[NFBNJ] NFB President’s Notebook - week of 04/27/2020

Mon Apr 27 23:15:39 UTC 2020

Greetings to all!
I have pasted several items of interest from the President’s Notebook for 
week April 27, 2020.
Please read through,act where requested and keep raising expectations to 
live the life you want!
Warmly,
Joe Ruffalo

----

From: President, National Federation of the Blind
Sent: Monday, April 27, 2020 4:20 PM
Subject: NFB President’s Notebook - week of 04/27/2020

President’s Notebook
National Federation of the Blind
Mark A. Riccobono
officeofthepresident at nfb.org
410-659-9314

Dear Fellow Federationists,

It is hard to believe that April is coming to a close. I know that all of 
you must feel the same way. I continue to appreciate all that you are doing 
to connect and protect blind people through our affiliates.

As I urged all of you on Sunday evening, please help us spread the word 
about supporting the National Federation of the Blind on Giving Tuesday Now 
(May 5). We need your help amplifying the messaging in advance, but we 
definitely need your active engagement on May 5 to help the Federation get 
noticed and maximize the funds being generously offered to us by the Gibney 
Family Foundation. Stay tuned for more details.

Critical Actions:

This Friday, May 1—Presidential Release LIVE:
Attend the May Presidential Release (Zoom details available) of the National 
Federation of the Blind on May 1, 2020, at 8:00 p.m. eastern. After the 
remarks, the organization's first vice president, Pam Allen, will moderate 
questions. Members of the Federation are encouraged to attend, and 
non-members are warmly welcomed. Send your questions in advance to 
cdanielsen at nfb.org and put PR494 in the subject line or call 410-659-9314, 
extension 2473.

News:
Hotel Room Credits:
If you booked a hotel room in Houston, Texas, for the national convention, a 
full refund will be issued, so please do not call the hotel to cancel at 
this time. Both the Hilton and Marriott reservations staff are working to 
cancel reservations and providing full refunds to the credit card used to 
secure the room. Because both hotels are working reduced hours with limited 
staff, it may take up to two weeks for your refund to be issued. If you have 
not seen a credit to your account by May 8, please send an email to Susan 
Skaarer at sskaarer at nfb.org with your confirmation number, so we can confirm 
the cancellation of your reservation with the hotel. For those of you who 
may have made a separate reservation for room nights before or after our 
convention, you will need to contact the central reservations line at 
800-236-2905.

Accessibility of State COVID-19 Websites:
A recent article alerted us to a comprehensive study by Web AIM finding that 
most state websites that provide information about the coronavirus pandemic 
have accessibility barriers. Affiliates who have not done so already should 
reach out to state governments to alert them to accessibility issues. If 
your state’s website is flagged in the study or if you find accessibility 
issues, please share through social media channels or by sending an email to 
accessiblenow at nfb.org, especially if a point of contact or information about 
the responsible government office cannot be found. If you can identify a 
point of contact, consider sending a statement to the website administrator, 
or to the department responsible for the site (often the governor’s office 
or health department) such as the following:

I am writing to you on behalf of the National Federation of the Blind of 
[state or territory name] to advise that your dedicated website [or web 
pages] intended to provide coronavirus information is not accessible to 
blind users. [Provide details or examples here.] Blind residents of our 
state need accurate and timely information about this pandemic just like all 
other residents, and state and federal laws require that we have equal 
access to all information provided by our government. We therefore strongly 
urge you to rectify these accessibility barriers as soon as possible. We are 
happy to provide expertise and to connect you with blind people who can 
conduct user testing. We will appreciate your immediate attention to this 
critically important matter.

Advocacy and Policy Update:
I wanted to start out with a quick update regarding Economic Impact 
Payments. For recipients of Social Security retirement, survivors, or 
disability insurance benefits (SSDI) automatic payments of $1,200 are 
scheduled to begin arriving this week. If you are a recipient of one of 
these federal benefits and entered your eligible dependent information into 
the IRS system by April 22, you will also receive an additional $500 for 
each eligible dependent. If you were unable to enter your eligible dependent 
information into the IRS system by the above deadline, you will still be 
able to receive the additional $500, but you will need to file a tax return 
for year 2020.

For SSI and VA benefits recipients, the IRS announced a deadline of May 5 to 
enter your eligible dependent information into the Non-Filers Tool. If you 
are unable to enter your eligible dependent information into the IRS system 
by the May 5 deadline, you will still receive your $1,200 payment and you 
can apply to receive the additional $500, but you will need to file a tax 
return for year 2020.

The Treasury Department will make these automatic payments to Social 
Security retirement, SSDI, SSI, and VA recipients. Recipients will generally 
receive the automatic $1,200 payments by direct deposit, Direct Express 
debit card, or by paper check, just as they would normally receive their 
benefits. A special note for Direct Express account holders, you may use the 
Non-Filers tool, but you cannot receive your and your children’s payment on 
your Direct Express account. You may only select a bank account for direct 
deposit or leave bank information blank and receive the money by mail.

In legislative news, we continue to advocate for the inclusion of the Access 
Technology Affordability Act into upcoming COVID-19 relief legislation. We 
are also working to include a waiver to eliminate the waiting periods for 
SSDI and Medicare during the COVID-19 emergency. Congress is scheduled to 
reconvene as early as next week, and your calls and emails on these topics 
are sure to make a difference. Our Advocacy and Policy team will be sending 
out a legislative alert with further instructions in the next few days.

Celebrate #GivingTuesdayNow with Us:
#GivingTuesdayNow is a global day of giving and unity, set to take place on 
May 5, 2020, as an emergency response to the unprecedented need caused by 
COVID-19. Our partner, the Gibney Family Foundation, is generously matching 
all donations made. If you are able, please help us continue to advocate and 
provide essential services by contributing on #GivingTuesdayNow.

Seeking Those Applying for SSDI Benefits:
We are seeking blind persons who have recently been in the process of 
applying for SSDI benefits and have had to sign various forms for Social 
Security.  Additionally, we wish to speak with those blind persons who 
recently have had to fill out the SSA Form 1696.  This is the form which 
allows you to appoint someone else to represent you before SSA.  This is 
time sensitive.  Please contact Valerie Yingling at vyingling at nfb.org or 
410-659-9314, extension 2440.

Requesting Information about Inaccessible State Unemployment Websites:
We are investigating access barriers on state unemployment websites. If you 
have recently attempted to file for unemployment benefits via your state’s 
website and encountered access barriers, please contact Valerie Yingling at 
vyingling at nfb.org or 410-659-9314, extension 2440.

Virtual Background for Federation Zoom Meetings:
Zoom offers the option to display virtual backgrounds during a Zoom video 
call. For Federation virtual meetings hosted on Zoom, please consider using 
a branded background that contains our logo if video is being used. If 
interested in the branded background, please send a request to Suzanne 
Shaffer at sshaffer at nfb.org. The background we will send you is a repeating 
pattern of the National Federation of the Blind logo in white over a faded 
green to blue backdrop.

Here are some tips on setting up the virtual background: position your 
camera so you have a solid, single-color background behind you. Although 
using a green screen gives the best results, a plain wall or curtain is 
fine. Open your Zoom client, and in the settings menu, select Virtual 
Backgrounds. Click Add Image and then select the image you want from your 
computer (or choose to add a video). There is an option to mirror image that 
you want to be sure is unselected or the logo will be backwards.

Veterans’ Celebration of Freedom:
Vernon Humphrey, president of the National Association of Blind Veterans, is 
reaching out to all veterans that will be taking part in the national 
convention so they can participate in the annual Celebration of Freedom. 
Please contact him at mr_president at nabv.org or 706-329-7960 if you are, or 
you know of, a military veteran that will be at convention this year.

Dates to Keep in Mind:
·       May 1: Distinguished Educator Award nomination deadline

·       May 1: Live Presidential Release

·       May 5: Giving Tuesday Now

·       June 1-12: NFB BELL® In-Home Edition

·       June 10: Membership Open House

·       June 22-July 3: NFB BELL® In-Home Edition

·       July 27-August 7: NFB BELL® In-Home Edition

·       July 14-19: NFB National Convention, Everywhere

The National Federation of the Blind knows that blindness is not the 
characteristic that defines you or your future. Every day we raise the 
expectations of blind people, because low expectations create obstacles 
between blind people and our dreams. You can live the life you want; 
blindness is not what holds you back.

Mark A. Riccobono, President

200 East Wells Street, Baltimore, MD 21230

(410) 659-9314 | officeofthepresident at nfb.org

The National Federation of the Blind is a community of members and friends 
who believe in the hopes and dreams of the nation’s blind. Every day we work 
together to help blind people live the lives they want.

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