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<h1><b>Presidents Notebook<br><br>
<br>
National Federation of the Blind<br><br>
<br>
Mark A. Riccobono<br><br>
<br>
<a href="mailto:officeofthepresident@nfb.org">
officeofthepresident@nfb.org<br><br>
<br>
</a>(410) 659-9314</b></h1> <br>
<br>
Dear Fellow Federationists,<br>
<br>
As we come down to the final month before our national convention, a lot
of our energy is being spent on the final preparations. Maybe you have
missed some of the announcements, or maybe you are new and are
overwhelmed by the details. Let me help you break down some of the key
things you should be paying attention to and guiding our members to pay
attention to:<br>
· Resolutions: the June
issue of the <i>Braille Monitor </i>includes an announcement about
resolutions and the deadline for resolutions. Please be working to get
your resolutions to the committee ASAP.<br>
· Preregistration is now
closed and the hotel is basically full. Please remind members they can
still register at the convention and there are still some overflow rooms
available until Wednesday, June 7. We should continue to encourage
participation in the convention. After Wednesday there may be hotel rooms
available, but the block will be closed. <br>
Thank you for your work to build our organization. As you know, the
convention is the most important meeting we have and your involvement in
making it a smooth and enjoyable experience for all is critical.<br>
<b> <br><br>
<h2><b>Critical Actions This Week:</b></h2>Legislative Alert:<br>
Watch for an upcoming legislative alert coming from John Pare. Congress
is back in session this week; please call by Friday, June 9, to request
your representative to cosponsor H.R. 1772, H.R. 1734, and H.R. 1377.
Please also call your two senators and ask them to cosponsor S. 732. The
best way to contact your member of Congress is to call the Capitol
Switchboard at (202) 224-3121 and ask for the office in question.
Emailing your member of Congress is also a good idea. If you do so,
please copy <a href="mailto:JPare@nfb.org">JPare@nfb.org</a>. <br>
<br>
We are hoping to significantly raise the number of cosponsors on all of
our bills before convention but we cannot do it without everyone working
together. Your calls and emails make a big difference.<br>
<br><br>
<h2><b>News:</b></h2>New Text-to-Give Campaign:<br>
Our Imagination Fund Committee is pleased to announce a text-to-give
campaign that we will kick off at our national convention. Text-to-give
allows anyone to make a $25 donation to the National Federation of the
Blind with a simple text message from his or her mobile phone.
Anyone who can text can give easily, and thanks to AT&T covering the
cost for a limited time, the National Federation of the Blind will
receive 100 percent of each contribution. Contributors can make a gift
regardless of which phone carrier they use. This is an opportunity for us
to identify those individuals who are not members of the organization but
want to support the good work that we do. We need your help identifying
individuals in your extended network of family, friends, colleagues, and
service providers. Their gift will assist a newly blind person with
independent travel through our free white cane program, help a child
learn to read through our Braille Reading Pals program, assist blind
veterans regain their independence, and so much more. Please take the
time to share the names and email addresses of potential supporters by
visiting <a href="https://nfb.org/text2017">https://nfb.org/text2017</a>.
When the campaign starts we will send an email inviting all of these
individuals to share in the great things we do every day to help blind
people live the lives they want. <br>
<br><br>
<h2><b>Reminders:</b></h2>Affiliate Website Support:<br>
There is still limited availability in the website training to interested
affiliate webmasters at the Jernigan Institute this summer. On August
25-26, attendees will become familiar with the Drupal theme and learn to
build a working affiliate website on the Drupal platform. If you are
interested in sending a webmaster for Drupal website training, contact
John Berggren (extension 2329 or
<a href="mailto:jberggren@nfb.org">jberggren@nfb.org</a>) for additional
information.<br>
<br>
Convention Fundraising Announcements:<br>
Don’t forget that you can share your convention fundraising
announcements via the new online form. In an effort to make information
about fundraising more readily available to convention attendees and cut
down on the number of listserv emails during the busy convention season,
we’ve put together the
<a href="https://nfb.org/fundraising-announcement-form">fundraising
announcement form</a> for affiliates and national-level divisions. If you
will be selling candy, raffle tickets, or other items to benefit the NFB
at the convention and would like to let folks know, fill out the form at
<a href="https://nfb.org/fundraising-announcement-form">
nfb.org/fundraising-announcement-form</a>. All announcements will be
posted at
<a href="https://nfb.org/national-fundraising-announcements">
nfb.org/national-fundraising-announcements</a>. If you have any
questions, please contact the communications team at
<a href="mailto:communicationsteam@nfb.org">communicationsteam@nfb.org</a>
. <br>
<br>
Kernel Books:<br>
Free cases of Kernel Books are still available. Kernel Book titles are
available:<br>
· <i>Oh, Wow <br>
</i>· <i>Safari <br>
</i>· <i>Reaching for
the Top in the Land Down Under <br>
</i>· <i>Not Much of a
Muchness <br>
</i>· <i>The Lessons of
the Earth <br>
</i>· <i>Imagine <br>
</i>· <i>Celebrate<br>
<br>
</i>If you are interested in receiving a case of any of these titles,
please contact Ellen Ringlein in the Independence Market at (410)
659-9314, extension 2216, or at
<a href="mailto:independencemarket@nfb.org">independencemarket@nfb.org</a>
. <br>
<br>
<i>Do You Dream in Color?:<br>
</i>We are working with the filmmakers to host screenings of <i>Do You
Dream in Color?</i> across the country, and have developed a tool kit for
anyone looking for more information about hosting a screening. For more
information about the film and how to get the toolkit, go to
<a href="http://www.doyoudreamincolor.com/">
http://www.doyoudreamincolor.com/</a>.<br>
<br><br>
<h2><b>Dates to Keep in
Mind:</b></h2>· July 10-15,
2017:
<a href="https://nfb.org/images/nfb/publications/bm/bm16/bm1611/bm161101.htm">
National Convention, Rosen Shingle Creek Resort, Orlando,
Florida</a><br>
· July 23-29, 2017:
<a href="http://www.blindscience.org/nfb-youth-slam">Youth Slam</a>,
Towson University<br>
· September 12-17, 2017:
<a href="http://blindmerchants.org/blast-2017/">BLAST</a>, Nashville,
Tennessee <br>
<br>
<br>
The National Federation of the Blind knows that blindness is not the
characteristic that defines you or your future. Every day we raise the
expectations of blind people, because low expectations create obstacles
between blind people and our dreams. You can live the life you want;
blindness is not what holds you back.<br>
<br>
<br>
Mark A. Riccobono<br>
President<br>
200 East Wells Street, Baltimore, MD 21230<br>
(410) 659-9314 |
<a href="mailto:officeofthepresident@nfb.org">
officeofthepresident@nfb.org</a> <br>
<br>
<br>
<a href="https://nfb.org/">
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The National Federation of the Blind is a community of members and
friends who believe in the hopes and dreams of the nation’s blind.
Every day we work together to help blind people live the lives they want.
<br>
<br><br>
<br>
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