[NFBMI-Talk] Student Position for BSBP C. I. C.

[rob.parso3389 at gmail.com]

Good afternoon, Federation Family,

 

I hope you are all well. I am writing to offer an opportunity to our members
who are students. The Bureau of Services for Blind Persons (BSBP) is the
state agency for blindness rehabilitation in Michigan. The agency provides
services for blind people along different tracks that they are customers
for, including independent living, vocational rehabilitation, and
pre-employment transition. The Community Involvement Committee (CIC) is an
advisory body that supports BSBP customers, vendors, and partner
organizations in providing feedback to the agency on how its services are
affecting the blind community. The leaders of this committee include both
the NFB of Michigan (NFBMI) and the Michigan Council of the blind and
Visually Impaired (MCBVI). 

This year, as co-chair of the committee, I had the pleasure of working on
updating the bylaws of the CIC, which includes ensuring our organization's
place as a key stakeholder, ensuring that at least one parent from our
community is a voting member and cementing two students from our community
as voting members. The purpose of this initiative was to ensure that members
of the blind community that are students and parents have a voice in how
BSBP's services improve moving forward.

Student representatives of the CIC serve two-year terms, with one
recommendation coming from BSBP and the other coming from the community at
large. The Bureau has provided someone they believe would fit this role well
and I need our Federation family to help identify a student in our community
that is passionate about advocacy and can represent students statewide on
this committee with us. Interested parties must:

*	Attend a college or university in Michigan.
*	Be available for our quarterly meetings (every three months).
*	Have a passion for advocacy and improvements in the rehabilitation
agency.
*	Be objective in decision-making, especially when supporting services
BSBP outlines during our meetings. 

 

Interested applicants do not have to be a current customer of BSBP to be
eligible to serve with us on the CIC. If you are interested in
participating, you will be subject to an interview with myself and the
president of MCBVI, Casey Dutmer. To inform us of your interest, please
email President at nfbmi.org <mailto:President at nfbmi.org> . I look forward to
any support we can receive on this project in elevating student voices in
our state agency.

 

Respectfully, 

 

 

Robert Parsons, Jr., MA, CRC, CVRT, LPC

President, NFB of Michigan

(269) 216-8640

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