[NFBNJ] Monthly Notes For May 2017 From NFBNJ President Joe Ruffalo And Info The Passing of Alice Eaddy's Father

Tue May 16 18:22:13 UTC 2017

Greetings to all!
As I was preparing the monthly notes for May, I received the following information and wanted to share with our Federation family.
Joe 
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After last night’s senior division conference call where Alice did participate, Jane Degenshein  got this note this morning from our dear friend and wanted to pass it along for all of you
***
My dad (Samuel Raymond Eaddy) died this morning around 8 am. His funeral needs are already taken care of. There will be know viewing just a burial with military honors that will be determined after his cremation over the next few days.
As per Samuel's request there will be no calling hours.

Arrangements are under the guidance of the John L Matt Funeral Home, 3309 Oneida St.,Chadwicks, NY.

To send an online message of sympathy: www.johnlmattfuneralhome.com

Of course, all of you can send an email, text to our friend to show her our support for her at this time of need if that works better for you
Home: 856 765 0601
cheiro_alice at aol.com

Our prayers and thoughts are with Alice and her family.

We care. We share. We grow. We make a difference
Joe Ruffalo, President 
National Federation of the Blind of New Jersey 
973 743 0075
nfbnj1 at verizon.net
www.nfbnj.org
Your old car keys can be keys to literacy for the blind.
Donate your unwanted vehicle to us by clicking 
www.carshelpingtheblind.org 
or call 855 659 9314

Greetings to all!

I am pleased to provide great news in my opening message to those on our distribution list.

Alyssa Shock is a member of the national scholarship class of 2017.  She was one of thirty to be named as there were over 600 applicants that were reviewed for this award.

The Kenneth Jernigan First Timers Award announced that the following will receive partial funding to attend their first national convention in Orlando this summer.  Amy Albin, Linda Melendez, Connor Mullin, Andrew rees and Rosa Santiago were notified via email by the committee.

Special Note: Fannie Davis is not able to attend the national convention this year.  She has reserved a hotel room  at the Rosen Shingle Creek. Before she cancels her room and loses some of her deposit, if anyone still needs to make hotel reservations, please call Fannie by May 25,  at 609-628-2898. For additional information pertaining to the national convention, please visit the national website at www.nfb.org/convention.

>From May 29 through August 7, Veronica Gaspa will intern at the national center in Baltimore where she will learn much and will be able to bring back and share her experiences to benefit all.

Congratulations to those mentioned above.  Congratulations to our members that continued to raise expectations to transform dreams into reality to live the life we want.

With Much Respect,

Joe Ruffalo, President

National Federation of the Blind of New Jersey

973 743 0075

Nfbnj1 at verizon.net

www.nfbnj.org

****

Items of Interest

1.    Uber and Lyft Project

2.    Capitol Chapter Fundraiser; Trenton Thunder Sunday, June 11

3.    CBVI Town Hall Meeting

4.    Surfing Experience, Saturday, August 12, Long Branch

5.    Two New Pages On State Website

6.    New Method To Use Uber And Lyft Without Using A Smart Phone

7.    Agenda Sports And Recreation Committee Wednesday, May 24 At 8:00 PM

8.    Agenda  Spanish Committee Wednesday June 7 at 8:00 PM

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1.    The National Federation of the Blind has created a rideshare testing program to measure Lyft and Uber’s efforts to eliminate driver discrimination against riders with guide dogs or service animals. Recent agreements with these two major ridesharing companies require the National Federation of the Blind to provide feedback, over the next three to five years, on the efforts they have agreed to undertake to prevent discrimination against service animal users.

Here's where you come in. If you use Uber or Lyft and have a service animal or travel with someone who has a service animal, we need your help. Fill out our online questionnaire after your next Uber or Lyft ride, and as often as you can after that. We would love feedback from regular Uber and Lyft users at least once a month, about both positive and negative experiences. You will find the questionnaire at https://nfb.org/rideshare-test.

Extensive information about the program is available in the May issue of the Braille Monitor. You can also visit nfb.org/rideshare for more information, including an extensive FAQ, information on how to report discrimination to Uber and Lyft directly as well as through our questionnaire, and a list of the questions we'll ask so you can be thinking about them when you take your next ride.

Please share this information with fellow Uber and Lyft users with guide dogs or other service animals, including non-members of the National Federation of the Blind.

If you have questions that are not answered by the resources above, contact Valerie Yingling, Legal Program Coordinator, at the National Federation of the Blind Jernigan Institute, at (410) 659-9314 extension 2440, or vyingling at nfb.org. The NFBNJ project chair is Ginger Kutsch who may be reached at 973-656-0544 or ginger at ky2d.com

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2.    Capitol Chapter Fundraiser Needs Your Support

Sunday Afternoon at the Ballpark

Are you looking forward to the summer?  Would you like to share one day during this season of nice weather with friends and family and people you may not have seen for a long time?  Do you like live baseball?

If you can answer yes to any of these questions, you may be interested in attending a Trenton Thunder baseball game, the Double A affiliate of the New York Yankees, on Sunday, June 11.  The first pitch is scheduled for 1:00 pm, however prior to the first pitch, pre-game ceremonies will honor NFBNJ Capitol Chapter member, Don Wardlow.  He broadcasted baseball, football and basketball on WGLS, the college radio station at Rowan University in Glassboro. From 1991-2002 Don became the first blind radio broadcaster in pro baseball. There is now a second who may not have been hired without the work Don did earlier on. Finally Don has written a baseball blog and is working on his autobiography, targeting blind readers and hoping they enjoy his story. Don will throw out the first pitch. In addition, all members of the NFBNJ will have the opportunity to line up on the first base line to cheer Don as he delivers the ceremonial first pitch.  Upon completion of the game, all children under 12, will run the bases.

The Capitol Chapter is sponsoring this event.  Tickets are $11.00 per person.

The action on the field should be interesting.   In addition to seeing the game, you can buy souvenirs at the Thunder Store, eat good food, including chicken and roast beef sandwiches for those of us who are watching their weight and have a good time.

The stadium is located at Arm and Hammer Park and the address is 1 Thunder Road, Trenton, New Jersey.  The location is Access Link-accessible and the cross street is Lamberton Street.

Please note that we will not be receiving the tickets until May 22, However, we are taking orders and payment for tickets now.   If you have any questions about the procedures which must be followed, please contact Mary Jo Partyka at 609 888-5459 or by email at choirnfb at gmail.com.  Please send all  ticket orders and money to John Lipton whose address is 2 Forman Drive, Hamilton Township, NJ  08690.  Make checks payable to NFBNJ Capital Chapter and put the word “baseball” in the memo field of the check.  All requests and payment must be received no later than Monday, June 5, 2017. Since the tickets will be mailed back to you, please include your address and the names of the people in your party who will be attending.  Tickets will not be sent if payment is not received.

I hope you will consider joining us on June 11.

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3.    I received the following message from Pamela Gaston, NJ CBVI. We have another opportunity to participate and to provide thoughts to work together to make a difference! Please share with others.

Subject: CBVI Town Hall Meeting Pre-Registration

The New Jersey Commission for the Blind and Visually Impaired invites you to attend our full day Town Hall Meeting, which will be held on June 10th at the Division of Children and Families Child Welfare Training Academy located at 30 Van Dyke Avenue, New Brunswick, NJ 08901. The cross street is Somerset Street.

A Town Hall registration and feedback form can be found at the online SurveyMonkey link below, along with an agenda, lunch and transportation options.  The Commission would like to encourage everyone to complete the registration and feedback form via the online survey.

Thank you and see you soon!

The SurveyMonkey link: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/CBVITownhall2017

Online Town Hall meeting registration can also be accessed from the Commission’s website http://www.state.nj.us/humanservices/cbvi/news/townhall.html

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4.    Surfing For Vision Updates:

Music concert just got added!

We just got great news regarding Surfing for Vision. The city of Long Branch has decided to sponsor the event. What does this mean? Two parking lots up by the beach that will be put aside for us that day. It also means that we have the park across the street which has seating and a stage and we have added a music concert from 1pm to 4pm at the jersey shore for everyone to have a great day at the beach. They are also including wave running rides for more attendees in addition to the register surfers.

This fun is growing for this event and now if you haven’t registered to surf yet get you name on the waiting list as we expect that some who registered as early as January may not make it so there is still opportunity you may get out on a board but you are assured that you will get to zoom along on a wave runner feeling the wind smelling the sea air tasting the salt as you get spray hitting your face.

do not hesitate to register, regardless put this on your calendar and come enjoy a fun filled day.    Sponsorship tables will be available for this event if interested. The NFB will be given a space at no cost for this event.

surfingforvision.org

Sincerely,

Michael Benson

Founder

VISUAL EXPERIENCE FOUNDATION

PO Box 346

Spring Lake, NJ 07762

Tele:732-616-3304

Email : michael at lovevision.org

Web: www.visualexperiencefoundation.org

Facebook/visualexperiencefoundation

http://abcnews.go.com/WNT/video/visual-experience-foundation-takes-man-losing-vision-grand-29815832

****

5.    Please share the two links with others as the Sports and Recreation Committee have established  two pages, events and photographs,  for all to enjoy.

I know of members that skydive, rock climb, enjoy white water rafting, golf, bowl, square dance, ballroom dancing, etc..

Received from Linda Melendez, Chair of the Sports and Recreation Committee.

Great news!

The Sports & Recreation Committee has established two new pages on the National Federation of the Blind of New Jersey website (http://www.nfbnj.org/).  They are the last two links on the main menu before Joseph Ruffalo's contact information.  I have added both links at the end of this email after the line of ****.

The first page is dedicated to inform everyone of upcoming National Federation of the Blind of New Jersey Sports & Recreational Committee activities. The second page is dedicated for photos and videos of National Federation of the Blind of New Jersey Sports & Recreational  Committee activities.

Please feel free to submit any activities and/or photos to me directly for review and consideration to be posted on the National Federation of the Blind of New Jersey Sports & Recreational Committee pages.  When submitting actives please give all details such as date, time, place, type of event, contact person for this event, key points as well as the link if available for the event. All photos submitted must have a detailed description of the picture and all videos must clearly state what is happening in the video. In addition, all pictures and videos must have the names of everyone in the picture/video, your affiliation with the National Federation of the Blind of New Jersey and a brief written description.

I would like to acknowledge and give a special thank you to Brian Mackey for doing an outstanding job on creating the Sports & Recreational pages.

If you have any questions please feel free to contact me directly.

Thank you,

Linda Melendez

National Federation of the Blind of New Jersey

Chair Sports and Recreation Committee

732 421 7063

lindamelendez220 at gmail.com

The sky is the limit and you are stronger than you think you are.  Let’s come out of our comfort zone and become participants in our lives.  Let’s do the sports and recreational activities we desire.  I am looking forward to a new beginning of raising expectations and living the lives we want.  We Got This!

Sports & Recreational Activities

www.nfbnj.org/sports-and-recreational-activities

Sports & Recreational Photos

www.nfbnj.org/sports-and-recreational-photos

****

6. New Way to Use Uber and Lyft Without a Smartphone:

I have been asked to provide the following again.  Some have used and have found the experience to be positive.

      GoGo is an automated hotline that lets people use Uber and Lyft without needing a smartphone.

     Uber and Lyft are available nationally; when you use GoGoGrandparent, we'll send you whichever one is cheapest at the time that you make your request for a ride. Their prices are typically up to 40 percent less than the cost of a cab.

      Using GoGo is simple: callers call from a number they have registered with us and hear a menu of options. They can press 1 for a car to be sent to pick them up from their home, 2 for a car to be sent to pick them up where we dropped them off last, or 0 to speak with an operator for a custom pickup location. Once the driver arrives, they tell the driver where they want to go. When you make a request, a car shows up at your door within fifteen minutes, typically less.

      To register free of charge, please call (855) 464-6872 or visit <gogograndparent.com/register>.

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Please share with others interested to make a difference with involvement in sports and recreation.

Sports and Recreation Committee Agenda

The National Federation of the Blind of New Jersey Sports & Recreation Committee 2ndConference Call Date: Wednesday, May 24, 2017

Time: 8:00 Pm

Call: 712 432 0180  Code: 460994

Agenda

1.  Roll Call

2.  Minutes

3.    Welcome: Linda Melendez

4.    Additional Comments: NFB of NJ President Joe Ruffalo

5.    Membership List

6.    Old Business

     Highland Park’s “Run in the Park” 5K

         NFBNJ Sunday Afternoon At The Ballpark

         2ND Annual Surfing for Vision

7.    New Business

      Annemarie Cooke – Recreational information

8.    Round the Table

9.    Next Conference Call: Wed, June 28, 2017 @ 8:00 pm

10. Adjournment

-- 

Thank you,

Linda Melendez

National Federation of the Blind of New Jersey

Chair Sports and Recreation Committee

732 421 7063

lindamelendez220 at gmail.com

The sky is the limit and you are stronger than you think you are.  Let’s come out of our comfort zone and become participants in our lives.  Lets do the sports and recreational activities we desire.  I am looking forward to a new beginning of raising expectations and living the lives we want.  We Got This!

****

The Spanish Committee 2nd Conference Call

Date: Wednesday June 7

Time: 8:00 PM

Call: 1 712 432 0180

Code: 460994

Please share with others that could benefit.

Agenda:

1.  Roll Call

2. Review of Minutes

3. Presidential Message in English and Spanish

4. Literature available at the Independence market

5. Building a Foundation

a. need contact information to build database, see below

b. discuss potential phone chain for tutoring purposes

6. Old Business:

7. New Business:

8. Round the Phone

9. Adjournment

Agenda Submitted By:

Rosa Santiago, Chair

Spanish Committee

201 892 6946

rosa.santiago901 at gmail.com

Information requested for database:

name:

address:

home number:

cell number:

email:

Do you speak Spanish and are willing to assist with tutoring:

Are you a member of a chapter/division: If yes, please provide:

Do you want additional information pertaining to local chapters and divisions?:

Can we add you to the NFBNJ distribution list:
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