[IABS-Talk] President Riccobono's notebook for the week of September 20

[Marilyn Green]

Critical Actions:

New Time for Next Presidential Release Is at Noon:

The October Presidential Release of the National Federation of the
Blind will be Friday, October 1, at 12:00 p.m. (noon), eastern. It’ll
kick off Blind
Equality Achievement Month! There will be an opportunity for questions
after President Riccobono’s remarks. What employment questions do you
have? Submit
questions in advance to
cdanielsen at nfb.org
 and put PR509 in the subject line, or call 410-659-9314, extension
2473. Closed captions and Spanish interpretation will be available.
Zoom details coming
soon.

News:

Blind Equality Achievement Month: Send in Your Events:

Remember history. Advance equality. Celebrate accomplishments.
Previously known as Meet the Blind Month, the National Federation of
the Blind celebrates
the organized blind movement during October. Chapters across the
country organize local outreach events. Submit your events,
activities, celebrations to

web at nfb.org,
so they can be posted on
nfb.org/blind-month.
If you still need items or ideas, check out
the free literature and White Cane Awareness Day Proclamation.

Jacobus tenBroek Disability Law Symposium:

Join nationally renowned disability rights advocates at the 2022
Jacobus tenBroek Disability Law Symposium, the United States’ leading
disability law symposium.
The symposium will take place at the Jernigan Institute on March
24–March 25, 2022, as we examine the right of people with disabilities
to live in a world
of pandemics, political polarization, and natural disasters. Please visit the
law symposium webpage
 for additional information as it becomes available.

Total Permanent Disability (TPD) Student Loan Discharge Program:

On August 19, 2021, the US Department of Education announced new rules
to simplify and facilitate student loan discharge due to disability.
We have prepared
an
FAQ document
 that contains the answers to many of the questions we have received.

Access Technology Affordability Act:

The provisions of the Access Technology Affordability Act (ATAA) have
been included in the reconciliation package currently moving through
the House. This
is fantastic news. It is critical that we continue to build cosponsor
support for the ATAA in the Senate (S. 212) in order to ensure that we
have the greatest
chance of keeping these provisions in the final reconciliation
package. We will be issuing a legislative alert with more details in
the very near future.

Pledge Fulfillment:

Thanks to our affiliates who have already fulfilled pledges made
during our roll call of states at national convention. If your
affiliate has not yet fulfilled
pledges to any of our funds, please remember that our goal is for this
to be complete before the end of the year. If you have any questions,
please reach
out to Patti Chang at 410-659-9314, extension 2422, or
pchang at nfb.org.
If you know your payments will not come until closer to the end of the
year please let Patti know.

Labcorp Kiosk:

The National Federation of the Blind is investigating access barriers
with Labcorp patient check-in kiosks. If you have visited a Labcorp
location within
the last year and were directed to use an inaccessible kiosk for
check-in, and if there was no Labcorp employee available to
immediately assist you with
check-in, or if you otherwise had to rely on another customer to
assist you, please contact Valerie Yingling at
vyingling at nfb.org
 to share your experience.

Redbox Kiosk-Testing Program:

As a reminder, those affiliates that did not participate in the fall
2019 Redbox kiosk testing are invited to join this year’s testing, to
be held October
1-November 30. Participating affiliates commit to testing three
remediated Redbox kiosks for accessibility features, including the
ability to nonvisually
browse, rent, pay for, retrieve, and return media. Affiliate
presidents should let Valerie Yingling know if they have questions
about the Redbox Kiosk-Testing
Program and should send to Valerie (
vyingling at nfb.org),
by September 17, the name and contact information of the affiliate
member assigned to be the tester.

Amazon Information for Affiliate Conventions:

Amazon has decided to take a different approach to sharing information
via fall 2021 affiliate conventions. Rather than participate live,
Lamont Reed is
preparing an FAQ presentation about Amazon employment to share with
affiliates. If this FAQ presentation fits strategically within your
convention agenda,
we encourage affiliate presidents to consider sharing the information
with convention attendees. Please remind convention attendees that
they should alert
Valerie Yingling (
vyingling at nfb.org)
to any instances of Amazon employment discrimination.

Social Media Request for Memory Minute on Member Mentorship:

For many, the mentorship among members is key to living the lives we
want. We empower each other every day. The National Federation of the
Blind is asking
affiliates and chapters to post on social media one-minute videos of
members talking about the value of mentorship and employment during
Blind Equality
Achievement Month. Using the hashtag #BlindMonth, share the positive
impact that mentors within the Federation have had on your life and
how opportunities
to earning equal wages and other aspects of employment are valuable to you.

Spanish Interest Form for Braille Books:

Our partners at the American Action Fund for Blind Children and Adults
provide free Braille books to thousands of blind children each year
and are seeking
interested participants for Braille books in Spanish. If you know
someone who could benefit from Spanish Braille books, please
share this Spanish Braille Interest form for them to fill out.

August/September Braille Monitor Available:

The latest issue of the National Federation of the Blind flagship
publication is now available. Read about the 2021 Convention roundup,
stories from members,
raising expectations, and more.
Access the Braille Monitor now.

Career Opportunities at the National Federation of the Blind:

The National Federation of the Blind is seeking flexible, hard-working
individuals who will work with us to ensure independence and equality
for all blind
Americans. Currently we have several opportunities to include Braille
proofing and production specialist, Independence Market program
assistant, operations
specialist for NFB-NEWSLINE®, digital communications coordinator, and
executive assistant for the Operations department. Learn more about
our career opportunities.

Upcoming Event to Learn about Manual Accessibility Testing with NVDA:

Tuesday, September 28, 2:00–3:30 p.m., eastern, via Zoom: The National
Federation of the Blind is hosting a webinar on getting started with
manual accessibility
testing using the NVDA screen reader. We will cover recommended
settings, useful keystrokes, and strategies for effectively testing
webpages. Register
for the
accessibility boutique
 today!

Going Virtual or Worried about Meeting Your Attrition Provisions in
Your Hotel Contracts?:

Many of our affiliates have been concerned about future state
conventions and other events. We are having good results across the
country by simply asking
for a meeting with higher-level hotel personnel. Ask to meet with
their events manager or that person’s supervisor or manager. Explain
That we have diabetics
and elderly people in our group and that many of us use public transit
so we would expect some consideration in modification of attrition
provisions. Remember
we can exercise most of our force majeur provisions if we need to do
that, too. If you have questions, please call Patti Chang at
410-659-9314, extension
2422.

Independence Market – Highlighted Products of the Month for September:

Pocket-size Talking Calculator - $15.00

White plastic calculator with a female voice that can perform basic
math operations and percentage calculations. It has an eight-digit
output and requires
two AAA batteries, which are included.

Square Sock Lock - $2.50

Package of twenty, square, plastic sock locks that measure 1.5 inches
on each side.

Round and Assorted Sock Locks - $3.25

Package of sixteen single, and four double, round plastic sock locks.

Sale and Close-out Items (Supplies Limited):

Shut-the-Box Game - $10.00

Tactile Low-Vision Timer - $12.00

Reminders:

Affiliate and Chapter Training for the Transition to Post-Pandemic Fundraising:

Everett Bacon, Patti Chang, and Seth Lamkin will be conducting a
training for affiliate and chapter fundraisers on September 30 at 8:00
p.m., eastern,
via Zoom. The meeting ID will be 7733076440 and the password is 72632.
Please mark your calendars and let your affiliate and chapter
fundraisers know about
the date and time, too.

Join Zoom Meeting

https://zoom.us/j/7733076440?pwd=RSs1M1ZYcWk5WVFOdEFIOEF5UkpmZz09

Meeting ID: 773 307 6440

Passcode: 72632

One tap mobile

+13126266799,,7733076440#,,,,*72632# US (Chicago)

+13017158592,,7733076440#,,,,*72632# US (Washington DC)

Dial by your location

        +1 312 626 6799 US (Chicago)

        +1 301 715 8592 US (Washington DC)

        +1 646 876 9923 US (New York)

        +1 253 215 8782 US (Tacoma)

        +1 346 248 7799 US (Houston)

        +1 408 638 0968 US (San Jose)

        +1 669 900 6833 US (San Jose)

Meeting ID: 773 307 6440

Passcode: 72632

Dates to Keep in Mind:

(all times eastern)

list of 3 items
• October 1: Presidential Release, 12:00 p.m.
• November 1: Presidential Release, 8:00 p.m.
• December 2: Presidential Release, 8:00 p.m.


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