[IABS-Talk] President Riccobono's notebook for the week of March 8

[Marilyn Green]

Critical Actions:

Last Chance to Register for the Jacobus tenBroek Disability Law Symposium:

Registration for the 2021 Jacobus tenBroek Disability Law Symposium
will close at 11:59 p.m. eastern on March 10. Don’t miss this
opportunity to join internationally
recognized disability rights advocate Kathy Martinez, and nationally
renowned disability rights advocates at the United States’ leading
disability law
symposium—held virtually this year on March 24–26—as we examine issues
relating to race, diversity, inclusion, and the right to live in the
world. Registration
is $100, and student registration is free. Visit the
law symposium webpage
 to register and view the agenda and speaker bios.

News:

Template Letter for Affiliate Presidents Regarding Access to COVID-19
Vaccines and Testing:

Affiliate presidents are invited to use the attached template letter
in their outreach to local COVID-19 vaccine and test administrators.
We encourage
you to alert our legal team to your outreach and follow-up meetings.
Please email updates to Valerie Yingling at
vyingling at nfb.org.

Share Your Experience Accessing COVID-19 Vaccines and Testing:

The National Federation of the Blind is gathering data to monitor and
challenge access barriers for blind people to COVID-19 vaccines and
tests. It is
vital that blind and low-vision Americans receive the same
opportunities and tools to participate in ending this public health
threat as others do. Please
complete a five- to fifteen-minute survey regarding your experience
with COVID-19 vaccines and testing.

Take the survey on accessing COVID-19 vaccines and testing.

Door Prizes:

We are accepting door prizes for the 2021 national convention. We
learned a lot about virtual door prizes at last year’s convention and
recommend sending
cash donations to make it easier to create groups of prizes that can
be distributed from one location. Please make your checks payable to
National Federation
of the Blind and write “Door Prizes” in the memo. You should mail the
check to National Federation of the Blind;
200 East Wells Street; Baltimore, MD 21230
; Attention: Fiscal Services - DP. By addressing the check this way,
we will easily identify it as a door prize and process it accordingly.
You can also
send an email to
prize at nfb.org
 to let us know you are sending a contribution for the door prizes and
the full name of the organization that the contribution is from. We
want to make
sure we recognize you on our thank-you list. You can contact Bridgid Burke (
bburke at nfb.org
 or extension 2271) or Belinda Hooks (
bhooks at nfb.org
 or extension 2508) with any questions. We are looking forward to
another informative, fun, and prize-filled convention.

Journal of Blindness Innovation and Research Highlight:

The Journal of Blindness Innovation and Research is the first
scholarly journal created by blind people designed to address the real
problems of blindness.
This month we are highlighting the article, “
Client-Centered Therapy versus Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy:
Applications in Adjustment-to-Blindness Training" by Justin M. H.
Salisbury, MA, NOMC,
NCRTB, NCUEB,
which discusses two types of therapy and how they may apply to
adjusting to blindness.

App Development Seminar:

On Monday, March 15, from 12:00 to 6:00 p.m. eastern, the National
Federation of the Blind, in collaboration with Google, is hosting an
app development
seminar focused on accessibility. Anyone who develops or is
considering developing apps is encouraged to register for this Zoom
event. There are also limited
opportunities to meet directly with Google engineers to discuss your
app and have your accessibility questions answered. The registration
page will be
live shortly, check
www.nfb.org/cena
 for updates.

Accessibility Boutique—Utilizing Smartphone Accessibility Features:

On Tuesday, March 30, from 2:00 to 3:30 p.m. eastern, the National
Federation of the Blind is hosting an accessibility boutique that will
be based on utilizing
smartphone accessibility features. We will cover iOS accessibility
features, Android accessibility features, and accessibility
applications on both systems.
Take advantage of this free opportunity on Zoom to learn the latest in
smartphone accessibility. Register for the
accessibility boutique
 today!

Latest Blog Post— “So Much More than the Money: A Scholarship Story”:

The Voice of the Nation's Blind Blog highlights personal experiences
and stories of blind people. In the recent article, Cayte Mendez
shares her scholarship
story. Read the blog,
"So Much More than the Money: A Scholarship Story.
”

Reminders:

Complete the Diversity and Inclusion Survey by March 15:

The National Federation of the Blind is gathering information on
diversity and inclusion from members and leaders in the organization.
Please take approximately
fifteen minutes to complete this important survey by March 15. The
survey includes a short, optional, confidential questionnaire about
you. Your perspective
and experiences are needed to develop diversity and inclusion
initiatives for our movement.

2021 Diversity and Inclusion Survey (English)

En Español: 2021 Encuesta sobre Diversidad e Inclusión

Dates to Keep in Mind:

(all times eastern)

list of 8 items
• March 15: Scholarship Letters Training, 8:00 p.m.
• March 24-26: Jacobus tenBroek Law Symposium
• March 31:
Scholarship application
 deadline
• April 5: Presidential Release LIVE, 8:00 p.m.
• April 15:
Bolotin Awards
 nominations deadline
• May 3: Presidential Release LIVE, 8:00 p.m.
• June 1: Presidential Release LIVE, 8:00 p.m.
• July 6-10: NFB National Convention, anywhere and everywhere
list end



-- 
Marilyn Green, President
National Federation of the Blind of Illinois
312-343-8396
www.nfbofillinois.org