[Greater-baltimore] Minute Messages From the Movement

Thu Mar 20 19:39:51 UTC 2014

National Federation of the Blind of Maryland

Minute Messages from the Movement 

Melissa Riccobono, President

President at nfbmd.org

Phone number 410-235-3073

www.nfbmd.org

Follow us on Twitter @NFBMD

Like us on Facebook

Note from the President

As I sit down to write this week's message, the Wisconsin Badger basketball
game is playing in the background. I'm sure all of you will be pleased to
learn that the Badgers are crushing American University 51 25! If I'm
listening to a college basketball game in the middle of the day, even a
Badger game, it can only mean one thing. March Madness is upon us! Ahhhhhh!
And, looking at the calendar, I see it is the first day of spring. This
makes me say only one thing. Ahhhhhh! Everything is right with the world!

Everything is also right with the NFBMD. I hope you will take a few minutes
away from your celebrations of March Madness and the coming of spring to
read the following updates.

Messages

.         Minute Messages From the Movement Now On NFB Newsline!: Do you
know someone who you think would enjoy receiving these messages but does not
have email? Want to keep up with One Minute Messages From the Movement on
the go from where ever you are? Well, now all of this is possible. Thanks to
a suggestion from the Delmarva Chapter, I am pleased to announce you can now
read the NFBMD Minute Messages From the Movement on the local channel of NFB
Newsline. Please spread this information far and wide. Horray for so many
options for communication with members and friends of the NFBMD.

.         Basket Bingo Report: Thanks to the tireless work of the Central
Maryland Chapter, our Basket Bingo fund raiser was once again a huge
success. The final figures are still being calculated, but it looks as if
this event brought in at least $11000 for the Central Maryland Chapter and
National Federation of the Blind of Maryland to share. Thank you to all
those who promoted, worked at, and attended Basket Bingo. This is a
fantastic annual event, and we hope all of you will be eager to remain a
part of it next year.

.         Spring Raffle; have you purchased your tickets yet? It is still
not too late. Please help us sell all 1000 tickets. For those who might have
missed this last week, here are the spring raffle details.

.         All tickets are $5 each.

.         Each ticket has a 3 digit number, which is good throughout the
entire month of May-so you have 31 chances to win!

.         If your number is drawn on a Sunday through a Friday, you will win
$50.

.         If your number is drawn on a Saturday, you will win $100.

.         Numbers may be drawn more than once.

.         If you sell 35 tickets, you will receive $50 either at the
National Convention, or in the month of July, as a thank you for your hard
work and dedication to our movement.

.         If you would like to purchase and/or sell tickets, please contact
me as soon as possible. Let's raise some money for the NFB of Maryland!

.         It's here: 2013 Presidential Report!: Finally, I have links to the
audio and Microsoft Word versions of the 2013 presidential report I gave at
the state convention. If you were unable to attend convention, or if you
want a reminder about all of the wonderful things our affiliate accomplished
in 2013, please take a moment to listen to or read this report. I hope to
have links to these files on our website soon, but for the time being, the
audio file can be found by visiting
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/4918427/2013%20MD%20Convention%20Preside
ntial%20Report.mp3 and the Word version can be found by visiting
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/4918427/Reflections%20on%20the%20NFBMD%2
0in%202013.docx Enjoy.

.          Join Team NFBMD and Become an Imaginator!: As you may have heard
in the Presidential Release, Uncle Whozit is counting on you! The National
Federation of the Blind has a goal to raise $300000 for the Imagination Fund
by May 31, 2014. The Imagination Fund not only supports NFB Jernigan
Institute programs, it also helps fund special programs and projects in
state affiliates. Raising money for the Imagination Fund means finding other
peoples' money! If you want to support the NFB personally, please consider
joining the PAC Plan (More about the PAC Plan later in these messages.) If
you want to be an Imaginator and raise money for the Imagination Fund as
part of Team NFBMD, , please reach out to your family, friends, business
contacts, etc. and tell them why the National Federation of the Blind is
important to you. Please ask them for a donation. 

.         How do they donate? People can make a donation to Team NFBMD by
visiting https://app.mobilecause.com/public/social/9716 As a member of Team
NFBMD, please feel free to visit this page yourself and use the links
provided to ask for donations from your Facebook friends and Twitter
followers. You can also send a customized email to your contacts directly
from this page and encourage them to donate. If you are asking someone for a
donation in person, you can have him or her text the word Maryland to 71777.
Or, donors can send a check made out to NFB with Imagination Fund Maryland
in the memo line to 200 East Wells St.; Baltimore, MD 21230. The NFBMD has a
goal to raise $7500 in commemoration of the upcoming 75th anniversary of the
national Federation of the Blind. This seems like a large number, but I know
we will be able to achieve this goal if we all participate as one team and
reach out to those we know to ask them for their help. We are counting on
you; we still have a long way to go to reach our goal. 

.         If you would like to have the NFB Jernigan Institute create a
personal Imaginator page for you, please send an email to
imaginationfund at nfb.org 

.         Make A Contribution and Build Our Organization: The National
Federation of the Blind Pre-Authorized Contribution (PAC) Plan is a way for
members and supporters of the organization to make a monthly financial
investment in our organization. The monthly contribution can be as little as
$5 (that is just over sixteen cents a day in a thirty-one day month). This
is a great way to get us prepared to ask others to contribute to our
organization through the NFB Imagination
Fun<https://nfb.org/civicrm/contribute/transact?reset=1
<https://nfb.org/civicrm/contribute/transact?reset=1&id=5> &id=5>d-let's not
ask others to do something we are not willing to do ourselves. Setting up
your monthly contribution from a checking or savings account is very easy.
It will soon be possible to make automatic contributions from a debit or
credit card. You can easily change your contribution by contacting the
National Office whenever you have a need to do so. Maryland is the top
contributor to the NFB PAC Plan with monthly contributions from members
currently totaling $4,907. We would like to go to the national convention
with a monthly total of $5,000 (that is just 19 new contributors @
$5/month). Plese take a moment to join in building our national organization
by contributing to the NFB PAC Plan. You can fill out and print the NFB PAC
Plan Form (this is an accessible
PDF)<https://www.nfb.org/images/nfb/documents/pdf/pac-form-fillout-accessibl
e.pdf>. You will need your bank account and ABA routing number in order to
complete the form. If you have further questions or need help with the form,
please contact Mark Riccobono, NFBMD PAC Plan Chairman, at 410-659-9314
extension 2369.

.         Upcoming NFBMD Board Meeting: The Central MD chapter is pleased to
host the NFBMD Board of Directors meeting on April 5 at 10 am. The meeting
will be held at the Thunder Hill Neighborhood Center at 9205 Log Chain Road,
which is on the corner of Log Chain Road and Thunder Hill in Columbia. Lunch
will be $10 and bring your appetite; it will be good! This meeting is open
to anyone who would like to come. There will be a van from Baltimore, which
will leave 200 East Wells Street at 9 AM. If you would like to attend this
meeting, please contact Sharon Maneki at 410-715-9596, or
nfbmd at earthlink.net

.         Diabetes Seminar: The NFB  Sligo Creek Chapter, in collaboration
with the Maryland Division of Rehabilitation Services, is sponsoring a
diabetes seminar entitled:  Meeting Challenges, Finding Solutions. The
seminar will be held on Wednesday, June 4, from 9:30 to 3:30 at the Marilyn
Praisner Community Center, 19406 Old Columbia Pike, in Burtonsville, MD.
Cost is $10 which includes lunch. Attendees can either register by going to
http://brownpapertickets.com and typing event number 578914 into the search
box. Or, you may call brownpapertickets.com at 1-800-838-3006.  For more
details about this seminar, call Debbie Brown at 301-881-1892 or Judy
Rasmussen at 301-949-3750

Coming Next Week:

.         Information on NFB of Maryland email listserves.

.         Information on donating vehicles and household items to help the
NFB, and how to publicize both of these programs.

Dates  to Remember

.         April 5: NFBMD Board Meeting, 10-1:30 (Columbia, Maryland)

.         April 23: Cool Chemestry for blind elementary school students; 200
East Wells Street, 1-4 PM. Contact Melissa Riccobono as soon as possible if
you would like your child to attend.

.         April 24-25, 2014: 2014 Jacobus tenBroek Disability Law Symposium,
"Disability Rights in the 21st Century: Creative Solutions for Achieving the
Right to Live in the World"

.         June 4: Diabetes Seminar 

.         June 8, 2014: TENTATIVE--NFB 6 Dot Dash-A 6K Race to Advance
Braille Literacy (Baltimore, Maryland)

.         July 1-6, 2014: NFB National Convention (Orlando, Florida)
<http://www.nfb.org/national-convention> 

.         July 28-August 8: National Federation of the Blind Braille
Enrichment for Literacy and Learning (BELL) Programs; visit
http://www.nfb.org/bell for more information and to apply

.         August 1, 2014: 7:00 PM NFBMD Crab Feast (Baltimore, Maryland)

.         September 9: Web Accessibility Day at NFB Jernigan Institute
<http://nfb.org/web-accessibility-day> 

.         October 15-17: NFB Technology Train the Trainers
<http://www.NFB.org/training-the-trainers> 

.         November 14-16, 2014: NFB of Maryland Annual Convention (Towson,
Maryland)

Please consider making a donation <http://www.nfbmd.org/donate.html>  today
to help us build a future full of opportunities. You can also donate your
vehicle <http://www.carshelpingtheblind.org>  or support us by giving your
old household goods to our GreenDrop program <http://www.nfbpickup.org> .

To submit items for possible inclusion in this weekly email, please send
suggestions to President at nfbmd.org  Be sure to include any related URLs that
might provide further information.