<html><head><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html charset=utf-8"><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html charset=utf-8"></head><body style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space;" class="">As many of you know, we have two state community service divisions.<div class=""> Our community Service Division in the District of Columbia has been very busy and as you will see, there is much to be excited about in our nation’s capital</div><div class=""> here is what President Libra Robinson writes:</div><div class=""> January our Division conducted a coat drive for one of our local Organizations. We know that warn coats are in abundance during the holiday season. We opted to do our drive afterwards because we realize that there are persons who still need warn coats and most of the time these items are depleted after the holiday season. In recognition of Black History Month. We hosted a Documentary at the Martin Luther King Librarys Adaptive Service Department by the name of Egypt on the Potomac . We invited our members aswell as members of the public to come out a join us and we also provided light refreshments. We also had a discussion about the documentary afterwards. The event was well attended. In March we launched our National Volunteer Week project. National Volunteer Week was conducted this year from April 10 through the 16. We asked our Chapter members to spend this week volunteering in many of our local organizations. First we conducted a Womens Toiletry drive. Our members brought their donations to Aprils Chapter meeting on April 9. Their donations helped us to launch the start of volunteer week. On Monday we donated those items to one of our local Womens Shelters. On Tuesday we had volunteers bag groceries, on Wednesday we had volunteers serve Breakfast to persons in need , on Thursday we had a volunteer volunteer to Braille Menues for one of our popular restaurants in our area, on Friday volunteers made 50 roast beef and turkey sandwiches which they placed into brown paper bags along side a snackto also be donated to a long standing Mens ,Womens and Childrens shelter . Then we coined the weekend Spread a Lil Love/ Pay it forward weekend. We asked each of our members to volunteer and do something nice for a neighbor of family member . We felt this was a fantastic way to end our National Volunteer Week Project.As President I would like to personally thank each and every volunteer. Without your efforts these projects and drives would not be possible! Thankyou</div><div class=""> . <span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span><br class=""><div class="">
<div class=""><div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; margin: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" class="">Darian Smith</div><div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; margin: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" class="">President, National Federation of the Blind Community Service Division</div><div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; margin: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" class=""><br class=""></div><div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; margin: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" class="">Web: <a href="http://www.nfbcommunityservice.org" class="">www.nfbcommunityservice.org</a></div><div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; margin: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" class=""><br class=""></div><div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; margin: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" class="">Twitter: @NFBCSDivision,@goldengateace</div><div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; margin: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" class=""><br class=""></div><div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; margin: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" class="">Facebook: search for “National Federation of the Blind Community Service Division"</div><div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; margin: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" class=""><br class=""></div><div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; margin: 0px; color: rgb(71, 135, 255); -webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" class=""><span style="text-decoration: underline;" class="">E-mail: <a href="mailto:president@nfbcommunityservice.org" class="">president@nfbcommunityservice.org</a></span></div><p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; margin: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" class=""> </p><div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; margin: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" class="">(415)215-9809</div><div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; margin: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" class=""><br class=""></div><div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; margin: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" class=""><span style="font-size: 16px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial;" class=""> </span></div><div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; margin: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); min-height: 14px;" class=""><br class=""></div><div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; margin: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" class="">The National Federation of the Blind knows that blindness is not the</div><div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; margin: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" class="">characteristic that defines you or your future. Every day we raise the</div><div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; margin: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" class="">expectations of blind people, because low expectations create obstacles</div><div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; margin: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" class="">between blind people and our dreams. You can live the life you want;</div><div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; margin: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" class="">blindness is not what holds you back.</div><div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; margin: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" class=""> “We need your service, right now, at this moment - our moment - in history. I'm not going to tell you what your role should be; that's for you to discover. But I am going to ask you to play your part; ask you to stand up; ask you to put your foot firmly into the current of history” — Barack Obama </div><div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; margin: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" class=""> Help drive change for the blind .</div><div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; margin: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" class="">Donate your car to the National Federation of the Blind today!</div><div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; margin: 0px; color: rgb(87, 86, 214); -webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(87, 86, 214);" class="">For more information, please visit: <a href="http://www.carshelpingtheblind.org/" class=""><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(71, 135, 255);" class="">www.carshelpingtheblind.org</span></a> or call 1-855-659-9314</div><div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; margin: 0px; font-size: 18px; font-family: Times; -webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" class="">“</div></div>
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