[NFBMI-Talk] The Informant 2024-04

Tue Apr 16 00:51:31 UTC 2024

National Federation of the Blind of Michigan (NFBMI)

The Informant 2024

Vol. 4: Springing Into Federation Programming

April 15, 2024

Affiliate Zoom Link:
<https://zoom.us/j/9612695221?pwd=dHlxZDNwcVVZbUVTYUM5cEU4cDlndz09>
https://zoom.us/j/9612695221?pwd=dHlxZDNwcVVZbUVTYUM5cEU4cDlndz09 

>From the President: Greetings and welcome to a new week Federation family
and friends! It is so great to be back in the great state of Michigan. I
bring you good tidings after a wonderful visit to the stormy city of New
Orleans, where I had the fun of using the structured discovery model the
National Federation of the Blind empowers us to employ in orientation and
mobility skills when traversing new terrain. Though my short time in New
Orleans was during tornado activity, it was a blast, and it was wonderful to
be connected and inspired by the Louisiana affiliate while representing
Western Michigan University and the National Federation of the Blind of
Michigan.

The month of April is often associated with the season of Spring and
rightfully so, as its ushers in a variety of relative titles within the
United States. April is National Wildlife Month, National Poetry Month,
National Pickleball Month, National Brunch Month, and many, many more. With
these many reasons to celebrate, it is only right to exclaim why the
Michigan affiliate has reasons to throw a party right along with the rest of
our friends. While you take some time to read our national and state
updates; please consider how you can celebrate one of the previously
mentioned April celebrations with your local chapter or state division. I
would love an invite and look forward to connecting with you soon as we
continue to build the Federation. 

Important National Updates

*	Hotel reservations for the 2024 NFB National Convention are filling
quickly. The Rosen Center is now completely booked on July 2, 2024. The
convention will take place July 3-8 at the Rosen Center Hotel in Orlando,
FL. For information about convention and to register online, visit
<http://www.nfb.org/convention> www.nfb.org/convention. The phone number to
reserve a room for the hotel is (407) 996-9840.
*	The 2024 NFB of Michigan caucus will take place on July 3 at 9pm at
the Rosen Center Hotel in Orlando. Room location and additional information
will be made available shortly.
*	The National Federation of the Blind will hold its 2024 IEP Advocacy
Training Program at the Jernigan Institute in Baltimore from May 30- June 2.
The program, aimed at preparing affiliate leaders to advocate for the rights
of blind children in the educational space, will collaborate with parents
and educators to strengthen advocacy skills that can then be sharpened in
both Orlando and home affiliates. Congratulations to Ather Jammoa for
representing the Michigan affiliate in Baltimore during this year's training
program.

Important State Updates

*	Individuals interested in applying for state-funded assistance for
the NFB  national convention can do so by visiting nfbmi.org/forms.
Applicants are encouraged to review funding assistance program eligibility
requirements prior to applying and to provide their  convention registration
confirmation after applying. The deadline for applying for state-funded
assistance for national convention is May 30, 2024.
*	The 2024 NFBMI Raising Expectations Accessing Life (REAL) program is
a dual-track program for youth interested in learning about growing in
STEM-related fields. This year, our NFB STEM2U track is for ages 8-13,
intended for families and creates accessible, non-visual astronomy
experiments. Our NFB Scholars track, outlined for ages 14+, addresses
notable transferrable skills needed in these related fields for vocational
success. Interested applicants should visit nfbmi.org/real to apply for the
program prior to May 30, 2024. This program offers scholarship opportunities
for the STEM2U track and does offer sponsorship opportunities for eligible
BSBP customers. For questions about the program, please email Tara Morgan,
Youth and Family Committee Chair.
*	  The NFBMI Capital Region Chapter will be partnering with our
affiliate to present a statewide voter access education seminar. The
tentative date of this program will be Saturday, August 10, 2024. Topics
covered include accessible ballots, electronic voting, and items blind
voters face during primary and general elections in our state. If you are
interested in joining or supporting this program, contact Jay J. Meddaugh at
<mailto:vp at nfbmi.org> vp at nfbmi.org or Mark Eagle at
<mailto:treasurer at nfbmi.org> treasurer at nfbmi.org.
*	The National Federation of the Blind of Michigan will have a vendor
table April 25-26 at the 2024 MAER Conference at the Park City Hotel in
Traverse City. We encourage members or interested guests to join us and
learn about the 2024 Raising Expectations Accessing Life (REAL) program, as
well as updates to our scholarship program and how you can get a student to
apply.
*	The National Federation of the Blind of Michigan will have vendor
tables at both the 2024 Libraries Without Walls program in Lansing on May 9
and the 2024 Visions Conference in Ann Arbor on June 5. During these
opportunities to network with professionals and teachers of the blind, we
encourage members to assist in promoting our scholarship program for
students, the 2024 voter access program and additional work we do the
achieve equality, opportunity, and security for blind people. If you are
interested in attending either of these events to represent the Federation,
please contact Robert at  <mailto:President at nfbmi.org> President at nfbmi.org. 
*	The 2024 State Convention of the National Federation of the Blind of
Michigan will take place October 31-November 3 at the Radisson Plaza Hotel
at Kalamazoo Center. The address is  100 W. Michigan Avenue, Kalamazoo, MI
49007. Convention details, including registration, will come in time. If you
are interested in joining the convention planning committee, including
coordination or agenda development, please contact Jay J. Meddaugh at
<mailto:vp at nfbmi.org> vp at nfbmi.org.
*	The NFBMI fundraising committee thanks all who participated in the
2024 Kernel Kraze, our Spring Double Good popcorn campaign. We raised a
total of $1839 in four days with your efforts over the Easter weekend. These
efforts will assist members in their attendance at our 2024 national
convention. Please join us for our next meeting via Zoom, which will be
announced on the NFBMI Talk list.

Important State Affiliate Dates

*	04/18/24 NFBMI Leadership Retreat
*	04/23/24: NFBMI Youth and Family Program Planning Committee Meeting
(5pm)
*	04/23/24: NFBMI AT Large Philosophy Discussion (8pm)
*	04/25/24: NFBMI Legislative Committee Meeting (7pm)
*	04/26/24: NFBMI Soundboard (8pm)
*	05/08/24: NFBMI At Large Chapter Meeting

With Love, Hope and Determination,

Robert Parsons, Jr., M. A., CRC, CVRT, LLPC

President, National Federation of the Blind of Michigan

(269) 216- 8640

www.nfbmi.org <http://www.nfbmi.org> 

"Without struggle, there is no progress." - Frederick Douglas