[nfbmi-talk] The National Federation of the Blind of the District of Columbia

Larry Posont president.nfb.mi at gmail.com
Mon Dec 9 01:57:05 UTC 2013


THE CAPITOL STEPS
Winter 2013

Eric and Laura Smith, Co-editors

Published by and distributed by e-mail request
The National Federation of the Blind of the District of Columbia
www.nfbdc.org

Shawn Callaway, DC Affiliate President
P.O. Box 29141, Washington, DC 20017-2808
(202) 352-1511

E-mail subscription requests, articles and Letters to the Editor for
The Capitol Steps should be emailed to NFBDC1 at gmail.com. The editorial
staff reserves the right to edit all articles for space and/or clarity
considerations.

Please Note: The deadline for the next issue is February 22, 2014.






Table of Contents
1. Message from the President
2. Great Turnout for DC Convention
3. NFB Offers Scholarships to Blind Students
4. Members in the News
5. “ANGELS AT THE BEACH” by Renee Donalvo-Carlsen

6. “Save the Date”

7. Many Ways to Give
8. Just for You

1.	Message from the President
Dear Federationists,
As we conclude 2013, I want to let you know that I am truly impressed
by the hard work and
dedication of the DC Federationists.  This year, we’ve initiated and
completed many affiliate
and community projects as well as had outstanding attendance at both
state and national
conventions. Of note especially, is that the DC Affiliate is the first
state entity to establish a
Community Services Division. We hope that we have set the standard for
other affiliates and
national NFB to follow suit.
We’ve proved that we can have fun with numerous get-togethers,
including our 3rd annual Crab
Feast, walking in the Columbia Lighthouse for the Blind’s annual
“Light the Way” walk-a-thon,
and the Capital East’s wine-tasting event. We have forged successful
partnerships and
participated in activities with Maryland and Virginia chapters in the
Washington metropolitan
area. These activities included a boat cruise on the Potomac to Mt.
Vernon, attending theatrical
productions at Arena Stage, and conducting joint leadership workshops.
We had our best-ever state convention with 136 Federationists, guests
and friends in
attendance. We enthusiastically welcomed Mr. Sam Gleese as our
national rep, members from
local states as well as special guests including past Greater DC
Chapter President, Linda Black-
White, and her husband James White who came all the way from Kansas
City. Linda’s mother,
Josephine Black, a longtime supporter, enjoyed the convention too.
Congratulations to our new board members—Libra Robinson (1st
Vice-President), Margaret
Williams (2nd Vice-President), Gail Snider (Secretary), Lamont Wright
(Treasurer), and Robert
Ashe and Eric Smith (At Large Board Members) who were elected at the
convention. I have
appointed Oliver Washington to fill Gail Snider’s vacancy in the
at-large board seat for 1 year.
Welcome, also, to our many new, enthusiastic members who joined this year.
We have big ambitions for the new year. We are working cooperatively
with the Martin Luther
King Library and have a partnership with DC Public Schools to improve
the education of our
blind youth. Our partnership with the South African Embassy continues
and will include
potentially helping familiarize representatives with one of our
national training centers and
attending the national convention.
Many of our Federationists and their families have begun to make
preparations to take the
train to the national convention in Orlando in July. Won’t you come join us!

Cordially yours, 	
Shawn Callaway, President

2.	Great Turnout for DC Convention
More than 130 Federationists, guests and friends gathered at the
Holiday Inn Capitol,
October 17- 19 for the annual NFB-DC Affiliate Convention. Highlights
included testimonials
from Federationists who recently completed blindness skills training
at the Louisiana Center for
 the Blind, a stirring keynote address by Rev. Sam Gleese, long-time
NFB leader from
Mississippi, presentations from local agencies, a successful program
for students from
the DC Public Schools and a moving tribute to our beloved past leader,
the late Joie
Stuart. Funds were raised through the Friday night auction,
contributors listed in the
souvenir program and generous pledges from our members and friends.
Many thanks to
Federationists from nearby Maryland and Virginia chapters for helping
make this a most
successful event.
The new Community Services Division was installed --the first in the
nation. Officers are:
President: Libra Robinson (President), Oliver Washington (1st
Vice-President), Conrad Perry (2nd
Vice-President), Gail Snider (Secretary), Jason Manchester
(Treasurer), and Dana Hinnant and
Shirley Jordan (Board Members).

3.	NFB Offers Scholarships to Blind Students
If you’re planning to go to college next year or know a blind person
who is, the NFB may be able

to give you a hand. Any legally blind college student living in the
U.S. is eligible to apply for 30

scholarships ranging from $3,000 to $12,000 from high school seniors
beginning their freshman

year in the fall of 2014, up through graduate students working on
their PhD degrees. These

Merit scholarships are based on academic excellence, community
service, and leadership.

Besides the money, each winner will receive help to attend the July
2014 NFB Annual

Convention in Orlando, providing an excellent opportunity for
high-level networking with blind

persons in a wide range of professions and occupations.
Interested students can apply online or in print. The application
deadline is March 31,

2014.  Further details are available at www.nfb.org/scholarships. For
more information,

e-mail to scholarships at nfb.org or call 410-659-9314 Ext. 2415.

We’ve had applicants from DC in the past, but with your help, we can
bring home a

winner in 2014.

4.	Members in the News
Catharine Dillahunt was elected to the Board of the DC State
Independent Living Council in
 October 2013 for a two-year term.
Shawn Callaway was elected vice president of the Friends of the
District of Columbia Regional
Library for the Blind and Physically Handicapped (DCRLBPH) Board at
its November 25, 2013
meeting.

5.	ANGELS AT THE BEACH By Renee Donalvo-Carlsen
Have you ever met angels? Well, my friend, Edith, and I did! We are
both blind, and we

ventured out to St. Petersburg, Florida on Columbus Day weekend. We
stayed at the Sirata

Resort Hotel on Gulf Blvd. and we had a wonderful time! By the way,
this hotel provides escort

services as needed.

Let me tell you about the angels--an Australian angel helped us to
find the warm water with

calm waves. Another angel who was buried in the sand got up when he
realized we needed

help to find our canes. A French angel helped us find our room.

A free trolley goes up and down Gulf Blvd. for a minimal cost. We went
on the Dolphin Cruise

and had a nice meal at the Bubba Gump’s Shrimp Co. Tom, a trolley
driver, took us to church

and many other places. On our last evening, an English angel helped us
find a beach hut. We sat

there listening to country music while the sunset.

St. Petersburg is a peninsula within a peninsula. Our experience there
was indeed enjoyable

and memorable including the crossing of Tampa Bay on an 8-mile bridge.
You might like to try

venturing out yourself, perhaps with another sight-impaired friend.
You may very well meet

angels at the beach like we did!


6.	“Save the Date”   Mark your calendar for these upcoming events—

January 27-30, 2014 Washington Seminar

The annual gathering of Federationists from around the country, to
meet with their senators

and members of Congress. Also includes other meetings and workshops
related to NFB issues.

Join us at the Holiday Capitol Inn at 550 C Street SW. Please plan on
attending these meetings

as well as a follow-up meeting with Eleanor Holmes Norton and her staff.

NFB National Convention

Our opportunity to connect with NFB friends from across the nation in
Orlando, FL at the Rosen

Centre Hotel, 9840 International Drive, once again. Call the hotel
directly after January 1, 2014

for room reservations at 1-800-204-7234.

We are arranging to take the Amtrak Meteor as a group again this year.
Dates have just been

finalized—put July 1-6, 2014 on your calendar now!

The next chapter meetings will be:
• Capital East Chapter, January 9, 5:00-8:00 p.m., Plymouth Sr.
Center, 5233 N. Capitol St. NE
• Greater DC Chapter, January 11, 1:00-3:00 p.m., 3rd Dist. Police
Station, 1620 V Street NW

7.	Many Ways to Give
This is the time of year that we think about giving back to the
organizations that have enriched
our lives. There are a number of ways to donate to NFB to help fund
programs and assist the
organization in its mission to help blind people. Here are just a few
of them for you to consider
at  year end.
PAC Plan—This is an easy way to support the many programs of the NFB
by automatically giving
a flat amount each month to the Federation directly from your checking
or savings account.
Once you sign up, there are no checks to write or stamps to lick.
Sign up for the PAC plan
today! Visit NFB.org and type “PAC Plan" in the search box.
Imagination Fund—This supports the Jernigan Institute, the innovative
program that sponsors
things like cars blind people can drive, ground-breaking research on
blindness and special
educational programs for blind kids. Plus, part of the money you give
comes back to each state
affiliate. Learn more at https://nfb.org/jernigan-institute
Car Donation—You or someone you know can easily donate a used car and
help the NFB.  Call
toll-free 855-659-9314 or visit https://nfb.org/vehicledonations
There are numerous other options, including the Legacy Plan, to
support the organization that
means so much to us. National office is happy to have you call and
discuss how you can include
NFB in your estate planning.  Happy New Year!

         8. Just for You
Do something for yourself—keep up with the news with free newspapers
and magazines on
your phone. This NFB newsletter, too, can be accessed through
NEWSLINE, a digitized national
newspaper-reading service. Please contact Ms. Kathy Gosslin at (202)
442-4365 or e-mail
nfb.newsline at dc.gov.
Looking for a great way to get into shape and maybe even shed some of
those holidays
pounds? The National Capital YMCA offers Project Venture, a free,
volunteer-run,
accessible exercise program for persons with disabilities from the DC
area. It has been
around for over 40 years. Come join us Saturday mornings from 9 a.m.
to 12 noon at the
National Capital YMCA, 1711 Rhode Island Ave NW.
Do you enjoy movies and theatre?  Landmark E Street Cinema in is
offering audio-described
movies and staff are very attentive is getting the technology to work
right for you. They have
had the narrative  technology available for about 6 months and are
beginning to get more
offerings with this specialized function. It is available on movies
with greater popularity,
currently showing and audio-described are “The Book Thief” and  “Nebraska”.
Arena Stage will be offering “The Tallest Tree in the Forest” a play
about the life of civil rights
activist Paul Robeson, a one-man show starring Daniel Beaty and
directed by Moises Kaufman.
The run will be from January 10 to February 16. It’s a show not to be
missed!! Your editors saw
it in Kansas City earlier this fall.




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