<html><head><meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"></head><body dir="auto"><div>Hello again,</div><div><br></div><div>Here is Her name on Facebook: Penny Mary LeclairBennett. She is going to be inducted in the Canadian disabilities Hall of Fame. She just had an article published about her.</div><div>I share an article in the Why Not magazine that introduces me as one of three newest inductees into the Canadian Disability Hall of fame. Canadian Disability Hall of Fame article Penny Bennett</div><div>MEET THE 2024 INDUCTEES TO THE CANADIAN DISABILITY HALL OF FAME</div><div>This year’s Hall of Fame inductees continue a great tradition of advocacy, leadership and athletic excellence.</div><div>PENNY BENNETT,</div><div>Builder</div><div>P</div><div>enny Bennett is a powerful voice for Canada’s</div><div>blind and deafblind communities. Through</div><div>decades of determined advocacy, she has champi</div><div>-</div><div>oned awareness and inclusion, inspired meaningful</div><div>change and helped break down societal barriers for</div><div>people with disabilities.</div><div>“The barriers that prevent people</div><div>with various disabilities [from partic</div><div>-</div><div>ipating fully in their communities]</div><div>cause unnecessary isolation and, for</div><div>many, loneliness,” said Bennett.</div><div>“When I learned I could make</div><div>a</div><div>difference to improve Canadian com</div><div>-</div><div>munities and make my life better, I</div><div>was well motivated to choose when</div><div>and how to advocate.” Among her many contributions,</div><div>Bennett has advocated for legislative</div><div>changes such as the Accessibility for</div><div>OntarianswithDisabilitiesAct</div><div>(AODA), 2015, focusing specifically</div><div>on website accessibility. She has also</div><div>been involved in countless national,</div><div>provincial and local committees and</div><div>boards. This includes chairing the CNIB Deafblind Commu</div><div>-</div><div>nity Services Board, serving as Co-Chair of the National Deaf</div><div>-</div><div>blind Awareness Month Working Group and being a member</div><div>of the Municipal Accessibility Awareness Committee for the</div><div>City of Kingston, Ontario, among other notable roles.</div><div>“It is important to add my voice at the table so that the</div><div>disability of deafblindness is understood more and more,”</div><div>she said.</div><div>Bennett’s advocacy extends beyond legislative efforts. She</div><div>advocates for equitable access to intervenor services so that</div><div>all Canadians who are deafblind can thrive. Bennett also re</div><div>-</div><div>cently collaborated to create a self-advocacy guide for the</div><div>community impacted by varying degrees of dual sensory loss.</div><div>“Not all people who are both deaf and blind have the</div><div>ability to advocate,” she remarked. “Because I have access to</div><div>intervenors, and I am educated, I know it is my responsibil</div><div>-</div><div>ity to advocate for the true needs of people who are deaf</div><div>-</div><div>blind. I speak to improve everyone’s life, but especially those</div><div>who live with both deafness and blindness.”</div><div>Her journey is a testament to her resilience and determi</div><div>-</div><div>nation. Bennett was the first deaf</div><div>-</div><div>blind person to attend the British</div><div>Columbia Institute of Technology,</div><div>where she graduated with a diploma</div><div>in business administration. She also</div><div>enrolled in the massage therapy</div><div>program at Algonquin College and</div><div>overcame significant obstacles to suc</div><div>-</div><div>ceed in her</div><div> studies. This included</div><div>creating</div><div> awareness about intervenor</div><div>services, which are provided by</div><div>highly skilled professionals who act</div><div>as the eyes and ears of a person who</div><div>is deafblind, and training existing</div><div>interpreters to serve as intervenors.</div><div>Bennett’s advocacy has led to</div><div>policy changes so that people who</div><div>are deafblind can receive cochlear</div><div>implants for both sides of their head</div><div>if they have profound hearing loss. This policy change</div><div>offers a person with limited or no vision an additional</div><div>opportunity to receive the most comprehensive directional</div><div>cues while enhancing safety.</div><div>To recognize her achievements, the City of Ottawa’s</div><div>United Way Centraide celebrated Bennett with the Commu</div><div>-</div><div>nity Builder Award, showcasing her substantial contributions</div><div>to local communities. The City of Ottawa also honoured</div><div>Bennett with its Peggy Allan Memorial Award, which is pre</div><div>-</div><div>sented annually to someone who has done outstanding work</div><div>to improve accessibility for people with disabilities in the</div><div>Ottawa area.</div><div>Bennett lives by a philosophy of embracing challenges and</div><div> </div><div>not understanding that I could contribute fully to an</div><div>organization or a team. So, when I had the opportunity to</div><div>work in the disability employment sector, I was able to</div><div>leverage my lived experience to help highlight some of</div><div>those issues.”</div><div>This induction into the Canadian Disability Hall of Fame</div><div>celebrates Bennett’s lifelong commitment to advocacy. How</div><div>did she feel when she learned she was being inducted?</div><div>“I felt both deeply surprised yet very honoured,” she shared.</div><div>“I have never looked for recognition, yet to be recognized</div><div>means I have been noticed, and that is a nice feeling.”</div><div>She adds, “Good advocacy is a gift given to the community.</div><div>-</div><div>nity. We give for the pure joy of achieving the removal of</div><div>barriers of all types. </div><div><div dir="ltr"><div><br></div><div><br></div>Leisa Sekhon</div><div dir="ltr"><br><blockquote type="cite">On Oct 27, 2024, at 5:59 PM, Leisa Gary <thisnorthamericanlife@gmail.com> wrote:<br><br></blockquote></div><blockquote type="cite"><div dir="ltr"><meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"><div>Hello,</div><div><br></div><div>If you are looking for Penny, she is a member of the blind hearing aid users group at blindhearingaidusers@groups.io. Otherwise, I do not know her contact information directly.</div><div><div dir="ltr"><div><br></div><div><br></div>Leisa Sekhon</div><div dir="ltr"><br><blockquote type="cite">On Oct 27, 2024, at 12:02 PM, Maurice A. Mines via NFB-DB <nfb-db@nfbnet.org> wrote:<br><br></blockquote></div><blockquote type="cite"><div dir="ltr"><meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=us-ascii">Good morning everyone. My subject line speaks for itself if someone on this list has and or can find for me the contact information for the person who sent me a note back in August saying that they were the deaf blind leader in the Canadian Federation of the blind I would like to contact that person to set up a meeting to briefly discuss common issues between our two countries. This is also to possibly invite him to observe the next meeting of the division in November.<div><br></div><div>Just as a gentle reminder if you're planning on coming to the November 16 meeting, please get your accommodations request to me via email. Sooner is better please do not wait until just before 5 November.</div><div><br></div><div>The second reminder that everyone should be aware of nearly our entire meeting on November 16 Will take up deaf blind leadership now. There will be a person from that community speaking at that meeting. Because we are part of that community officially. Here's hoping everyone is having an outstanding weekend.</div><div><br></div><div><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt; line-height: 15.693334px; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt; line-height: 15.693334px; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt; line-height: 15.693334px; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">Maurice A. Mines, President <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt; line-height: 15.693334px; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">National Federation of the Blind Deaf-Blind Division <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt; line-height: 15.693334px; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">Email: nfbdbpresident@mmines.org <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt; line-height: 15.693334px; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">Website: www.nfb.org <http://www.nfbdeaf-blind.org> <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt; line-height: 15.693334px; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">Live the life you want. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt; line-height: 15.693334px; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">The National Federation of the Blind Deaf-Blind Division, a proud division <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt; line-height: 15.693334px; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">of the National Federation of the Blind, is a community of members and <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt; line-height: 15.693334px; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">friends who believe in the hopes and dreams of the nation's blind. Every day <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt; line-height: 15.693334px; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">we work together to help blind people live the lives they want. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 8pt; line-height: 15.693334px; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><o:p> </o:p></p></div><span>_______________________________________________</span><br><span>NFB-DB mailing list</span><br><span>NFB-DB@nfbnet.org</span><br><span>http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nfb-db_nfbnet.org</span><br><span>To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for NFB-DB:</span><br><span>http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/nfb-db_nfbnet.org/thisnorthamericanlife%40gmail.com</span><br></div></blockquote></div></div></blockquote></div></body></html>