<html><head><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="">Happy December!<div class=""><br class=""></div><div class=""> We hope you had a wonderful thanksgiving with friends and family, and took a bit of time giving back to your community!</div><div class=""> On that note, I want to Start off the December addition of “Service Snippets: with an update from Tara Abella and the “Service Awards and “Letters for troops efforts.</div><div class=""> The community service award project is still awaiting members. So far, we have six individuals who have sent in hours, and I would preferred to have 10 individuals before beginning the program. The letters for troops project is underway. Letters are due by December 16, so we have two weeks left before letters need to be turned in.</div><div class=""> Contact her at service <a href="mailto:awards@nfbcommunityservice.org" class="">awards@nfbcommunityservice.org</a>.</div><div class=""> </div><div class=""> From Website/Blog chair Chris Parsons:</div><div class=""> <span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;" class="">Web Site/Blog</span></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;" class=""><o:p class=""></o:p></div><div class=""><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;" class="">This month, I posted an entry with Kyra Sweeney’s reflections on the division’s service project with Habitat for Humanity of Greater Orlando at this year’s National Convention. In the coming weeks, be on the lookout for another entry with reflections from even more participants in the project, as well as some other exciting entries from fellow division members doing community service. If you haven’t checked out the blog yet, we invite you to do so at</span><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;" class=""> </span><a href="http://www.nfbcommunityservice.org/blog" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(149, 79, 114);" class="">http://www.nfbcommunityservice.org/blog</a><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;" class="">. If you have any ideas for entries you’d like to see on the blog or if you’d like to write one yourself, send me an e-mail at</span><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;" class=""> </span><a href="mailto:blog@nfbcommunityservice.org" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; color: rgb(149, 79, 114);" class="">blog@nfbcommunityservice.org</a><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;" class="">.</span> </div><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class=""> </div><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class=""> </div><div class=""><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span> From the Membership Committee, Kyra Sweeney Reports:</div><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class=""><div style="direction: inherit;" class=""> In November, the membership committee worked on planning the division's next conference calls. These will include a discussion about participating in community service as a guide dog user (which will be the second call in our #What'sInItForYou series), and a call about NFB scholarrships and service. We finalized a feedback survey, which will be sent out soon.</div><div style="direction: inherit;" class="">The next membership committee meeting will take place on Monday, December 12th at 8 PM eastern. All are more than welcome to join.</div></div><div style="direction: inherit;" class=""><br class=""></div><div style="direction: inherit;" class=""><br class=""></div><div style="direction: inherit;" class=""><br class=""></div><div style="direction: inherit;" class="">Finally we will hear from Ronnie Bellomy and the Outreach Committee:</div><div style="direction: inherit;" class=""> </div><blockquote type="cite" class=""><div dir="ltr" class=""><br class=""><br class=""><br class=""><br class=""><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.399999618530273px; font-family: 'times new roman', serif;" class="">The outreach committee has been busy thinking about how to reach out to the youth organization that are on our collaborated list first on the local level and second on the National level. This committee will approach reaching out to organizations in the Florida area for convention after the beginning of this next year. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.399999618530273px; font-family: 'times new roman', serif;" class="">Furthermore, the outreach committee has established a list of all 50 flag Universities and has gathered contact information for both the disability offices and community service offices for each of those universities for our scholarship call in the middle of January. The committee plans to begin contacting each office to spread the word to their students at the beginning of January. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18.399999618530273px; font-family: 'times new roman', serif;" class="">If any of you who are not currently on a committee are interested in either of these two projects or have ideas, the outreach committee welcomes you to attend our next conference call.</span></p><div class=""><br class=""></div></div></blockquote> As always, please feel free to reach out should you have any questions, thoughts or concerns.<div class=""> </div><div class=""> All best,</div><div class=""> Darian </div><br class=""><br class=""><div class="">
<div style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space;" 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: @NFB_CSD,@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: <a href="http://www.facebook.com/CommunityServiceDivision" class="">www.facebook.com/CommunityServiceDivision</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; 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></div>
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