[Massachusetts-NFB] MAPBC Meeting Minutes

[Liz Lesperance]

Hello,

Attached and pasted below please find the minutes from our most recent
parents' division meeting held last Tursday, Jan. 9th.

Have a wonderful evening!

Best,
Liz

********************

The MAPBC met on Thursday, Jan. 9th. The meeting began at 6:02PM.

Those in attendance included:

Stephanie Valdes

Youme Nguyen Ly

Hai Nguyen Ly

Liz Lesperance

Kobena Bonney

Stephanie recited the NFB pledge.

We discussed the November meeting minutes. Hai put forth a motion to
approve the minutes which Liz second. The minutes was approved unanimously.

Liz went over the treasurer's report. Our current balance is $150.25. Hai
approved the treasurer's report which Youme seconded. The treasurer's
report was approved unanimously.

Stephanie reminded us that dues are owed this month. The dues are $5 for
the division.

The state convention is quickly approaching. Shara has encouraged everyone
to reserve their rooms as our room block filled up last year. No one in our
division needs transportation assistance. We would like to meet at the
state convention. We can meet Friday from 5PM to 6PM or Saturday after
general sessions. Friday evening appears to be the better choice. Stephanie
reminded us that we have a suite for childcare. We would like to encourage
individuals to stop by the suite to become more familiar with the parents’
division. Stephanie suggested emailing the listserv to see if there are
volunteers who would like to assist with childcare. A member of the
parents’ division will also be available at the suite to assist with
childcare. This will be a supervised play space with toys, games, and
educational materials to teach the kids about blindness. Stephanie will
speak to the BELL academy volunteers about volunteering for the suite.

Stephanie has created 2 spreadsheets in our shared folder to assist with
MAPBC membership. One is to track current dues-paying members. The other
spreadsheet is to track people who have expressed interest in the division
but haven't actually attended a meeting. These spreadsheets are saved in
our membership folder. Stephanie suggested creating a letter explaining the
goals of the parents' division. This letter can be passed along to
organizations like the MCB to share.

Stephanie said she would like to devote a portion of each meeting to
tips/tricks for parenting. This would demonstrate the support-driven
component of the division. Kobena suggested making it possible for
attendees to submit their questions anonymously. Stephanie agreed and
offered to make her email address available for this purpose.

Stephanie would like to come up with fundraisers that can be done
throughout the year (i.e. Mother’s Day, etc.). Another idea is to reach out
to companies for in-kind donations. Also, it might be possible to take
advantage of a Black Friday deal this November. We could purchase an item
which could be raffled off at the following state convention. Stephanie has
created a fundraiser brainstorming document so all of the ideas can be
organized in one location. For this state convention, we talked about
setting up an online 50/50 raffle. Hai also mentioned he would see if he
has an item that can be raffled off.

Stephanie provided a BELL academy update. There is a meeting coming up on
Sunday. The meetings are focused on the coordination of the event this year
along with raising funds. There is a possible location in Waltham that
might work for this year's BELL academy. This location is fenced in and
there is a park nearby. There is also a nearby plaza. These locations could
all be incorporated into the program. A contract is being created that will
be sent to the facility that hosts the academy. The BELL academy planning
group is now meeting once per month and Stephanie is delegating more of the
tasks to others. At this time, 3 families have expressed interest in the
program this year.

Last year the national office established the IEP academy. This appears to
be a program that will be held annually. The training is done at the
national office. Sephanie recommended that all members of the parents'
division apply for this program. She anticipates the program will be
announced around March. The training is geared towards anyone who would
like to advocate for IEP's whether it is teachers, parents, or students. It
is an opportunity to gain knowledge about IEP's so that parents who are
struggling with this process have more resources.

The next meeting will be Thursday, Feb. 13th at 6:00PM.
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