[NFBMI-Talk] MIABS Mosaic Vol. 1.4- Jan. 25TH, 2026

[Jeffery Crouch]

The MIABS Mosaic
Jan. 25TH, 2026

Message from the treasurer: Danielle Agajan
 I would like to welcome you all to the 4th installment of the MIABS Mosaic. We have officially hit the end of January and completed our first full month of the Mosaic! This is an exciting time on many levels for our division. Between Washington Seminar, Midwest Regional on the horizon and all the other exciting things we as a board are working on for you, our members. I cannot wait to share everything with our monthly wrap up and prepare you for a new month where we do it all over again. So get comfy and let me walk you through where we are currently and where we are all headed.

Treasury Updates
 As the treasurer of MIABS, I am excited to inform all of you that our coffers continue to grow. Why is this so exciting? It allows us as a board to help all of our members attend events that you may not be able to attend without financial assistance. Beyond that, it also allows us to plan exciting upcoming events, both virtually and in person, for you! We are so excited to start rolling out some of these plans and can't wait to see how much everyone enjoys them. Without you all, we wouldn't be here. We, as a board, believe that we are only as strong as our membership and that paying it forward is so important.

Fundraising Updates
 Taking the treasurer hat off for a minute and switching to the fundraising chair hat, I am pleased to announce that our MIABS XOXO auction has been live now for two weeks and is off to an amazing start. However we continue to ask for your support, as the more we make the more we are able to give back to our membership. Please don't forget to visit the website to see if there are any items you might like to bid on, if that's not your thing, but you would still like to give monetary support, you are able to make a cash donation on the page as well. If you can't, or just don't want to participate in that way, but still want to show your support, please share! You can share via your social media accounts, word of mouth, or if you would like to hand out or post flyers IRL, please reach out to me at miabs.treasurer at gmail.com<mailto:miabs.treasurer at gmail.com> and I will be more than happy to supply those for you.
Access our auction page
here<http://www.32auctions.com/miabsxoxo>
 Looking on the horizon we already have our next fundraiser in the works and we are so excited about it. More to come on that in the future, but I really think everyone will like what's coming next!

The Wrap Up
 This has been an eventful month! Your MIABS board has rolled out so many awesome things in January. Here is a list of those, in case you missed anything. MIABS XOXO Auction, Weekly meetings, with the last meeting of the month being specifically for you, the members, The MIABS Mosaic newsletter and virtual copy that can be found here. We have also started a Tiktok, Instagram, Mastodon and word press blog. I will attach those links near the bottom of the newsletter. We are also rolling out a Kick page that will hopefully go live during Washington Seminar, with none other than your awesome VP Riley Letterman. Keep an eye and ear out for that info coming very soon. If that wasn't enough, I can promise you we have additional super exciting things in the works and we have no plans on slowing down or stopping, so buckle in for a wild and fun ride!
 Keep an eye on your emails, as we will be sending out two polls in the upcoming days. One is to get your feedback on days and times of meetings. The second is going to be a poll about a possible upcoming Virtual Valentines Day Event, hosted by VP Riley Letterman. She has come up with an awesome idea of getting people together to have a virtual event where you can all put a boxed craft together, while chatting and building bonds. The craft would be supplied to you by the student division at no cost.
 Keep your eyes and ears peeled for the start of our Tech Talk committee. Our chair Shaun Williams has been in close contact and talks with our treasurer Steven Crouch, our President Jeffery Crouch and myself about some pretty cool stuff that will be rolling out soon. Shaun has a drive and love of technology that is only matched by his want to share that with as many as he can. This is going to be an awesome addition and tool for all of us!
 Speaking of the president, Jeff and I are working on a new SUPER EXCITING segment for our social media accounts called "Student Rewind". This segment will be a biweekly podcast type interview segment where we reach out to past Blind Student Association members from all over and ask the question...."Where are they Now?"
 Finally please don't forget that Midwest Regional application and registration deadlines are quickly approaching. The deadline for the financial assistance application through MIABS is January 31st 2026, the deadline for event registration<https://nabslink.org/civicrm/event/info?id=7&reset=1> and hotel is February 20th 2026. Remember, you are not locked in if you fill all of these applications out and change your mind, but if you don't fill them out, you won't be eligible for assistance and may miss out on registration and hotel for the event. I know prior to the applications going live there was a ton of buzz about people who wanted to attend and yet we have only received two applications so far. If you don't apply we can't help, so please don't sleep on this event! We want to help everyone who wants to go and send as many Michiganders as we possibly can, so take a moment and  click here<https://forms.gle/85NSJ3cSVNCkr4h8A>
to save your spot.

Connect With Us
Youtube<http://www.youtube.com/@miabs_social>
Kick<http://kick.com/miabs-social>
If you are using the kick app, search for miabs_social
Facebook<http://www.facebook.com/mIABsSocial/>
Instagram<http://www.instagram.com/miabs_social/>
X<http://www.x.com/@miabs_social>
Tiktok<http://www.tiktok.com/@miabs_social>
Mastodon<http://mastodon.social/@miabs_social>
Blog<http://miabssocial.wordpress.com>


In Closing
 Whew, I think that's all I've got for ya on this first monthly wrap up. I speak for us all when I say it has been a pleasure to serve you all and we can't wait to keep onward and upward and see all that we can accomplish together throughout this amazing New Year.

Let's go build the federation!