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<td style="background-color:transparent; border-bottom:medium none; border-left:medium none; border-right:medium none; border-top:medium none"><img alt="National Federation of the Blind logo with the tagline live the life you want. A group of blind people sit together, some holding white canes, with guide dogs seated at their feet." background-color:="" src="https://nfb.org/sites/nfb.org/files/2026-01/Outreach-email-header.jpg" style="background-color: transparent; border-color: currentcolor; border-style: solid; border-width: 0px; display: block; margin: 0px;" /></td>
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<h1><span style="font-family: calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 24pt; color:black;">Amplifying the Power of the Blind-Led Movement</span></h1>
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<p><span style="font-family: calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt; color:black;"><em>“The theme that blindness need not define or limit us has been carried from mentor to student, from parent to child, from leader to leader, and from generation to generation. Each voice has added something new, but the theme remains unmistakable.” </em>-- President Mark Riccobono in his 2026 banquet speech, “Resonance, Amplification, and Interplay: <a href="https://nfb.org/civicrm/mailing/url?u=44157&qid=12926729" rel='nofollow'>The Counterpoint of the Organized Blind Movement</a>”.</span></p>
</blockquote>
<p><img alt="Mark Riccobono with the Board of the National Organization of Parents of Blind Children" src="https://nfb.org/sites/nfb.org/files/iof/austin-texas_national-convention_july-5-2026_nopbc-board%20(4)_Outreach_Newsletter_(New)_600x285.jpg" style="max-width: 100%; display: block; width: 600px; height: 285px;" /></p>
<h2><span style="font-family: calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 20pt; color:black;">Building the Movement</span></h2>
<p><span style="font-family: calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt; color:black;">Leadership in the Federation is important, but our movement is bigger than any one person and grows stronger with each generation. The power of our membership, acting through the democratic process, enables us to engage in collective action with the expectation of self-determination and full participation in society by blind people. Many of our programs are aimed at developing new leaders so that they can mentor and train blind people in their communities to challenge low expectations in pursuit of richer, fuller lives for all blind people.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt; color:black;">Learn more about how we develop a new generation of Federation leaders with the <a href="https://nfb.org/civicrm/mailing/url?u=44158&qid=12926729" rel='nofollow'>Kenneth Jernigan Leadership in Service Program</a>, and explore ways that members <a href="https://nfb.org/civicrm/mailing/url?u=44159&qid=12926729" rel='nofollow'>actively participate in growing their local chapters</a> and <a href="https://nfb.org/civicrm/mailing/url?u=44160&qid=12926729" rel='nofollow'>state affiliates</a>.</span></p>
<h3 style="color:1b5633"><span style="font-family: calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 18pt; "><font color="1b5633">Board of Directors Elected to Serve</font></span></h3>
<p><span style="font-family: calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt; color:black;">Strong, committed, and passionate leadership has guided the National Federation of the Blind since 1940. The seventeen members of the Board of Directors are a diverse group of blind individuals who are elected by the members at the annual national convention. <a href="https://nfb.org/civicrm/mailing/url?u=44161&qid=12926729" rel='nofollow'>Read about the Board of Directors</a> and what drives each of them to serve the blind-led movement.</span></p>
<h3 style="color:1b5633"><span style="font-family: calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 18pt; "><font color="1b5633">Empowering Students to Lead</font></span></h3>
<p><span style="font-family: calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt; color:black;">The National Association of Blind Students (NABS), a division of the National Federation of the Blind, works to empower blind students to live the lives they want through organized activism, mentorship, leadership development, resource sharing, and so much more. Learn more about how the <a href="https://nfb.org/civicrm/mailing/url?u=44163&qid=12926729" rel='nofollow'>National Association of Blind Students</a> helps young blind people create opportunities for themselves. </span></p>
<h3><span style="color:1b5633"><span style="font-size:18pt"><span style="font-family:calibri, sans-serif"><font color="1b5633">Finding the Courage to Bloom</font></span></span></span></h3>
<p><span style="font-size:14pt"><span style="font-family:calibri, sans-serif"><span style="color:black">Elizabeth Rouse’s mother once told her, “You’re a flower just like everyone else, but in a field of daisies, you’re a violet.” Now the President of the National Association of Blind Students and a member of the 2025-2026 Kenneth Jernigan Leadership in Service Program cohort, Elizabeth shares:</span></span></span></p>
<blockquote>
<p><em><span style="font-size:14pt"><span style="font-family:calibri, sans-serif"><span style="color:black">“Only after I found and embraced the Federation did I truly understand the wisdom of my mom’s explanation. The seed that was planted oh-so-long-ago was nurtured by mentors and friends who took the time to help me better understand that my blindness was simply a part of me.”</span></span></span></em></p>
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<p><span style="font-size:14pt"><span style="font-family:calibri, sans-serif"><span style="color:black">Read more about how Elizabeth developed the courage to bloom as a blind woman <a href="https://nfb.org/civicrm/mailing/url?u=44176&qid=12926729" rel='nofollow'>in her recent <em>Braille Monitor</em> article</a>.</span></span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-size:14pt"><span style="font-family:calibri, sans-serif"><span style="color:black"><img alt="Members of the 2026 Kenneth Jernigan Leadership in Service cohort" src="https://nfb.org/sites/nfb.org/files/iof/austin_texas_national-convention_july-5-2026_morning%20(3)_Outreach_Newsletter_(New)_600x285.jpg" style="width: 600px; height: 285px;" /></span></span></span></p>
<h2><span style="font-family: calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 20pt; color:black;">Until Next Time: Connect with Your State Affiliate</span></h2>
<p><span style="font-family: calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt; color:black;">Our fifty-two state affiliates and hundreds of local chapters a driven by volunteers and members who support and mentor each other. Find ways to <a href="https://nfb.org/civicrm/mailing/url?u=44160&qid=12926729" rel='nofollow'>get involved with a chapter near you</a>.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 14pt; color:black;">Thank you for helping us show the world that we can live and create the lives we want. You are subscribed to our monthly community impact email, where we share how we are advancing the lives of the Nation’s blind. The National Federation of the Blind is a network of members, friends, and people like you who believe in the hopes and dreams of blind people.</span></p>
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National Federation of the Blind | 200 E Wells Street | Baltimore, MD 21230 | 410-659-9314 </td> </tr> <tr style="height: 25px;"> <td colspan="8" align="center" style="color: white; font-size: 12px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-weight: bold"> <a href="https://nfb.org/civicrm/mailing/unsubscribe?reset=1&jid=26715&qid=12926729&h=3ae1217e73e93593" title="Unsubscribe" style="color: white; font-size: 12px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-weight: bold">Unsubscribe from this mailing list</a> | <a href="https://nfb.org/civicrm/mailing/optout?reset=1&jid=26715&qid=12926729&h=3ae1217e73e93593" title="Opt Out" style="color: white; font-size: 12px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;
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