[Md-sligo] Fw: [Nfbmd] Minute Messages From the Movement

Fri Mar 21 00:34:01 UTC 2014

From: Melissa Ann Riccobono 
Sent: Thursday, March 20, 2014 3:39 PM
To: 'NFB of Maryland e-mail list' ; 'Maryland Parents of Blind Children List' ; 'NFB of Maryland Baltimore Chapter Discussion List' ; nationalharbor at nfbnet.org ; 'Maryland Association of Blind Students Mailing List' 
Subject: [Nfbmd] Minute Messages From the Movement

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%20Presidential%20Report.mp3 and the Word version can be found by visiting https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/4918427/Reflections%20on%20the%20NFBMD%20in%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&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-accessible.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)

·         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

·         October 15-17: NFB Technology Train the Trainers

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

Please consider making a donation today to help us build a future full of opportunities. You can also donate your vehicle or support us by giving your old household goods to our GreenDrop program.

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.

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