[nabs-l] NABS Notes December 2015

[Hindley Williams]

Fellow Federationists,
Happy New Year! Take a look at the last NABS Notes of 2015, which
includes information about Washington Seminar, scholarships, state
updates, and much more! You will find the NABS Notes below and
attached.
Please contact me off list at hbwilliams16 at gmail.com with any
questions, concerns, or suggestions. Any and all ideas to make the
NABS Notes better in 2016 are welcome!
All Best,
Hindley
NABS Notes December 2015

The National Association of Blind Students --
A proud division of the National Federation of the Blind

In this edition of the NABS monthly bulletin:
1.	The NFB National Scholarship – Apply Today!
2.	Congress Needs Your Stories!
3.	NABS During Washington Seminar 2016
4.	An Update on Our Annual NABS Café
5.	No Barriers Youth
6.	State Updates
7.	December NABS Board Meeting Minutes

The NFB National Scholarship – APPLY TODAY!

Are you legally blind?
Do you reside in the United States, the District of Columbia, or Puerto Rico?
Are you pursuing or planning to pursue a full-time, postsecondary
course of study at a U.S. institution in the 2016 scholastic year?
Are you available to attend the entire NFB National Convention in
Orlando, Florida from June 30-July 5, 2016?
Are you eager to meet Federation leaders and network with some of the
brightest, most passionate mentors out there?

If you said yes to all of these questions, then we strongly encourage
you to apply to our 2016 National Scholarship Program! To recognize
achievement by blind scholars, the National Federation of the Blind
annually offers blind college students in the United States and Puerto
Rico the opportunity to win one of thirty merit-based, national-level
scholarships ranging in value of $3,000 to $12,000. All scholarships
awarded are based on academic excellence, community service, and
leadership.
Visit our website at www.nfb.org/scholarships to begin your application!
Remember: applications, along with all necessary documents, must be
submitted no later than March 31, 2016. Do not wait until the end of
February to start gathering additional information and beginning the
online form.

Congress Needs Your Story!

Have you ever struggled to succeed academically because of
inaccessible software, websites, electronic course materials, or
applications?
Do you receive accessible textbooks late, or even not at all?
Do you feel that your ability to excel in the classroom has been
tampered with due to unequal access to education?

If you said yes to any of these questions, then we need your help!
With just over three weeks until Washington Seminar, the National
Association of Blind Students is making our final push to collect
personal testimonies from each of you. With an ambitious goal of 250
letters, it is up to you to help us reach just that. These stories do
not take more than 30 minutes; and make all the world of difference.
It is much more powerful to present 5+ letters when speaking to your
representatives. Our Congressmen care; and they need to hear from
their constituents in order for change to occur. Particularly for
those students who are not attending Washington Seminar this year, we
need your contribution in order to improve the opportunities for blind
students across our nation. We are briefly sharing our experiences,
urging Congress to support to creation of voluntary guidelines, and
pushing for equal access to education.
Please send all personal letters to Kathryn Webster at
kathrynwebster.nfb at gmail.comm by January 10, 2016. If you need
guidance when drafting your letter, please feel free to reach out and
sample letters can be provided. Thank you for your commitment to
changing what it means to be blind.

NABS During Washington Seminar 2016

This year, NABS is hosting an array of events that will surely grab
the attention of any blind student.
Beginning Monday morning, January 25, at 9am, we will kick off 2016
with an engaging, interactive, and enlightening Winter Seminar. Come
join us until noon to hear from our National President, Mr. Riccobono,
our Governmental Affairs team, guest speakers, and so much more.
Still curious after listening to our panel speakers and presenters?
Join us in smaller group discussions moderated by NABS leaders to get
all of your questions answered.
Following the NABS Winter Seminar, we welcome all student presidents
to join NABS President, Sean Whalen, for our Student Presidents
Luncheon from 12-2pm.
>From 2-4pm, join our National Advocacy and Policy team for our
Legislative Seminar where you will learn more about our four issues,
hone in on best practices when conversing with Congress, and get all
of your questions answered before we venture out to Capitol Hill
Tuesday morning.
You won’t want to miss the Great Gathering-In from 5-7 on Monday
evening in the ballroom! Join our Federation family as we kickoff the
week with high energy, comradery, and hope for the future.
Finally, grab a friend and head on over to the NABS Café on TUESDAY
night from 8pm-12am to enjoy some music, treat yourself to the cash
bar, and indulge in some delicious food.

An Update on Our Annual NABS Café

During Washington Seminar, the National Association of Blind Students
hosts an evening event with musical performers, food, drinks, and an
auction. This year, the NABS Café will be on Tuesday night from
8pm-12am.
Have you ever wanted to explore Sea World before or after National
convention? Are you tired of your weak iPhone speakers and need some
heavy duty Bluetooth speakers? Look no further. NABS has put together
a variety of auction items from electronics to trips to a fancy Keurig
maker with an assortment of K-cups!
If auctions are just not for you, no worries! You are more than
welcomed to come on in, meet new friends, interact with old ones, and
snack on some great desserts. You wouldn’t want to miss a performance
from the Federation-renowned Precious Perez and Meaghan Roper of
Massachusetts, as well as so many others!

No Barriers Youth

Leading the Way: Grand Canyon Sound Academy
http://nobarriersyouth.org/programs/leading_the_way
This program is for students who are blind/ visually impaired or
fully-sighted.
A group of 20 teenagers from across the U.S. will be selected to
receive scholarships for a once-in-a-lifetime leadership adventure:
Grand Canyon Sound Academy.
Dates: July 24-August 4, 2016
Student Program Fee and Scholarship: In celebration of the National
Park Service’s 100th birthday, the Natural Sounds and Night Skies
Division is providing generous scholarship support. Youth participants
will only be responsible for paying or fundraising a $300 No Barriers
program fee as well as travel costs to/from Phoenix, AZ. (This
reflects a scholarship of $2,700/person). Selected participants will
be expected to fulfill a set of scholarship requirements before,
during, and after the expedition.
TO APPLY: Submit an online application and correlating materials here:
https://nobarriersusa.wufoo.com/forms/2016-leading-the-way-grand-canyon-sound-academy/
Application Deadline: January 8, 2016

State Updates

All state updates are printed below as they were received from their senders.

    Arizona
Greetings and happy holidays from Arizona students! Here in the great
state of Arizona where the sun shines year round and Mr. Clause has to
shed a few layers before making his annual deliveries, we are excited
to share some holiday updates. Last weekend several Arizona chapters
held their holiday parties and it proved to be an excellent time to
raise funds for the student division. Across the North valley to the
Southern area of Arizona we auctioned of holiday gift baskets and were
able to raise over $500. As the end of the year approaches and we are
nearing the New Year we feel it is necessary to begin 2016 with some
fun. Following our Christmas fundraisers we are looking into an event
for New Year’s to raise awareness and do some recruiting. This year
AzABS is sending two board members to Washington Seminar to represent
Arizona and advocate on behalf of blind students all across the
Nation. As mentioned previously we are working on planning an Arizona
student seminar aimed to raise awareness of the NFB and how to get
involved, how to plan for the transition between high school and
college, and other fun topics. Things are coming together nicely and
very soon we will be sharing the details of the event with you all.

    Colorado
Winter has set in and Christmas is coming up, so the Colorado students
got together last weekend for an afternoon of ice skating downtown
Denver, followed by a night out at dinner.  We enjoyed getting
together with new and old friends before we head out for the holiday.
In the New Year, we will be starting our NFL play-offs survivors’ pool
to raise funds for the division.  Everyone is welcome to participate.
We are still planning a leadership seminar among other things.  Stay
tuned for much more to come in the New Year.
Happy Holidays!

    Louisiana
On the last weekend of October LABS had our annual student seminar. We
had around 40 participants from high school, college, and some LCB
students as well. We had a presentation by Dr Bell and his wife
talking about working with disability services, rehab, using
readers/drivers, along with other aspects of college. We also
introduced the various aspects of the NFB, discussing the difference
between and getting involved in chapters, divisions, and affiliates to
all the students in attendance. We had many other things going on
throughout the day on Saturday and the students were able hang out
Friday night and Saturday night with different activities to get
acquainted with one another and build friendships that will hopefully
last for a long time. The students left on Sunday morning to head back
home. We had a great turnout and everyone seemed to enjoy the weekend
and learn a lot of new information. I want to thank Pam Allen, Eric
Guillory, Bre Brown, Treva Olivero, and the LABS board for a great
weekend.
Now we are getting information out for our state scholarship and
getting ready for our state convention in April.

    Massachusetts
MASSABS is excited, with NABS and NFBMA help, to be sending five
students to Washington Seminar.  Almost 50% of the NFBMA delegation
will be students, 4 of whom have never been to Washington Seminar.
MASSABS will be hosting our winter student social in January at
Boarder Cafe, a Mexican restaurant located in Harvard Square.  This
will mark the five consecutive quarterly social we've hosted and will
be the one year anniversary of the revitalization of the NFBMA student
division.
Finally, because students graduate every year, we are in the process
of culling our membership and email database to reflect only current
students living in MA.  However, we will be adding some additional
students this year as they apply for our state scholarship which has a
deadline of December 31.
As we celebrate a fantastic year of growth in 2015, we are looking to
increase fundraising and engagement in 2016.

    North Carolina
NCABS is kicking off 2016 with one of our student seminars! On January
30, 2016, NCABS will host a seminar on financial planning and social
security benefits.  That's right! The entire day is about money and
how you can plan for the future.  The session will run from
12:30-2:30pm.  It will be held in Fisher Building on the Governor
Morehead School campus.
We look forward to seeing lots of you at Washington Seminar, as we are
helping send five great students in North Carolina up to DC to
advocate for blind people in America and educating the public on our
abilities as active members of society!

December NABS Board Meeting Minutes

National Association of Blind Students
Board Meeting Minutes
December 20, 2015

Meeting called to order at 9:02 p.m.

 Members Present:

Sean Whalen (President)
Candice Chapman (1st Vice President)
Bre Brown (2nd Vice President)
Kathryn Webster (Secretary/Treasurer)
Hindley Williams (Board Member 1)
Chris Nusbaum (Board member 3)
Michael Ausbun (Board Member 4)

Treasurer’s Report:
Checking account: $4,741.38
Savings Account: $1,720.61
Awaiting $50 check from Karen Anderson from last year’s auction.

 Committee Reports

Communications:
Social media: Continuously increasing our friends on Facebook and
followers on Twitter. Friend us on Facebook at NABS Link and follow us
on Twitter @nabslink.
Student slate: Blogs up for December! Nefertiti and Alex Anderson
wrote reflections on the Legislative Leadership Workshop.
NABS Notes: Coming out for December! Send any important info or state
updates to Hindley at hbwilliams at gmail.com.

Fundraising:
Wash Sem funding wrap-up: Funding almost 30 students to attend
Washington Seminar. Coming in slightly under budget which is great!
Will be finalized soon. Estimated cost is $5500 total. President has
agreed to reimburse NABS for half out of general funds. Students who
are receiving funding are required to attend multiple events at Wash
Sem, including the legislative seminar.
Auction items/logistics: Please let Kathryn know if your
affiliate/chapter/student division can donate any items/gift cards.

Legislative:
Letters: We are making the final push for Washington Seminar. Please
encourage all students to write letters. These should be in by January
1, no later than two and a half weeks before Wash Sem. Send letters to
Sean or Kathryn.

Membership:
Math call wrap-up: 20+ people on the call on Sunday, December 13. Good
questions; Eric Guillory and John Miller were guest speakers;
recording will be out soon on website and list!
Training Center story project: Will start working on this with
committee. Leaders identified.
New membership call in February (likely on scholarships)

State Updates

Hindley Williams:
Alaska: in contact regularly
Georgia: Hindley was there in October; successful Convention; few
students attending Wash Sem; regular calls
Kansas: Hindley was there; lots of energy; affiliate is very supportive
Nebraska: just got new president
Pennsylvania: Hindley is student president; trying to get a student
seminar off the ground; 5 students coming to Wash Sem
Washington: new division, new president
Vermont: Difficult because of no student division; affiliate contact;
will continue to follow-up

Chris Nusbaum:
Maryland is doing really well; board retreat on January 2; Kathryn
attends conference calls monthly with the board to kick start new
division
All other states are unresponsive.

Michael Ausbyn:
Alabama: up and rising
Maine: no student division, but Dylan-Hedtler-Gaudette is going to
help start one
Nevada: new board members; couple of people attending Wash Sem
Ohio: trying to restart student division
Oklahoma: working with affiliate president
Puerto Rico: difficult contact
South Carolina: working on membership, fundraising, and communication
with new board

New Business:

NABS Board meeting during Washington Seminar before the Great
Gathering In. More information will come.

Sean will send out a vote for a NABS Rep in Massachusetts.

Meeting adjourned at 9:42 p.m.

As always, please do not hesitate to contact us with any questions,
concerns or suggestions. The NABS Board works for you, and we want to
know how we’re doing! Thanks for reading, and we’ll be back in
January.

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.


-- 
Hindley Williams
hbwilliams16 at gmail.com
(443) 823-0867
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