[Greater-baltimore] FW: Meet the Blind Month Flashmob--spread the word :

[mary jo hartle]

  _____  

From: mary jo hartle [mailto:mjhartle23 at gmail.com] 
Sent: Tuesday, October 02, 2012 3:49 PM
To: 'NFB of Maryland Baltimore Chapter Discussion List'; 'Hartle, Jesse';
rcarranza at nfb.org; 'Shaheen, Natalie'; alewis at nfb.org; 'Melissa Ann
Riccobono'; Dezman Jackson; Judy A. Rasmussen;
maryellethompson008 at comcast.net; Jensen, Meleah; Melissa Lomax; Melissa N.
Mehl; National Federation of the Blind of Maryland; NFBMD; Tom and Eileen
Rivera Ley; Trudy Pickrel; 'Hartle, Jesse'; 'Wilson, Joanne';
jewell at nfb.org; 'Danielsen, Chris'; mriccobono at nfb.org
Cc: 'mary jo hartle'
Subject: Meet the Blind Month Flashmob--spread the word : 

 

 

            Hi everyone, 

Mark your calendars for our first ever "Meet the Blind" flash mob on
Saturday, Oct. 20th at 1:00 p.m.  At the Inner Harbor.  (More details on the
exact meeting place to come.)  This will take place after the chapter meting
this month and has the potential to be a great public awareness activity
with all your support.  

Flashmobs are extremely popular right now, so we hope this will be an
exciting activity for us to attempt.  For those of you who are not aware, a
flash mob is (according to Wikipedia) a group of people who assemble
suddenly in a place, perform an unusual and seemingly pointless act for a
brief time, then disperse, often for the purposes of entertainment, satire,
and artistic expression. Flash mobs are organized via telecommunications,
media, or viral emails.   There are also such things as "Smartmobs" which
are more political or publicity based, so maybe we are holding a mix of
both.  IN any case, it's going to be great.  

So, if you are interested, and I hope you are, here are the details.  

1.      Find a white t-shirt and a sharpie or fabric marker 

You can find pretty inexpensive packages of white tees at stores like
Walmart or Sam's Club, or even at craft stores like Michaels.  Or if you
have one already and don't mind writing on it, just use that.  

2.      2.  Have someone assist you in writing the following in large print
with a permanent, or fabric marker on the front and back of the shirt: "I am
blind and I'm a _____.  Fill in the blank with something that describes you,
e.g., a parent, a teacher, a skier, a dancer, a singer, , a runner, etc.  Be
creative.  Don't worry about making a professional shirt or anything fancy;
just make sure the print is legible and viewable when the shirt is worn.  

3.      .  Wear your t-shirt to the flash mob and meet at the designated
location at the Inner Harbor at 1:00 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 20th.  

4.      If you can't get a shirt, or need help printing the statement on
your t-shirt, don't worry.  Please come to the chapter meeting that morning
at 10:00 a.m. at the NFB Jernigan Institute.  .  We will have some shirts
available along with fabric markers and sighted folks to help write messages
on your shirts.  

5.      WE will meet at 1:00 p.m. at the designated location.  Come ready to
meet up with the group and participate in a brief pep rally of sorts to
celebrate the capabilities of the blind.  After this meeting, we will
disperse for lunch around the harbor area.  If you can't stay for lunch
somewhere, don't worry.  Just come and join us.  The idea of having lunch is
just to mix in with the sighted public and allow more people to see us and
our messages.  

WE also want to invite our family and friends to participate.  They too are
encouraged to wear t-shirts with messages.  For example, theirs could say,
"I'm the parent of a blind child", or I'm the friend of a blind person",
etc.  Please help spread the word and invite all your family and friends to
join us.  WE want as many people as possible to participate.  

      If you have questions, please email Mary JO Hartle at
mjhartle23 at gmail.com or call me at 318.243.4135.  

Thanks and we hope to see you there!

Mary JO Hartle 

(on behalf of the Greater Baltimore NFB Chapter)