[Cinci-nfb] Follow up from April 17 Membership Committee meeting re: outreach efforts

Wed Apr 26 14:04:05 UTC 2017

Good Morning Chris,

Please allow me to remind you of the objective that I proposed. I understand
that your church as well other churches may require instructions and/or
training on the aspects of blindness, but we are moving away from what I
originally proposed.

My original proposal:

Scope:

Provide a platform for low vision individuals that are experiencing problems
coping with blindness.

Objective:

Gain the trust of low vision people by attending to their concerns and
problems dealing with blindness. This is an outreach initiative to those
that are not presently involved with the NFB, but anyone is encouraged to
participate. We would direct them to support aspects that is already
existing and where appropriate initiate new avenues. In doing so, possibly
gain many new members. This objective could be facilitated in conjunction
with our recreation committee as well the agencies in Ohio when appropriate.

We would want to have meetings in places where blind people conjugate. i.e.
Bell home, CABVI, Clovernook.

My concern:

I believe that there are many people in our area that experience so many
different issues dealing with blindness i.e. finding love; understanding,
why them; discrimination: recreation; religion; loneliness etc. Our members
have had and may still have similar issues that we have dealt with that
could be of great help to someone else, we could also approach a
professional to moderate the group meetings.

This is just an idea that has been in my mind for some time to reach out to
anyone in need of this type of service. This initiative would provide a pool
of people that may not know of the support that the NFB provides. If the
committee decide to move in this direction, it would take time , planning
and effort to introduce and facilitate the project in a
professional/positive manner.

End of original proposal

The motivation for this project was put on my heart, but what this project
is moving to has nothing to do with what was, and is on my heart. I thank
you for considering my proposal and I look forward to supporting our chapter
with the initiative that is being initiated now.

Living the dream, by raising expectations!

Much Love,

Walter Mitchell

Member, NFB Ohio, Cincinnati chapter, Diabetes Action Network Ohio

Coordinator, NFB NEWSLINE Registered Ohio

(513) 582-8606 Mobil

(800) 340-8211 ext. 101  L2T Products and Services Toll free

 <mailto:Walterl.mitch2 at gmail.com> Walterl.mitch2 at gmail.com Email

Follow the NFB of Ohio on:

Face Book,  <https://m.facebook.com/ohiosblind>
https://m.facebook.com/ohiosblind

Cincinnati Chapter:
<https://m.facebook.com/NationalFederationoftheBlindofCincinnati/>
https://m.facebook.com/NationalFederationoftheBlindofCincinnati/.

Twitter @ohnfb, 

YouTube channel NFB OHIO

From: Cinci-nfb [mailto:cinci-nfb-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of
Christopher Sabine, ONH Consulting via Cinci-nfb
Sent: Tuesday, April 25, 2017 9:54 PM
To: 'NFB of Ohio Cincinnati Chapter List'
Cc: Christopher Sabine, ONH Consulting
Subject: Re: [Cinci-nfb] Follow up from April 17 Membership Committee
meeting re: outreach efforts

Walter.

You actually bring up an excellent point. The important thing is that we do
outreach and each person tailor their letter to the specific norms of the
church they plan to approach. For example, with a really politically /
mmedia savvy church like New Prospect Baptist, the term "meet and greet"
might be entirely inappropriate. They are a group that is very used to doing
community outreach. On the other hand, my parish, Assumption Mt. Healthy, is
certainly not. I am at this point the only blind Paritioner; I was confirmed
there as an adult and have been a member for ten years, and they have shown
a relative indifference to my needs as a Blind individual. They host
activities such as "Coffee and Doughnuts", Bingo" after Mass as well as
faith formation groups, so I think a term like "Meet and Greet" is the best
approach to use. It certainly wouldn't be my approach, but you have to teach
people to crawl before they learn to walk-so I think it's very important
that we tweak this letter to conform to our target audience. 

Chris

From: Cinci-nfb [mailto:cinci-nfb-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Walter
Mitchell via Cinci-nfb
Sent: Tuesday, April 25, 2017 9:33 PM
To: 'NFB of Ohio Cincinnati Chapter List'
Cc: Walter Mitchell
Subject: Re: [Cinci-nfb] Follow up from April 17 Membership Committee
meeting re: outreach efforts

Hi guys,

My proposal is takeing on a different objective, so in short, Chris this is
your project and I will support how I can.

There is just one thing that I would like for you to consider. How is a meet
and greet with a church council support outreach to the blind community?
Further, how do it provide us with the opportunity to gain members?

Please forgive me if this message sounds aggressive, but the last few weeks
have been very hecktic for me, and I'm very tired.

Thank God that I only have one more person to register for the Flying Pig
tonight, then it is bed time.

Goodnight!

Walter

From: Cinci-nfb [mailto:cinci-nfb-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of
Christopher Sabine, ONH Consulting via Cinci-nfb
Sent: Tuesday, April 25, 2017 7:40 PM
To: 'NFB of Ohio Cincinnati Chapter List'
Cc: Christopher Sabine, ONH Consulting
Subject: Re: [Cinci-nfb] Follow up from April 17 Membership Committee
meeting re: outreach efforts

Sheri. Thanks so much for your clarification. That was basically my take on
the discussion at the Chapter meeting.

Chris

From: Cinci-nfb [mailto:cinci-nfb-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Sheri
Albers via Cinci-nfb
Sent: Tuesday, April 25, 2017 5:15 PM
To: 'NFB of Ohio Cincinnati Chapter List'
Cc: Sheri Albers; richard
Subject: Re: [Cinci-nfb] Follow up from April 17 Membership Committee
meeting re: outreach efforts

Hello,

I want to help clarify this discussion, if I may. After the discussion
during the last chapter meeting, it was decided that the Membership
Committee would conduct outreach events for the purpose of informing the
public who the NFB is, and what we are all about, and to invite them to our
chapter meetings. Richard stressed that it would be counterproductive to
have a secondary group started outside the chapter meeting, when the support
and nurturing of members can, and should be done within the chapter meeting.
This is what lead to Elif's motion that passed.

Thanks,

Sheri Albers 

From: Cinci-nfb [mailto:cinci-nfb-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Walter
Mitchell via Cinci-nfb
Sent: Tuesday, April 25, 2017 4:07 PM
To: 'NFB of Ohio Cincinnati Chapter List'
Cc: Walter Mitchell
Subject: Re: [Cinci-nfb] Follow up from April 17 Membership Committee
meeting re: outreach efforts

Hi Chris,

I removed my motion to develop a ad hoc committee to develop a business
plan. The primary objective stayed the same, to conduct support group
meetings in an effort to give back to the community and hopefully gain new
members. A meet and greet of church councils doesn't support the goal that
we wish to achieve.

If there needs to be more discussion on this matter, please contact me off
line.

Walter

From: Cinci-nfb [mailto:cinci-nfb-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of
Christopher Sabine, ONH Consulting via Cinci-nfb
Sent: Tuesday, April 25, 2017 3:36 PM
To: 'NFB of Ohio Cincinnati Chapter List'
Cc: Christopher Sabine, ONH Consulting
Subject: Re: [Cinci-nfb] Follow up from April 17 Membership Committee
meeting re: outreach efforts

Walter. I understand your point. However, I distinctly remember that we
abandoned the idea of necessarily having support groups per se at the
Chapter meeting. You'll remember that you tabled your earlier motion after
the long discussion involving Richard and went with a motion from Elif that
was more along the lines of outreach activities. Those who were at the
meeting, please refresh my memory if my read on the transcript is faulty.

Thanks,

Chris

From: Cinci-nfb [mailto:cinci-nfb-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Walter
Mitchell via Cinci-nfb
Sent: Tuesday, April 25, 2017 3:27 PM
To: 'NFB of Ohio Cincinnati Chapter List'
Cc: Walter Mitchell
Subject: Re: [Cinci-nfb] Follow up from April 17 Membership Committee
meeting re: outreach efforts

Chris,

This is a great letter, but in my opinion we did not express the true
objective. I suggested support group meetings, not a meet and greet. In the
letter it suggest to me that we just want to meet with the church council. I
would rather that we express our objective and if they want a meet and greet
prior to allowing us to utilize their location for our support group
meetings, OK.

Walter

From: Cinci-nfb [mailto:cinci-nfb-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of
Christopher Sabine, ONH Consulting via Cinci-nfb
Sent: Tuesday, April 25, 2017 12:14 AM
To: 'NFB of Ohio Cincinnati Chapter List'
Cc: Christopher Sabine, ONH Consulting
Subject: [Cinci-nfb] Follow up from April 17 Membership Committee meeting
re: outreach efforts

Hello all. This is a follow up from our Membership Committee Meeting that
was held by telephone conference at 7:00 P.M. on April 17, 2017. We decided
at that meeting that we would conduct outreach activities at churches and
other community organizations throughout Greater Cincinnati. Paul Dressell,
Lisa Hall, Walter Mitchell, Dale Barta and I attended the meeting. We
decided that we would all approach at least one church or community
organization by our next meeting, which is scheduled for May 15 2017 at 7:00
P.M.

We decided as follows:

.         Dale Barta will contact the Vineyard Church in Springdale;

.         Lisa Hall will reach out to the Friendship Baptist Church on
Cheviot Road in Groesbeck;

.         Walter Mitchell will approach the New Prospect Baptist Church and
the Word of Deliverance Church;

.         Christopher Sabine will contact Assumption Parish

The following is a draft letter for prospective contacts regarding our
outreach efforts. Please be sure to give me any feedback you have prior to
sending this out. Also-please feel free to modify or tweak this document in
any way you wish or feel will bring us the maximum exposure possible.

April 24, 2017

Dear Deacon Rick:

My name is Christopher Sabine, and I am glad to be a member of the
Assumption Parish Family. I am writing because I am also a proud member of
the National Federation of the Blind of Cincinnati.

Established in 1940, the NFB is the nation's leading organization of Blind
people and the voice of the nation's blind. We strive to enable Blind people
in Greater Cincinnati and nationwide to participate in all aspects of daily
live and live the life they want. WE are conducting outreach to local
community organizations and would like to know if we could host a "meet and
greet" at the Parish to better acquaint the Assumption Family with the
contributions of the Blind to our community. We would also like to
demonstrate and share information regarding how Blind people perform many
daily activities, such as travel, reading Braille and using computers and
other technology. 

I would be glad to discuss specifics of this activity with our Pastoral
Council and others involved in organizing this event. If you have any
questions regarding the NFB of Cincinnati, please do not hesitate to reach
out to me at any time.

Sincerely,

Christopher Sabine

As I mentioned earlier, we will have our next meeting by conference call on
May 15 at 7:00 P.M. I'll be sending the usual reminders prior to the
meeting.

Please do not hesitate to send this letter to community organizations you
are involved with. Let's go build the Federation in Greater Cincinnati.

Very Best Regards,

Chris

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