[NFBNJ] NFB President’s Notebook - week of 05/18/2020

Tue May 19 17:07:41 UTC 2020

Greetings to all!
Please review and share the Presidentï¿½s Notebook for the week of May 18, 
2020.
Where needed, I offer my comments after each section.

Warmly,
Joe Ruffalo, President
National Federation of the Blind of New Jersey
973 743 0075
nfbnj1 at verizon.net
www.nfbnj.org

----

From: President, National Federation of the Blind
Sent: Tuesday, May 19, 2020 11:22 AM
To: President, National Federation of the Blind
Subject: NFB Presidentï¿½s Notebook - week of 05/18/2020

Presidentï¿½s Notebook
National Federation of the Blind
Mark A. Riccobono
officeofthepresident at nfb.org
410-659-9314

Dear Fellow Federationists,

Today we are eight weeks from our national convention and it is reflected in 
the announcements you find below. Help share and amplify these announcements 
with the membership. In particular, I want to call out our current work with 
the College Board regarding advanced placement exams. It is truly critical 
that you help families get connected with us so we can understand the scope 
of the problem while we advocate on behalf of blind students.

Thank you again to those affiliates who have donated additional funds to 
support our national Braille enrichment efforts. Your outreach at the local 
level, as well as financial resources at the national level, are making 
connecting, engaging, and protecting blind students possible across the 
nation.

Comments: Thanks to the affiliate board, the NFBNJ has voted to gift the 
BELL Academy program in the amount of $1,500.

Critical Actions:
College Board AP Tests:
Last week, five blind high school students and the NFB filed a complaint 
against the College Board with the United States Department of Education 
Office for Civil Rights and Department of Justice on behalf of themselves 
and all other blind and deafblind students who are registered to take the 
May 2020 advanced placement (AP) tests from the College Board. Read the 
press release and complaint at 
https://www.nfb.org/programs-services/legal-program/rulings-filings-and-letters#highstakes.

If you are a blind high school student or the parent of a blind high school 
student who is scheduled to take a College Board AP test this spring and 
requires accommodations, including but not limited to Braille and tactile 
graphics, please contact our legal coordinator, Valerie Yingling, as soon as 
possible at vyingling at nfb.org.

Comments: The next generation of leaders are advocating for themselves and 
others.

One of the students is from New Jersey.

Please Help Us Spread the Word to Federal Employees:
The Office of Personnel Management has launched a special solicitation 
window for the Combined Federal Campaign (CFC). This campaign is in support 
of nonprofit organizations that are working overtime to fight the 
coronavirus pandemic and will run through June 30, 2020. Please help us 
spread the word to federal employees. If you are in a position to give as a 
federal employee, or know someone who can, please consider donating to the 
National Federation of the Blind by selecting Blind Federation of America, 
number 11162.

Comments: Please forward this section to those that can assist.

News:
Advocacy and Policy Update:
The staff of the Jernigan Institute has remained hard at work throughout the 
COVID-19 pandemic. Some recent activities include a letter I sent to the US 
secretary of education regarding a grant program for local education 
agencies that would aid in their distance-learning pursuits during these 
quarantines and lockdowns. We urged Secretary DeVos to remember students 
with disabilities in the Department of Educationï¿½s review of the grant 
applications. I also wrote an open letter to school districts that urged 
them to remember students with disabilities in their grant requests.

Comments: Thanks to those that have contacted representatives however, we 
need more to do the same.

Shortly, when we receive updates, an email will be distributed.

One voice leads to others and other voices sound like thunder!

Donï¿½t wait for someone else, get involved!

In other news, the House and Senate are both expected to be back in 
Washington the week of June 1. Thereï¿½s a good chance they will use that week 
to negotiate the provisions of the most recent COVID-19 relief bill, the 
HEROES Act. We need to make sure that all members of Congress know about the 
major priorities we want included in that legislation. One of those key 
priorities, the Access Technology Affordability Act (ATAA), currently has 
eighty-eight cosponsors in the House and twenty-two in the Senate. We 
believe that Congressional leaders will really take notice of this bill if 
we can reach one hundred cosponsors in the House. With that kind of support, 
our Congressional champions would have more leverage to argue for the billï¿½s 
inclusion in the larger piece of legislation. So please call or email your 
member of Congress and ask them to cosponsor the ATAA (H.R. 2086/S. 815). We 
are so close, but weï¿½re going to need to work harder than ever to ensure 
this bill passes.

Comments: As stated above, letï¿½s get involved!

Elections:
As a number of states begin to relax the restrictions that were put in place 
due to the coronavirus pandemic, many upcoming primary and local elections 
will remain all vote-by-mail elections. If your state and/or local 
jurisdiction does not provide an accessible way to mark a vote-by-mail 
ballot, the Accessible Vote-by-Mail Toolkit, developed by the National 
Federation of the Blind with grant funds from the US Department of Health 
and Human Services, will provide our members with the information they need 
to know to advocate for accessible vote-by-mail. Visit our Voting, 
Accessibility, and the Law webpage to download a BRF or MS Word file of the 
toolkit. You will also find many other important voting-related resources on 
this webpage. If you have questions or need assistance in your advocacy 
efforts, please contact Lou Ann Blake, deputy executive director of 
Blindness Initiatives at lblake at nfb.org or 410-659-9314, extension 2221.

Comments: The NFBNJ has established a committee to address this issue.

In the next day or two, I will be distributing information that you can help 
by contacting New Jersey representatives with the information pertaining to 
accessible vote via mail.

National Telecommuting Institute:
We would like to speak with anyone who has either worked for National 
Telecommuting Institute (NTI) or who applied to work for NTI. Additionally, 
we would be interested in speaking with anyone who is actively looking for 
customer service work who wishes to work from home. Please contact Valerie 
Yingling at vyingling at nfb.org or 410-659-9314, extension 2440.

Comments: Please share with others.  Potential employment opportunities.

The Give $20 Campaignï¿½A Donation Drawing:

Each year, Federation members purchase tickets to drawings or make donations 
during national convention to various funds that support blind people. In 
2020, your generosity is still needed to fund our great programs. Give $20 
or more between May 15 and July 18 at noon eastern to one of the specified 
funds, and be entered into the Kenneth Jernigan convention drawing to win 
BIG! Learn more about the Give $20 Campaign.

Comments: An opportunity to assist with funding the organization with a 
possibility to win a prize.

Presidential Releaseï¿½Behind the Scenes and More:
Go behind the scenes of the presidential release live in the newest episode 
of the Nationï¿½s Blind Podcast. Join this conversation with President 
Riccobono on the history of the presidential release and the recent new 
direction. Check out the Nationï¿½s Blind Podcast now.

Comments: Always important to learn about our history.

Save-the-Date:
The next live presidential release will be held June 4, 2020, at 8:00 p.m. 
eastern with the opportunity for questions and answers again. Send your 
questions in advance to cdanielsen at nfb.org and put PR495 in the subject 
line, or call 410-659-9314, extension 2473.

Comments: Shortly, Zoom information will be forwarded.

When you receive, please share with others.  Members and non members are 
welcome to attend.

New Contestï¿½Share Your First Convention Experience:
Attending the NFB National Convention is a memorable experience. And the 
first one is life changing for so many. Share a video or audio message about 
a special memory of your first convention in less than sixty seconds to be 
entered to win a cash prize and have your story shared at this yearï¿½s 
convention. Learn more about the contest rules and prizes for the Convention 
Memory Minute Contest.

Comments: Important to hear from many as possible to share our stories with 
others.

Provide your story and change attitudes and lives.

Upcoming Accessibility Boutiques:
We host accessibility boutiques that are workshops or introductions to best 
practices and latest trends in access tech. Take advantage of these free, 
upcoming boutiques:

ï¿½       Donï¿½t Make Us Do This! Tricks We Shouldnï¿½t Have to Use to Get 
through a Website on May 19 at 2:00 p.m. eastern

ï¿½       The COVID-19 Response: Keeping Employees and Students Connected from 
Home on May 21 at 2:00 p.m. eastern

ï¿½       Textbook-Provider Showdown on May 26 at 8:30 a.m. eastern

ï¿½       Comparison of Cloud Storage Solutions on June 2 at 2:00 p.m. eastern

Learn more about accessibility boutiques and register today.

Comments: Learn more by attending the above topics.

Blind Parentsï¿½Attend Discussion this Week:

Join the national dialog regarding blind parents this Thursday, May 21, at 
3:00 p.m. eastern. Chat with some of our nation's leaders in the blind 
parenting community on whatï¿½s keeping you sane during this time, distance 
learning and children in school, social distancing, and more. Share your 
experiences, ask questions, and let us know what topics you would like to 
have us discuss on future calls. Register today for the national dialog 
regarding blind parents.

Comments: An informative hour for your consideration.

Graduates: Participate in NABS Graduation Celebration:
Itï¿½s graduation season! Many graduations are being put on hold or going 
virtual. This year, the National Association of Blind Students, a division 
of the National Federation of the Blind, wishes to celebrate the class of 
2020 through a virtual ceremony on June 6 from 5:00 to 6:00 p.m. eastern via 
Zoom (Zoom meeting ID: 467 883 3687). The celebration is open for anyone to 
join and blind students who are graduating are asked to submit the graduate 
celebration form by June 1 if they wish to be recognized during this virtual 
celebration.

Comments: To all students, please share with others.

Virtual Choir for Convention:
This year, the Performing Arts Division will be putting together a virtual 
choir project for national convention. It will be a great time to unite with 
one another and make music together. Rehearsals will be held over Zoom every 
Friday from June 5 until June 26 at 8:00 p.m. eastern, and music will be 
made available online. Members will submit recordings of themselves singing 
their parts to be put together into a virtual choir recording to be played 
during convention. We will be sending out more details as they become 
available, but if you would like to participate, please email 
nfbpad at gmail.com with your name, contact information, and voice type.

Comments: Here is your opportunity to let your voices be heard!

Dates to Keep in Mind:

ï¿½       June 1-12: NFB BELLï¿½ In-Home Edition

ï¿½       June 4: Presidential Release Live

ï¿½       June 10: Membership Open House

ï¿½       June 14: National Leadership Call during #COVID19

ï¿½       June 22-July 3: NFB BELLï¿½ In-Home Edition

ï¿½       July 27-August 7: NFB BELLï¿½ In-Home Edition

  a.. July 14-18: NFB National Convention, Everywhere
ï¿½       February 8, 2021: Washington Seminar Great Gathering-In

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 nationï¿½s blind. Every day we work 
together to help blind people live the lives they want.
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