[NFBNJ] NFB Items of Interest President’s Notebook - Week of 10/26/2020

Tue Oct 27 19:09:42 UTC 2020

Greetings to all!
I have pasted several items of interest as we continue to raise expectations 
to transform dreams into reality.

Joe

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
Raising Expectations To Live The Life You Want!

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

From: President, National Federation of the Blind
Sent: Tuesday, October 27, 2020 9:10 AM
To: State Presidents ; NFB-Division-Leaders at nfbnet.org
Cc: NCB Staff
Subject: NFB President’s Notebook - Week of 10/26/2020

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

Fellow Federationists:

It’s the last week in October and that is the scariest thing I could think 
to open this entry with today. Sunday we will be kicking off the November 
Presidential Release and soon enough we will be thinking about Thanksgiving. 
However, we still have a lot of great work to do until then, so do not let 
up on our priorities.

With all of the election activity next week and having the Presidential 
Release on Sunday, we will not plan to have a notebook next week. I hope 
that each of you have voted or planned to vote. I also hope that you 
continue to share our voting hotline and survey information. These are 
critical efforts to protect and expand the rights of blind people to vote 
privately and independently in this nation. Continue to urge blind people to 
vote. We can be proud of the progress we have made in this area during 2020. 
However, gathering data about this election is going to be essential to 
making true equality in voting a reality for future elections.

We are almost to the finish line in matching the generous gift from Freedom 
Scientific, a Vispero brand and the maker of JAWS for Windows If you can 
make a last-minute contribution to push us over the $50,000 line for 
October, it will make all the difference.

I hope you have had the opportunity to drop into the great conventions 
happening around the country. I enjoyed spending Saturday in South Dakota 
where we have a new president; congratulations to Mike Klimisch. However, I 
was able to rush over to Hawaii during the lunch hour to drop in on the 
outstanding virtual cane walk that happened there, and I even got to enjoy 
the fiftieth anniversary banquet of the Nebraska affiliate. It was nice to 
enjoy some Nebraska Federation humor from the treasure vault on Saturday 
night to close out a long day. There are a ton of conventions still to enjoy 
this fall including a number of them this weekend. Join the Federation 
family and bring your best costume or simply dress up and act like you do 
not spend your days in your pajamas. Seriously, keep up the great work with 
the Federation spirit and business happening virtually during this busy fall 
season. It has been the shot in the arm I have needed.

Critical Actions:
This Sunday, Attend the Presidential Release:
The November Presidential Release of the National Federation of the Blind 
will be delivered on Sunday, November 1. After the remarks, there is an 
opportunity for questions. Submit questions in advance to cdanielsen at nfb.org 
and put PR499 in the subject line, or call 410-659-9314, extension 2473. 
Closed captions and Spanish interpretation will be available. Learn more 
about the ways to access the presidential release.

Election Day Hotline Available for November 3:
Every polling place is required to have at least one accessible voting 
machine available for every federal election so that voters with 
disabilities can cast a private and independent ballot. To help ensure that 
we are not denied this right, the National Federation of the Blind will host 
an Election Day hotline that blind and low-vision voters, poll workers, and 
voting rights advocates can call when problems with accessible voting 
technology or other barriers are preventing a blind voter from casting a 
private and independent ballot The hotline will be available on November 3, 
2020, by calling 1-877-632-1940 from 7:00 a.m. eastern to 8:00 p.m. Pacific. 
Learn more about the Help America Vote Act (HAVA) and our other voting 
resources at https://www.nfb.org/vote.

News:
Year-End Cosponsor Push:

Thanks to all of you, we have a record number of cosponsors on the Access 
Technology Affordability Act (H.R. 2086/S. 815) in both the House and 
Senate. Just this past week, we added four new cosponsors in the House: 
Bruce Westerman (Arkansas), Debbie Wasserman Schultz (Florida), Lois Frankel 
(Florida), and Joseph Kennedy (Massachusetts). Our total cosponsor count in 
the House is now at 132. Well done, Arkansas, Florida, and Massachusetts.

The Accessible Instructional Materials in Higher Education Act, or AIM HIGH 
(H.R. 5312/S. 3095), also gained a new House cosponsor last week in Matt 
Cartwright (Pennsylvania). This brings the total cosponsor count for AIM 
HIGH in the House to 44. Keep up the good work, Pennsylvania.

The more cosponsors we get, the more we can show that these efforts have 
broad bipartisan support, which will draw attention to our bills and give 
them a better chance of getting passed. It will also benefit us in the next 
Congress by making it easier for us to gain a lot of early support from 
members of Congress who cosponsored the bill in a previous session.

NFB-NEWSLINE®:

Attention Spanish speakers: NFB-NEWSLINE now has an additional publication 
in Spanish, People en Español.

NFB-NEWSLINE is also looking to provide more publications in our “Kids 
Reading Corner.” We are asking parents for possible items to include in this 
section, so please send your suggestions to swhite at nfb.org.

Braille Readers Are Leaders—A Contest for Children and Adults:
Encourage more Braille. Improve reading skills. Win prizes. The National 
Federation of the Blind is partnering with the American Action Fund for 
Blind Children and Adults to present the 2020-2021 Braille Readers Are 
Leaders contest to encourage Braille literacy and reading for pleasure. 
Children and adults across the United States compete against their 
same-grade peers to read the most Braille pages between December 1, 2020, 
through January 18, 2021. Registration opens November 1. Learn more about 
the Braille Readers Are Leaders contest.

Scholarship Program–Call for Applications Starts November 1:
Every year, the National Federation of the Blind awards more than $120,000 
to blind scholars across the fifty states, the District of Columbia, and 
Puerto Rico in recognition of their achievements and professional 
aspirations. The scholarship program is our commitment to academic 
excellence and leadership among blind students, and each winner is awarded 
on the basis of academic excellence, community service, and leadership. The 
application process opens this week, November 1. Review the scholarship 
application checklist and the scholarship program FAQs. Share this 
opportunity that invests in the future of blind people. Learn about the 
eligibility and requirements of the 2021 scholarship program.

Gratitude:

Thanks go out to National Federation of the Blind of Massachusetts Greater 
Springfield Chapter and the National Federation of the Blind of Ohio for 
recent donations. Support from our chapters, affiliates, and divisions is 
much appreciated, especially at this time. General donations that aren’t 
restricted to a particular program are the most helpful.

NFB STEM2U:
Space is filling quickly for STEM2U. For more than fifteen years, the 
National Federation of the Blind has been working to improve opportunities 
for blind students in the areas of science, technology, engineering, and 
mathematics. In NFB STEM2U, we are bringing what we have learned directly to 
students and families in their homes. Blind students of varying ages will 
receive instruction from National Federation of the Blind personnel and 
expert instructors via the Zoom platform. Students from Colorado, Illinois, 
Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Minnesota, Missouri, Nevada, 
New Jersey, New York, Texas, Utah, and Virginia are eligible. More 
information and registration can be found at 
https://www.nfb.org/programs-services/education/nfb-stem2u.

Jacobus tenBroek Disability Law Symposium:
Mark your calendar to virtually attend the 2021 Jacobus tenBroek Disability 
Law Symposium, "Race, Diversity, and Inclusion and the Right to Live in the 
World," on March 24 through March 26. The symposium will feature more 
in-depth plenary sessions and more interactive workshops than ever before. 
Don't miss this opportunity to learn from and network with many of the 
leading disability rights advocates from throughout the United States. If 
you have questions about the symposium, please contact Lou Ann Blake at 
lblake at nfb.org or at 410-659-9314, extension 2221, or Stacie Dubnow at 
sdubnow at nfb.org or 410-659-9314, extension 2442.

Important Dates:

November 1: Presidential Release LIVE, 8:00 p.m. eastern

  a.. November 1: Applications for NFB scholarships accepted
  b.. December 1: Presidential Release LIVE, 8:00 p.m. eastern
  c.. December 9: Open-House Gathering call, 8:00 p.m. eastern
  d.. February 8, 2021: Washington Seminar Great Gathering-In
  e.. July 6-11, 2021: NFB National Convention, New Orleans, Louisiana

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

Twitter: @Riccobono

Pronouns: he, him, his

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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