[Nfb-or] Student Outreach

[T. Joseph Carter]

Celyn and I have both been part of such presentations before with the 
Commission for the Blind.  They haven't done one recently to my 
knowledge.  

Renee's done on 6/13, Joseph's not done until 6/14 because he's 
walking that Saturday.  *smile*

Joseph


On Sat, May 02, 2009 at 11:39:05PM -0700, Haben Girma wrote:
> Dear Mike,
>
> You have a great idea. Perhaps we should write letters to the schools  
> and agencies offering to give presentations. I used to give  
> presentations in my community back in California after I came back from  
> a volunteer trip to West Africa. All of us--Joseph, Renee, Bill, and  
> others--have stories to share with students. We could go to schools that  
> have blind students to provide advice about getting into college and  
> succeeding in college, and in the process representing the NFB of Oregon  
> and encouraging the students to join. I absolutely agree with you that  
> friendships are powerful tools for drawing people into an organization.  
> I'm contemplating an outreach program that would result in both  
> friendships and new members...
>
> The summer months are approaching and many high school and college  
> students might be harder to reach. Although if we get the word out soon  
> enough we might be able to get in touch with those whose semesters don't  
> end until mid June. I'll have plenty of time in a week when finals are  
> over at Lewis & Clark College. Perhaps Joseph and Renee will be done  
> with their semesters soon, too.
>
> There are several of us around the state and we can all focus on  
> reaching out to those in our regions. Those in the Portland region have  
> had two meetings thus far, but, if I remember correctly, there are  
> students in Corvallis and Eugene who are interested but have not yet  
> been able to meet with other students in the division due to  
> transportation and distance... The student division can have a meeting  
> during state Convention, though, so that will give us a chance to meet  
> everyone from all the corners of Oregon. Until then, we can use letters,  
> emails, and those who are interested could do presentations at the  
> schools in their areas.
>
> Would anyone be interested in going to a school in Oregon to give a  
> presentation?
>
>
> Haben
>
> Mike Freeman wrote:
>> Haben:
>>
>> I have not met you although I more-than-anxious to do so. I'm President 
>> of the NFB of Washington.
>>
>> Your ideas below are great and should all be tried. But in my  
>> experience, the only thing that *really* works is personal outreach,  
>> i.e., going to the high schools and colleges and actually advertising  
>> for and holding meetings to gauge the interest of blind students. 
>> Making friends is the best way to welcome and engage new members. I 
>> know funds and time are tight but the personal touch will accomplish 
>> far more than will written correspondence although email works somewhat 
>> better in that many of your generation consider it almost as good as 
>> personal communication.
>>
>> Just one old curmudgeon's opinion.
>>
>> Warmly,
>>
>> Mike Freeman, President
>> National Federation of the Blind of Washington
>>
>> ----- Original Message ----- From: "Haben Girma" <habnkid at aol.com>
>> To: "NFB of Oregon mailing list" <nfb-or at nfbnet.org>; "Vivian M. Smith" 
>> <vmsmith76 at charter.net>
>> Sent: Saturday, May 02, 2009 1:16 PM
>> Subject: [Nfb-or] Student Outreach
>>
>>
>> Hello all,
>>
>> The student division wants to reach out to more students, and we need
>> help sending letters to high schools, colleges, and agencies for the
>> blind in Oregon that can pass our message on to blind students. Please
>> let me know if you would like to help out.
>>
>> Haben
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> Nfb-or mailing list
>> Nfb-or at nfbnet.org
>> http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nfb-or_nfbnet.org
>>
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> Nfb-or mailing list
>> Nfb-or at nfbnet.org
>> http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nfb-or_nfbnet.org
>>   
>
> _______________________________________________
> Nfb-or mailing list
> Nfb-or at nfbnet.org
> http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nfb-or_nfbnet.org