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<p class="MsoNormal">Kenneth Jernigan Convention Scholarship<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The scholarship provides funding support to NFB members who want to attend a national convention for the first time.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Eligibility<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Active NFB members, blind or sighted, who have not yet attended an in-person
<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">NFB National Convention<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">because of lack of funding are eligible to apply.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">How to Apply<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Apply online using the <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Kenneth Jernigan Convention Scholarship application form.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The deadline to submit is April 15, 2025.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The application will ask for the following information:<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">list of 11 items<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">• Contact information: Include your full name and both your primary phone where you can be contacted by your state president and your mobile phone you<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">might use at convention, if available. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">• Please include your mailing address and, if you have one, your email address. If you don’t have an email address, please consider if there is a friend<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">or chapter member who might be able to assist with email correspondence.
<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">• State Affiliate/chapter information: Include your state affiliate, your state president, chapter, and chapter president, if you attend a chapter.
<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">• Mentor information: Include your personal convention mentor and provide that person’s phone number.
<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">• Funding request: Include your specific request and explain how much money you need from this fund to make this trip possible for you. We suggest you<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">consult with other members to make a rough budget for yourself.
<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">• Essay questions to explain why this is a good investment for the NFB: <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">• How do you currently participate in the Federation? <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">• Why do you want to attend a national convention? <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">• What would you receive? <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">• What can you share or give? <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">• Any special circumstances you hope the committee will take into consideration.
<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">list end<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">If you cannot apply online, you can still apply by writing a letter to your state affiliate president answering the above questions. This letter should<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">be emailed to your state affiliate president. Once you have decided you will apply, please contact your state president in person or by phone to request<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">his or her help in obtaining funding. Be sure to tell the state affiliate president when to expect that your application will be submitted and mention<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">the deadline.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Once your online application has been submitted, your application will be provided to your state president via email. It is still your responsibility to<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">contact your affiliate president. He or she must email a president’s recommendation directly to the Kenneth Jernigan Convention Scholarship Fund Committee<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">at <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><a href="mailto:kjscholarships@nfb.org">kjscholarships@nfb.org</a>. Your president must email the recommendation no later than the deadline of April 15, 2025. If you have applied outside of the online<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">form, the state affiliate president must email both the recommendation and the application letter.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Notification of Award<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">If you are chosen to receive this scholarship, you will receive a letter with convention details that should answer most of your questions. The committee<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">makes every effort to notify winners by May 15, but you must do several things before that to be prepared to attend if you are chosen:<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">list of 3 items<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">• Make your own hotel reservation. If something prevents you from attending, you can cancel the reservation. (Yes, you may arrange for roommates of your<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">own to reduce the cost.) <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">• Register online for the entire convention, including the banquet, by May 31.
<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">• Find someone in your chapter or affiliate who has been to many conventions and can answer your questions as a friend and mentor.
<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">list end<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">If you do not hear from the committee by May 15, then you did not win a scholarship this year.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Receiving the Award<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">At the convention you will be given a debit card or credit card loaded with the amount of your award. The times and locations to pick up your card will<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">be listed in the letter we send you. The committee is not able to provide funds before the convention, so work with your chapter and state affiliate to<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">assist you by obtaining an agreement to advance funds if you win a scholarship, and to pay your treasury back after you receive your debit or credit card.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Award Details<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The three biggest ticket items you need to cover when attending an NFB National Convention are the round-trip transportation, the hotel room for a week,<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">and the food (which tends to be higher priced than at home). We attempt to award additional funds to families, but, whether a family or an individual is<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">granted a scholarship, this fund can only help; it won’t pay all the costs. Most years the grants have been $600 per individual. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">We recommend that you find an NFB member as your personal convention mentor, someone who has been to many national conventions and is able to share money-saving<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">tips with you and tips on navigating the extensive agenda in the big hotel. Your mentor will help you get the most out of the amazing experience that is<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">convention week.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">More Information<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">For additional information, please contact the chairman of the Kenneth Jernigan Convention Scholarship Fund Committee, Tracy Soforenko, at <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><a href="mailto:kjscholarships@nfb.org">kjscholarships@nfb.org</a><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> or 410-659-9314, extension 2020.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">article end<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:14.0pt;mso-ligatures:none">Jerry Moreno
<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:14.0pt;mso-ligatures:none"><a href="mailto:g.moreno1950@outlook.com">g.moreno1950@outlook.com</a><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:14.0pt;mso-ligatures:none">704-241-2205<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;mso-ligatures:none"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;mso-ligatures:none">The happiest people don't have the best of everything - they just make<br>
The best of everything they have... So please remember: Live simply.<br>
Love generously. Care Deeply. Speak Kindly. Leave the Rest to God.</span><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;mso-ligatures:none"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;mso-ligatures:none"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;mso-ligatures:none">And remember - the richest person is not the one who has the most, but<br>
The one who needs the least.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;mso-ligatures:none"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:14.0pt;mso-ligatures:none"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
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