[Colorado-Talk] Aurora Chapter essay Contest for Blind or Low Vision Students

[Peggy Chong]

The Aurora Chapter is pleased to announce.

 

250-150 Essay Contest for Blind and Low Vision

 

Essay Contest for Blind or Low Vision Children

 

Our country is celebrating the 250th anniversary of the United States. In
Colorado, we are also celebrating our states 150th anniversary. Heros of our
past are being honored and remembered for all they have contributed. This
year the Aurora Chapter of the National Federation of the Blind of Colorado
is celebrating the accomplishments of our Blind ancestors. 

 

The Aurora Chapter is sponsoring an essay contest for blind or low vision
children in grades 6-12 enrolled in public or privates schools in Colorado
to tell us about their favorite blind hero from the past and what that
person meant to them. The first prize is $100. We will be accepting essays
after September 1, 2026. 

 

Teachers or educators of Blind students are encouraged to use our contest as
a class assignment and/or learning tool--whether that be for learning about
proper document formatting, earning extra credit for Braille assignments, or
learning to perform research. 

 

Guidelines for submission

1.	Essays must be 1,000 words or more, written  in the student's own
words.
2.	The subject must be a blind person, living or dead, who lived in the
United States.
3.	Submissions must be received no later than November 28, 2026.
4.	Essays can be submitted in hardcopy print, hardcopy Braille, or
electronically via email.

 

The committee will review and select the winners to be awarded at the
December 2026  gathering of the Aurora Chapter. Registration must be
completed through the link, NFB Aurora Chapter Essay Contest Registration
<https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSehVWo47UNEc3rMwTkzUjy66T8PgJGa9Qh
VkPv5JLrONeWKTQ/viewform?usp=header> .  Braille and print hardcopy essays
should be mailed to Peggy Chong, 14152 E Linvale Pl. 201, Aurora, CO, 80014.
Email electronic submissions to chongpeggy10 at gmail.com
<mailto:chongpeggy10 at gmail.com> .  

 

For more information, research ideas, accessible research sites, and how to
enter, contact Peggy Chong, 14152 E. Linvale Pl., Unit 201, Aurora Colorado,
80014 or via email at chongpeggy10 at gmail.com <mailto:chongpeggy10 at gmail.com>
.

 

Winning essays may be published in publications of the National Federation
of the Blind.

 

 

Essay Guidelines, Research Options, and Suggestions

 

The committee will be looking at the storytelling of the participant's
essay, not so much on grammar or punctuation. No AI or copy-and-paste essays
will be accepted. 

 

Stories can include thoughts about the blind ancestor, what the child
learned, or the effect the blind ancestor had on the child. 

 

The committee will expect that essays have been spell-checked before
submission. 

 

Research sites that are mostly accessible can be found online. Examples
include (but are not limited to) Colorado Newspaper collections at Colorado
Historic Newspapers Collection <https://www.coloradohistoricnewspapers.org/>
or through the History Colorado Museum at
https://www.historycolorado.org/search-the-collection.

Students can also call local libraries for assistance with targeted
questions. 

 

Here are some examples of some notable blind people who have made
significant accomplishments in the history of blind people.

 

            Ted Henter - founder of Henter-Joyce, the company which
developed the                                    JAWS for Windows screen
reader.

            Tim Cramner - Inventor of many high and low tech devices for the
blind.

            Amy Bower - Oceanographer.

            Dr. Abraham Nemeth - developer of the Braille Nemeth Code for
Mathematics             and Science.

            Joseph Pulitzer - Newspaper man.

Elias Ammons - Blind Governor of Colorado.

            Ralph Teetor - Inventor of cruise control.

            Erik Weihenmayer - Colorado teacher who climbed Mt. Everest.


            Elsie Cowan - Co-Founder of the Friends of the Colorado Library
for the                                     Blind.

            Elena Zelayeta - Author, TV personality, cook, and founder of a
frozen food                            firm.

            Don Mahoney - Children's TV star from Texas.

 

 

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://nfbnet.org/pipermail/colorado-talk_nfbnet.org/attachments/20260724/05a8de76/attachment.htm>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: image001.gif
Type: image/gif
Size: 70 bytes
Desc: not available
URL: <http://nfbnet.org/pipermail/colorado-talk_nfbnet.org/attachments/20260724/05a8de76/attachment.gif>