[Nfbmo] 75 Days of Service

[Chris Parsons]

Hi all,

For those of you who may not know, I’m very involved with the NFB Community Service Division. We’re getting ready to kick off a really exciting project this coming Sunday, and I just wanted to share the information with all of you. Below is the text of two e-mails about the project, including call-in information for our first conference call on Sunday, April 12 at 7 PM Eastern. It would be awesome to get some participation from some of my Missouri people! Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions.

E-mail 1: Presenting the “75 Days of Service”:

Are you interested in making a positive difference in your community while working to challenge common misconceptions about the blind? To celebrate the 75th year of the National Federation of the Blind(NFB), the National Federation of the Blind  Community Service Division, the NFB Community Service Division of California and the NFB Community Service Division of the   District of Columbia are proud to  present the 75 Days of Service project.  

The 75 Days of Service will start on April 12, which is the beginning  of National volunteer week and will end seventy-five  days later on June 26 (nine days prior to the start of the 75th convention of the National Federation of the Blind. The purpose of this project is to encourage and support Federationists in bringing about positive change to their communities. The purpose of this project is also  ,to show that blind people need  not always   be  the “takers” that  society might have us be, that we  can give of ourselves to society as well.   We believe that in so doing we can both model and   strengthen  our belief in the philosophy of the National Federation of the Blind.

You can take part in this project individually or with your chapter or family, by engaging in a community service project, such as volunteering for a nonprofit organization, local church or school, or helping those in need in your neighborhood. Participants will be able to share ideas and receive support during bi-weekly conference calls every other Sunday, use the hashtag #NFB75Serve to tweet about their   community service activities, and will also have the opportunity to write about their experiences on the National Community Service Division’s official blog, nfbcommunityservice.wordpress.com. The  purpose of the blog is to  communicate to society that the blind  are active participants,  contributors and collaborators in society.   The  Blog is a outlet through which we  showcase by way of community Service/volunteerism what we believe in the Federation, that we as blind people can live the life we want and that blindness isn’t what holds us bak from doing so.  .

The first call will take place on Sunday, April 12, at 7 pm EST. The specific dates of each call are as follows:

Sunday, 4/12  (The Kick-off call): 7 pm Eastern/4 pm Pacific 
Sunday, 4/26: 7pm Eastern/4 pm Pacific.
Sunday, 5/10: 7pm Eastern/4pm Pacific.
Sunday, 6/7: 7pm Eastern/pm Pacific.
Sunday, 6/21: 7pm Eastern/4pm Pacific.

To be a   part of this exciting project and get more information (call-in details, updates, reminders and more),, you can sign up for the Community Service Division list serve  by  going to: http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/community-service_nfbnet.org. Facebook users can  do the same by connecting with   the Community Service division at: https://www.facebook.com/groups/205759772877055 <https://www.facebook.com/groups/205759772877055>.

We Hope you are as excited  to get started as we are to get this going!
  Yours in the  Movement,
The 75 Days of Service   Leadership Team.
Co-Chairs: Libra Robinson and Darian Smith

E-mail 2: 75 Days of Service -- First Call Information:

Hello All,

With the first day of the 75 Days of Service approaching a week from today, we wanted to provide you all with the call-in information for our first campaign call.  These calls will serve as an opportunity for us to come together and not only support  the search for the right service opportunity, and the challenges of serving,  but also to celebrate the milestones and  successes in our service.     The First call, set to kick off our project,  will be taking place on Sunday, April 12 at 7 pm eastern. To participate, dial (712) 432-0140, access code 808277.

You can also participate in this effort by tweeting about your experiences using the hashtag #nfb75serve, submitting entries to our blog, posting on our facebook group, or by using this list serve.

We are all looking forward to hearing your experiences as we support and encourage each other, aiming to better our communities.

All Best Wishes,
The 75 Days of Service Team

Chris Parsons