[nfb-talk] Some ideas for NFB booths

[Rovig, Lorraine]

I am cleaning out old files and ran across an idea I developed in 2003 for a local festival in the Fells Point neighborhood.  One problem that I've noticed when helping out at NFB booths is to get the public to stop and talk, not just look at us and keep on walking.

Idea #1: Having a challenge helped a lot to bring people to the booth and get them to stop long enough we could talk with them.  Once you get some people to stop  you look popular, so more people stop.  To add to our usual "Braille your name for free" give-away stickies, we used a poster we placed to face the crowd.  I am sure you Federationists can guess what we worked into the conversation about alternative techniques and accessibility as we did a demo of these no-cost or low-cost alternatives and techniques to get around not seeing.  Here's the poster with some notes on the props I recommend.

Hey Fells Point,
Try some of our Challenges-
WITH YOUR EYES CLOSED!


1.       Build a tower of blocks. [To keep them on the table, well mostly, the tower was built inside a large cake pan.]

2.       Learn to read and write A-B-C in Braille.

3.       Tell the difference between nickels, dimes, quarters, and pennies.

4.       Pour perfectly 1 teaspoon of vanilla. [Beforehand you bend a teaspoon so it turns into a dipper and place some vanilla in a baby food jar. Show the narrow-neck store-bottle with a normal teaspoon but hide the alternative setup under a napkin - Tah Dah!]

5.       Dial a phone [or these days, demo using an iPhone]

6.       Play checkers or chess.
COME ON OVER...

In the past when I lived in Iowa, I've posted signs over NFB booths that asked other how-to questions. It is important that at least the lead question is in very large print and there is plenty of white-space between items on your list, so folks walking by can read it easily.

Idea #2: Thanks to modern computer programs for making your own business cards, a chapter could create a card give-away that says, "For information on blindness, contact us." And fill in the local contact information. The other side of the card could be blank or could list some "challenge" questions to make the card more than just a name, motto, and website.  Perhaps people would use the questions to stump their family and friends, which would get our name out in the community even further in a good way.

Cordially,

Lorraine Rovig
NFB member since 1975

P.S. You can help us help blind Americans: Text the letters NFB to 85944 to donate $10 to the NFB Imagaination Fund via your phone bill.