[nfbmi-talk] Fw: Resolution concerning employment of blind people

Tue Jan 25 18:03:54 UTC 2011

This is a really positive and hopeful letter.  I suggest that we keep communications open with Gregory Grabowski, beginning with a thank you to him for such a candid response.  It appears, from his carefully worded letter, that Leader Dog may share some of our concerns about the Michigan Commission for the Blind.  He also raises an excellent point about the lack of mass transit in the city of Rochester.  Honestly, it seems to me that it would make many things easier for the folks at Leader Dog if there was bus service in that community.  They always instruct dog users on bus travel, and now need to travel to another city by car for that purpose.  

Rochester seems like it would be a decent place to live.  Perhaps they have para-transit that could at least be a start for someone who wanted to take a chance on living and working in Rochester?  

Anyway, I just wanted to weigh in, and to offer my encouragement to further pursue a positive working relationship here.

CB

On Jan 24, 2011, at 10:03 AM, Larry Posont wrote:

> 
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: Gregory Grabowski 
> To: president.nfb.mi at gmail.com 
> Sent: Monday, January 24, 2011 9:57 AM
> Subject: Resolution concerning employment of blind people
> 
> 
> Dear Mr. Posont:
> 
> Leader Dogs for the Blind strongly agrees with you and the National Federation of the Blind of Michigan that qualified blind persons can serve in many positions within our organization.  When we have positions open in our organization, we do seek qualified candidates that are visually impaired and blind.  We are currently posting all of our positions and working with the following organizations, so as to search for as many visually impaired and blind candidates.  The organizations we are working with are as follows:  BLIND, Inc. was referred to us by The National Federation of the Blind, and we have spoken with Dick Davis, the Assistant Director for Employment Programs at BLIND, Inc.  We are posting on the American Council of the Blind web site (we have spoken with them), American Foundation for the Blind and Disability Work.com.  We have reached out to NFB regarding their job listings through NFB Newsline. Additionally, our Human Resources Department has been working closely with the Michigan Commission for the Blind and we are currently sending our position openings to them. We have been working with counselors who work with blind persons looking for employment opportunities. We recently interviewed a candidate last week identified by one of their counselors. 
> 
> Further, we have suggested several ways in which Leader Dogs for the Blind and the Michigan Commission for the Blind could more strategically partner in delivering services and thus far the commission has declined our offers.
> 
> On the board level this concern is shared and monitored by our Program and Services Committee of the Leader Dogs for the Blind Board of Trustees whose chair as well as our current Board Chair are blind persons. We currently contract with five blind individuals on a regular per diem basis with an additional four on a more part time basis, who live in various parts of the country, who represent Leader Dogs for the Blind, and who travel independently, speaking, raising money and recruiting clients for our organization.  We have two blind teenagers in the position of camp counselors for our summer leadership camp for blind teens and have one employee who is visually impaired on campus. 
> 
> We will continue to recruit visually impaired and blind candidates for position openings and do very much want to have our work force be more representative of those we serve.  We currently have positions open in our apprentice training program and we aspire to be the first dog guide organization with a blind and/or visually impaired instructor.  
> 
> We have offered employment to visually impaired and blind individuals in the past, who have declined our offer because we have no form of mass transportation in our area.  We have met with the appropriate local, state and federal government agencies responsible for mass transit and have gotten no where.  In fact our former blind employee, whom we lost to cancer, spent time lobbying our local government and agencies with no success. We do continue to seek solutions to this challenge.  
> 
> We are most open to any assistance the National Federation of the Blind Michigan can provide as we seek to employ more visually impaired and blind individuals.  
> 
> Mr. Posont, my apologies as a new President and CEO of Leader Dogs for the Blind, (that is not so new anymore) it is overdue for us to meet.  So I will reach out in the near future for us to speak and/or perhaps meet so that I can introduce myself. 
> 
> Best 
> 
> Greg 
> 
> Gregory Grabowski
> 
> President & CEO
> 
> Leader Dogs for the Blind
> 
> 
> 
> Executive Assistant: Leigh Gladding                                  
> 
> 1039 S. Rochester Road
> 
> Rochester, MI 48307
> 
> 248.650.7100
> 
> Toll Free 888.861.1460
> 
> 
> 
> Our Mission: To enhance the lives of people who are blind and visually impaired.
> 
> 
> 
> Please contact us at: www.Leaderdog.org
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Disclaimer: This message contains confidential information and is intended only for the individual named. If you are not the named addressee you should not disseminate, distribute or copy this e-mail. Please notify the sender immediately by e-mail if you have received this e-mail by mistake and delete this e-mail from your system. E-mail transmission cannot be guaranteed to be secure or error-free as information could be intercepted, corrupted, lost, destroyed, arrive late or incomplete, or contain viruses. The recipient should check this email and any attachments for the presence of viruses. The sender therefore does not accept liability for any errors or omissions in the contents of this message, which arise as a result of e-mail transmission. If verification is required please request a hard-copy version. 
> Leader Dogs for the Blind 
> 1039 S. Rochester Rd.
> Rochester Hills, MI 48307
> The mission of Leader Dogs for the Blind is to enhance the lives of people who are blind and visually impaired. Visit us online at leaderdog.org to find out more! 
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