~r<200&&(r=200),s.height=r):\"link\"===t.message&&(r=new URL(s.getAttribute(\"src\")),n=new URL(t.value),c.test(n.protocol))&&n.host===r.host&&l.activeElement===s&&(d.top.location.href=t.value))}},d.addEventListener(\"message\",d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage,!1),l.addEventListener(\"DOMContentLoaded\",function(){for(var e,t,s=l.querySelectorAll(\"iframe.wp-embedded-content\"),r=0;r<s.length;r++)(t=(e=s[r]).getAttribute(\"data-secret\"))||(t=Math.random().toString(36).substring(2,12),e.src+=\"#?secret=\"+t,e.setAttribute(\"data-secret\",t)),e.contentWindow.postMessage({message:\"ready\",secret:t},\"*\")},!1)))}(window,document);\n\/* ]]> *\/\n<\/script>\n","thumbnail_url":"https:\/\/qa.thenewsjournal.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/Travis-Freeman-signs-book-3x.jpg","thumbnail_width":468,"thumbnail_height":378,"description":"Dr. Travis Freeman says the idea about the upcoming \u201cLights Out Dinner in the Dark\u201d March 14 is to give people a greater appreciation for the kinds of challenges people with disabilities face every day. Freeman, an ordained minister and adjunct professor of religion at the University of the Cumberlands, lost his sight in middle school. His fight to overcome the hurdles that naturally came with sudden blindness were the subject of the feature-length film \u201c23 Blast\u201d and his autobiography \u201cLights Out: Living in a Sightless World.\u201d He is also president and CEO of The Freeman Foundation \u2014 an organization he created to promote the needs and potential of people with disabilities. \u201cWe are wanting to take people out of their comfort zone,\u201d Freeman said about the dinner. \u201cWe want people to think about how they interact with people with disabilities. We think putting people in those situations will help raise awareness and think differently about those situations.\u201d Those who attend the dinner will be asked to eat spaghetti and meatballs while blindfolded. After the dinner, former University of Kentucky basketball player Jarrod Polson will be the keynote speaker. Freeman said Polson plans to talk about how athletics gave him a platform to talk about the things important, something that is a big part of his own life experience. Freeman played football for Corbin, and even participated on the varsity football team at Corbin High School despite his blindness. What he hopes people learn, more than anything, from the dinner is the proper way to direct their compassion toward those with disabilities that is not patronizing or inadvertently offensive. \u201cWe want people to think about how they interact with people with disabilities,\u201d Freeman said. \u201cI would say with anyone who has a disability, if you see them out and you think they need help \u2026 ask them,\u201d Freeman added. \u201cDon\u2019t assume they need help, but ask them. If they say no, just trust that they know more about what they need than you do.\u201d Freeman said he\u2019s had instances of people that have literally forced the issue in a well-meaning attempt to assist him. \u201cIt\u2019s just a matter of taking that compassion they want to display and displaying it properly.\u201d Freeman organized a similar awareness-raising event last year with the \u201cLights Out Blindfold 5k\u201d race in Corbin. Runners had to navigate the course blindfolded. A similar race is planned to take place in Versailles in April. Much of the proceeds raised from \u201cLights Out Dinner in the Dark\u201d will go to benefit an orphanage in Haiti run by a man who was born with no hands. The kids in the orphanage get an extra meal each day for every $8,000 raised. The dinner will take place at The Corbin Center. It starts at 6:30 p.m. Anyone interested in attending can register online at www.travisfreeman.org or get tickets from Mary Freeman during regular business hours at Central Baptist Church in Corbin. Adult tickets are $15. Children 12-year-old and younger are $10. Copies of Freeman\u2019s autobiography and DVDs of \u201c23 Blast\u201d will be on sale at the event for anyone interested in purchasing them."}