[Nfbf-l] Fw: News Chief NFB Article

Wed Apr 8 12:08:02 UTC 2009

Kitty,
    We seem to find that, when we work the hardest on a project, we have the 
most fun! Success creates a feeling of joy!

Fraternally,
Marion


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Kitty King" <joenkitty at earthlink.net>
To: "NFB of Florida Listserv" <nfbf-l at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Tuesday, April 07, 2009 4:45 PM
Subject: Re: [Nfbf-l] Fw: News Chief NFB Article


> Thanks, Marion.  It, actually, was a lot of fun.
>
> Kitty
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "Marion & Martin" <swampfox1833 at verizon.net>
> To: "NFB of Florida Listserv" <nfbf-l at nfbnet.org>
> Sent: Tuesday, April 07, 2009 1:25 PM
> Subject: Re: [Nfbf-l] Fw: News Chief NFB Article
>
>
>> Joe, Kitty, & the Polk Chapter Members,
>>    What a great article! It's good to hear of the successes of another
>> Chapter!
>>
>> Fraternally,
>> Marion
>>
>>
>> ----- Original Message ----- 
>> From: "Kitty King" <joenkitty at earthlink.net>
>> To: <nfbf-l at nfbnet.org>
>> Sent: Tuesday, April 07, 2009 10:09 AM
>> Subject: [Nfbf-l] Fw: News Chief NFB Article
>>
>>
>>> Hello Gang:
>>>
>>> Here is an article, which appeared on the front page of our local News
>>> Chief, regarding our Chapter Pancake Breakfast last Saturday.  I don't
>>> know if the pictures are included or not.  However, there were several
>>> pictures--one of Judy Black and John Christianson on the Braille writers
>>> and Joe King, flipping pancakes.  Our theme was centered around Louis
>>> Braille.  Ron Wills, one of our members, designed  a poster with the new
>>> silver coin depicted in an enlarged form. We had these posted about the
>>> room.    He, also, created a flyer explaining the life and impact Louis
>>> Braille has had on the lives of the blind.  These were distributed to
>>> everyone. There was much interest among our diners.    Hope you enjoy 
>>> the
>>> article.
>>>
>>>
>>> Kitty King
>>>
>>>
>>> ----- Original Message ----- 
>>> From: Tom King
>>> To: Kitty King
>>> Sent: Monday, April 06, 2009 4:16 PM
>>> Subject: News Chief NFB Article
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> Fundraiser for the blind also a teaching opportunity
>>>
>>> By Donna Kelly
>>> News Chief staff
>>>
>>>
>>> Published: Monday, April 6, 2009 at 8:12 a.m.
>>>
>>>
>>> WINTER HAVEN - Eleven-year-old Addlyn Teague and her mother, Mel, 
>>> watched
>>> intently as Judy Black, who is legally blind, deftly punched the 
>>> alphabet
>>> and a line of numbers on paper with her Braille writer.
>>>
>>> The Teagues had just finished volunteering as servers at the National
>>> Federation of the Blind Annual Pancake Breakfast at Beymer Memorial 
>>> United
>>> Methodist Church when they watched NFB member Black demonstrating how to
>>> read and write in Braille, a system of raised dots that enable the blind
>>> to read by touch.
>>>
>>> Teague - a third-grade teacher who presents a unit each year about Helen
>>> Keller, Braille creator Louis Braille and sign language to her students 
>>> at
>>> Jewett School of the Arts - believes it is important for children to 
>>> learn
>>> about the challenges and accomplishments of the blind. She believes this
>>> teaches them tolerance and appreciation.
>>>
>>> "I teach this so children can see how fortunate they are to have their
>>> sight and to see how other people have to live," said Teague, who 
>>> invited
>>> Black to visit her classroom to visit with students.
>>>
>>> And from volunteering with NFB members, whose blindness ranges from 
>>> those
>>> with limited vision to some who can't see anything at all, Addlyn now
>>> understands the message the organization is sending to the public.
>>>
>>> "It taught me that you can do many things even if you are blind," she
>>> said, breaking into a huge smile.
>>>
>>> Her words made Joe King, president of the Polk Chapter of the NFB, grin,
>>> too. The breakfast not only serves as a fundraiser - the group raised
>>> approximately $1,200 Saturday - but as an opportunity to teach folks 
>>> about
>>> the reality of blindness.
>>>
>>> "The importance of our event is to make the public aware that blind 
>>> people
>>> are people. We are nothing to be shunned. We are nothing to be afraid 
>>> of,"
>>> King said. "We have the same equal rights as the sighted people - we 
>>> just
>>> can't see."
>>>
>>> Legally blind since birth from retinopathy of prematurity, an abnormal
>>> growth of blood vessels that can occur in babies born prematurely.
>>>
>>> "What a normal person can see at 125 feet, I see at 25 feet," King said 
>>> to
>>> describe his vision.
>>>
>>> While there were plenty of community volunteers on hand to help with the
>>> cooking and serving Saturday, King flipped his share of pancakes, made
>>> coffee and arrived at 6 a.m. to set up for the breakfast. Other NFB
>>> members decorated and cleaned tables, distributed information, visited
>>> with guests and gave demonstrations on the Braille writer.
>>>
>>> Many folks return to the breakfast each year to support the NFB mission
>>> and enjoy the socializing. Laura and Harry Scull, winter visitors who
>>> spend divide their time between Pennsylvania and Florida, have attended
>>> the event five or six times. Laura Scull became acquainted with the NFB
>>> when she met chapter secretary Kitty King at a low vision life skills
>>> class at the Lighthouse for the Blind six years ago.
>>>
>>> "What brings us back is the friendship and to help the NFB so they can
>>> continue the good work they're doing. And the food is very good, too,"
>>> Laura Scull said.
>>>
>>> The pancake breakfast and the annual White Cane Walk held each October
>>> during Meet the Blind Month, are events designed to promote the
>>> organization's motto, "Changing what it means to be blind."
>>>
>>> "We want people to know that blind people are very capable and can 
>>> achieve
>>> great success if given the right tools," said Kitty King, the chapter's
>>> secretary and treasurer who is married to Joe King. "All we want is
>>> opportunity, security and equality."
>>>
>>> In addition to meeting on the second Saturday of each month at Perkins
>>> Restaurant on Cypress Gardens Boulevard to discuss issues pertaining to
>>> the blind, the chapter advocates for the blind on the local, state and
>>> national levels. In addition to receiving various types of training
>>> through state and national conventions, representatives from local
>>> chapters meet with state legislators in Tallahassee and members of
>>> Congress in Washington each year. The chapter is about 40 members strong
>>> and is open to anyone interested in issues pertaining to the blind. King
>>> would like to see more people become actively involved.
>>>
>>> "We're out fighting for their rights. If we hadn't been out there, a lot
>>> of things they have nowadays they wouldn't have," King said.
>>>
>>> King said NFB members were instrumental in a change in Social Security
>>> rules that now allow the blind to earn a higher income while still
>>> receiving benefits. The organization also fought for, and received,
>>> Braille literacy rights that enable blind students to receive Braille
>>> textbooks at the same time sighted students receive their books.
>>>
>>> The NFB is in the throes of a national Braille literacy campaign called
>>> Braille Readers are Leaders that is designed to double the number of 
>>> blind
>>> children learning Braille by 2015. On March 26, the United States Mint
>>> released of the 2009 Louis Braille Bicentennial Silver Dollar, the first
>>> coin ever minted with readable Braille characters. A portion of the
>>> proceeds from the sale of the coin will benefit the Braille literacy
>>> campaign.
>>>
>>> "They're trying to bring Braille back," said Black, who is proficient in
>>> reading and writing in Braille with the Braille writer.
>>>
>>> Kitty and Joe King and Black agree that learning Braille is an advantage
>>> for the blind.
>>>
>>> "Braille is the outlet for blind people for knowledge. If you learn
>>> Braille, you can go on with your life because it is an opening door for
>>> everything," Joe King said.
>>>
>>> For more information about the National Federation of the Blind, call 
>>> Joe
>>> or Kitty King at 863-293-5648.
>>>
>>> donna.kelly at newschief.com
>>>
>>>
>>> This story appeared in print on page A1
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
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