[NFBK] FW: [nfb-indiana] FW: FROM NABM: CONGRESS APPROPRIATES $20 MILLION TO PROVIDE RELIEF TO BLIND ENTREPRENEURS

Wed Dec 30 08:30:30 UTC 2020

From: nfb-indiana at googlegroups.com <nfb-indiana at googlegroups.com> On Behalf Of Ron Brown
Sent: Sunday, December 27, 2020 9:59 PM
To: nfb-indiana at googlegroups.com
Cc: indiana-bep at googlegroups.com
Subject: [nfb-indiana] FW: FROM NABM: CONGRESS APPROPRIATES $20 MILLION TO PROVIDE RELIEF TO BLIND ENTREPRENEURS

From: RSA Management Group <claudial at rsamanagementgroup.com <mailto:claudial at rsamanagementgroup.com> > 
Sent: Wednesday, December 23, 2020 3:35 PM
To: rb15 at iquest.net <mailto:rb15 at iquest.net> 
Subject: FROM NABM: CONGRESS APPROPRIATES $20 MILLION TO PROVIDE RELIEF TO BLIND ENTREPRENEURS

You don't want to miss this. 

CONGRESS APPROPRIATES $20 MILLION TO PROVIDE RELIEF TO BLIND ENTREPRENEURS 

AN OPEN LETTER TO THE RANDOLPH-SHEPPARD COMMUNITY 

Dear Randolph-Sheppard Stakeholder: 

We were both excited and relieved when we learned last night that Congress had included our $20 million in the 2021 Appropriations Bill to provide much needed relief to our blind entrepreneurs. It was indeed an early Christmas present to our hard-working men and women, many of whom have been devastated by the COVID-19 pandemic. Congress heard our message and responded with what many thought was impossible – a direct appropriation for Randolph-Sheppard. 

When the effects of the Coronavirus first became evident in March, the National Association of Blind Merchants, in concert with our parent organization the National Federation of the Blind, developed a multi-pronged strategy to help our blind entrepreneurs. A direct appropriation was the centerpiece of that effort. We knew it was an uphill climb and we ignored those who said it was impossible. It just goes to show again the power of the collective voices of our blind entrepreneurs and the influence of the National Federation of the Blind. 

I cannot begin to thank or give credit to everyone who had a hand in this effort. It was a team effort with NABM working closely with the NFB’s Advocacy and Policy Office to get our message to members of Congress. Credit also goes to the hundreds of blind entrepreneurs who used the website we created to send letters to members of congress. A special note of appreciation to our blind entrepreneurs in Connecticut, New York, and California who leveraged relationships with members of Congress and/or staffers to help get us meetings and personally engaged in explaining to their members the situation in which we found ourselves. I don’t want to start mentioning individual names but you know who you are. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. 

At this point, many of you have questions. Unfortunately, we do not have a lot of answers. This is what we do know. RSA will allocate the funds. What that process will be, we don’t know. Nor do we know how long it will take to make the money available. We do know that each state will receive approximately $11,000 per blind vendor as reported on the RSA-15. We also know that the intent is to provide financial relief to blind entrepreneurs. It will be up to the SLAs and the Committees of Blind Vendors to determine what makes sense for their respective states. We are urging the SLAs and Committees to work collaboratively toward that end. 

This appropriation is a major victory but NABM realizes it will not come close to offsetting losses experienced by our blind entrepreneurs. But it is a start. Our pledge is to continue to advocate on behalf of blind entrepreneurs and the Randolph-Sheppard Program and to do our part to enhance opportunities for the blind. 

A very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to you and your families. I look forward to seeing you at our first informational training on January 7 at 3:00 EST.

Sincerely, 

Nicky Gacos

President  

 The National Association of Blind Merchants is a division of the National Federation of the Blind. The National Federation of the Blind knows that blindness is not the characteristic that defines you or your future. Every day we raise the expectations of blind people, because low expectations create obstacles between blind people and our dreams. You can live the life you want; blindness is not what holds you back. 

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