[NAGDU] Calling All NYAGDU Members

[Heather Bird]

Hello everyone. My name is Heather and I was elected the president of the
NYAGDU, New York Association of Guide Dog Users at our NFBNY convention in
fall 2017. I know that there is great variation in the size and vigor of
chapters and divisions at the local, state and national levels, but I am
trying to reinvigorate our NYAGDU division. NY is a fairly densely populated
state, especially around NYC. We have a pretty active state affiliate, and I
feel that it is time to reconnect with old and recruit new NYAGDU members. I
know that we have the guide dog users to make it happen. I am not a member
of GDUI but I do get the emails for prospective members and I also have
friends who are members of GDUI and of its NY contingent, and it is quite
large and active. We can do that too, I have faith in our guide dog users in
the NFB. In Rochester I know many guide dog users not yet affiliated with
either NFB or ACB, who may be able to be won over, and I suspect similar
situations in other areas of the state. In our chapter of the NFB of
Rochester alone we have 6 service dog handlers, 5 of which are guide dog
handlers. I am a member of the small NYAGDU email list and I put out a call
to action for everyone to please post and introduce or reintroduce
themselves, with the promise that if I got a certain number of respondents I
would randomly draw one of their names and give them a product or a gift
certificate from On the Go. I got two responses, and both of them were from
very awesome, nice people, both, if I recall correctly, from NJ, not NY. I
have 0 problem with their being on our list, but it is pretty sad that I
didn’t get any respondents from New York. So, if you are a member of NYAGDU
or of NAGDU and live in the state of New York, please go and post on that
list, or join that list, and help make our contest a success and our list
more active. Growing and strengthening the
division isn’t going to happen without concerted effort. I know we can do
it. So, please, if you are a guide dog user in NY and are at all interested,
please go and join the list. You can do so through the state website, and
perhaps through the national website. If anyone needs help, please email me
at heather.l.bird at gmail.com <mailto:heather.l.bird at gmail.com> . Or, if you
are a member of NAGDU and you know someone living in NY who is a guide dog
handler but who is not, or not yet a NAGDU member, please forward this along
in case they may be interested. If we get enough posts by March 18th, or new
subscribers, I will give away 2 or even 3 items depending on the numbers. If
any division presidents at the state levels from other states want to
respond on, or off list with tips and tricks to enliven and expand a small
and tired division, please do so. I would be extremely appreciative.

 

Heather Bird

"They came first for the Communists, and I didn't speak up because I wasn't
a Communist.

Then they came for the Jews, and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a Jew.

Then they came for the trade unionists, and I didn't speak up because I
wasn't a trade unionist.

Then they came for the Catholics, and I didn't speak up because I was a
Protestant.

Then they came for me, and by that time no one was left to speak up." -
Martin Niemöller

In our diverse society we must never fail to speak up in the face of Human
Rights violations lest we be the next targets of such violations.