[Nfbk] Please make two important phone calls today!

[Corbb O'Connor]

Good afternoon, fellow Federationists.

Tomorrow and Wednesday, a group of folks will be attending budget hearings in the Senate and House focused on the appropriations for the Office for the Blind. Even if you cannot be there in person, our Legislative Committee kindly begs you to make two phone calls (or more) to make our voices heard! 

Please call the Frankfort Capitol switchboard at (502) 564-8100, and ask to leave a message for the House Appropriations & Revenue Committee. With one voicemail, you can leave a message for every member of the committee. We’ve prepared a sample script that you can use when you leave a phone message. After you hang up, please call back and leave a message for the Senate Appropriations & Revenue Committee.

You can also see a list of members of each committee here. If your representative or senator is listed, please call him or her directly, too.

Senate: http://www.lrc.ky.gov/Committee/standing/A&R(S)/members.htm
House: http://www.lrc.ky.gov/Committee/standing/A&R(H)/members.htm

If you have any questions, please give any of us a call.

Sincerely,
Corbb O’Connor
on behalf of the Legislative Committee

Corbb’s cell: 703-309-4884
Katie’s cell: (502) 533-5933
Michael’s cell: (859) 608-2470

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SAMPLE SCRIPT

Hi, my name is ___ and I live in ___. I know that you’re busy, so I’d appreciate just 2 minutes of your time to tell you about the importance of two issues to me aa a blind voter. Both relate to funding for the Office for the Blind, which I know you’ll be discussing this week.

First, I am concerned about the proposed budget cuts to the Office for the Blind, which is partially funded through a match from the federal government. Every $1 the state contributes, the feds match with $3.69. With the governor’s proposed $1.3 million budget, Kentucky will be forced to send back over $3 million to the federal government…which could be used for training blind people like me to get back to work.

[[Add a sentence here about how OFB has personally helped you get to where you are now.]]

Secondly, because I cannot read the printed newspaper, I use Kentucky’s Accessible Electronic Information Service known as NFB-NEWSLINE. Right now, there are more than 400 publications including ten Kentucky-specific ones. Currently two thousand people depend on this service, and 135 thousand more are eligible but don’t know about it due to limited dollars for outreach. For only $72,000, this vital service will not only continue but will grow in its usage and publications.

[[Add a sentence here about how NFB-NEWSLINE helps you…maybe about elections, job listings, international events, and weather emergencies.]]

Thank you for your consideration.