[Colorado-talk] Fw: Donation Letters

[Everett Gavel]

Hello All,

I sent the message below to the NFB's Fundraising 
list yesterday. Thought I'd share it here too. 
Please consider helping in the way I suggest, 
below? Thanks. Every little bit helps! ;-)

Strive On!
Everett

----- Original Message ----- 
Date: Fri, 30 Nov 2012 12:33:38 -0700
From: "Everett Gavel"
To: <nfb-fundraising at nfbnet.org>
Subject: [Nfb-fundraising] Donation Letters

Hello All,

Below is the text of a donation request I just put
together and shared with my Facebook Friends. I'm
asking you to please do the same. Or by e-mail, or
printed letter, doesn't really matter. Use it if
you think it worthy, or do what I did and adapt it
to your liking. Also, if anyone has donation
letters they've used and think worth sharing,
please do, here [on the nfb-fundraising list]. It 
can only help.

Strive On!
Everett


Please, text the word BLIND to 85944 to donate $10
to the NFB Imagination Fund
via your phone bill.

Why? Here are some examples of where the money
goes:

What is the Imagination Fund?
The Imagination Fund was established with the goal
of providing support for the work of the Jernigan
Institute and local Federation chapters and
affiliates throughout the United States. This year
the Imagination campaign will elicit the help of
hundreds of volunteers from around the country to
share our progress and ask for your help. Your
contribution to the Imagination Fund will ensure
that the initiatives of the Institute are advanced
and that NFB state affiliates have the support
needed to reach out to the blind in local
communities. With your help all will benefit from
the research, technology, education, and
inspiration of the Jernigan Institute.

Some accomplishments:

. Conducted first ever Science Academy for blind
youth, a summer program in partnership with NASA.

 "Science Academy has given me confidence in
myself because I was able to see a lot of blind
people who have been successful in science"
 --Andrew Wai, Student at the 2004 Science Academy

 "'now I know I can be a scientist, so I will take
those advanced science and math courses'"
 --Hoby Wedler, Student Attending the 2004 Science
Academy

. Called the first GAMA (Goals for Achieving Math
Accessibility) Summit, which brought educators and
math technologists together to collaborate on
innovations for the improvement of math access for
the blind.
. Partnered with the Whiting School of Engineering
at Johns Hopkins University challenging students
to develop a portable, low-cost Braille-writing
machine.
. Established the Jacobus tenBroek Library, a
research and resource library on blindness.
. Hosted an annual "Possibilities Fair," a
resource program for blind and low-vision seniors.
. Delivered over 165 daily newspapers, including
two in Spanish, to over 50,000 blind individuals
by telephone 24-7 on NFB-NEWSLINE'.
. Maintained the International Braille and
Technology Center for the Blind (IBTC), an
evaluation, demonstration, and training facility
containing over $2 million worth of speech and
Braille technology for the blind.
. Expanded to four the online courses now
available to familiarize teaching professionals
and parents of blind children with blindness
issues.

Progress continues with...

. Creating a National Center for Mentoring
Excellence, which will link blind and visually
impaired youth with successful blind mentors.
. Developing a high-tech educational curriculum
about adjustment to vision loss in collaboration
with Lions International and the Lions Vision
Research and Rehabilitation Center at Johns
Hopkins University.
. Promoting voting machines accessible for the
blind.

How Your Gift Can Help the Imagination Fund:

. Your gift makes it possible for talented blind
youth to attend our summer Science Academy
sessions and launch a rocket with NASA's rocket
scientists.
. Your gift makes it possible for hundreds of
blind kids to participate in "Braille Readers Are
Leaders"-- a literacy program for independent
readers grades K-12.

. Your gift supports resource fairs that encourage
independence for seniors who are losing vision.
. Your gift provides materials to teachers that
will make it possible to teach blind students more
effectively.
. Your gift helps to send copies of NFB's Kernel
Books and inspirational videos to parents and the
newly blind.
. Your gift helps bring blind adults to
educational seminars that provide information and
resources necessary to enhance independence.
. Your gift helps distribute Braille Is Beautiful,
a blindness and Braille awareness curriculum for
sighted youth.
. Your gift helps provide materials for parents
and professional staff attending the NFB Jernigan
Institute Early Childhood Conference.
. Your gift helps provide blind children the
opportunity to be a part of the "My First Cane"
program.
. Your gift helps make science and math a real
possibility for blind children
. Your gift helps to provide hope for seniors
losing their vision
. Your gift helps provide parents with critical
information helpful to their blind children

 "We invite you to help us by sharing your ideas,
talents, and treasure."
 -- Marc Maurer, President, National Federation of
the Blind

Once again I ask you to please text the word BLIND
to 85944 to donate $10 to the NFB Imagination Fund
via your phone bill. It doesn't get much simpler
to be able to help change the world, and change
what it means to be blind. Thanks for your help!