[NFBNJ] Week of January 14, 2022, President Riccobono's Notebook and National Items of Interest

[Linda Melendez]

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

Dear Federation Family,

I am still fired up from our gatherings before and during the 2022
Washington Seminar week. You all continue to inspire me and fuel my love
for the work of this movement.

We are heading into a busy spring convention season and planning for our
first in-person convention in three years. There is much ahead to get
excited about and to bring us together again.

Critical Actions:
Museum Planning Survey Closing February 18:
Your thoughts, suggestions, and opinions are needed to help us with the
initial planning of a state-of-the-art museum dedicated to the civil rights
struggle of blind Americans, including the history of the National
Federation of the Blind as the leader in the blind civil rights movement.
Our museum will highlight the struggles, triumphs, and challenges blind
people have experienced and the contributions we have made as we continue
to secure our place in the world as fully participating citizens. You can
complete the survey online, or you can complete the telephone survey by
calling 229-632-7878 or toll-free 833-632-7878. The survey will close on
Friday, February 18, so please be sure to let us know your thoughts by then.

News:
Protecting Our Treasury from Phishing Emails:
Several of our affiliate and division leaders have received spam and
phishing emails from what looks like other leaders within the organization.
These emails have directed people to purchase gift cards or make sure
Venmo, Zelle, or other electronic payment systems are set up to the bank
account. These emails are not legitimate and should be deleted immediately.

Washington Seminar Thank You:
Thanks to everyone who participated in Washington Seminar. As a result of
our advocacy our bills garnered many new cosponsors. The Access Technology
Affordability Act in the House jumped from 118 to 130 cosponsors and in the
Senate increased from 34 to 35. The Medical Device Nonvisual Accessibility
Act jumped from 10 to 18 cosponsors. The Transformation to Competitive
Integrated Employment Act, in the House, jumped from 24 to 34 cosponsors.
In addition, the lead Senate cosponsor of the Transformation to Competitive
Integrated Employment Act, Senator Steve Daines, spoke at our Great
Gathering-In.

Template Letters Regarding Inaccessible Education Technology Software:
The NFB has posted to our website template letters for blind students,
blind parents, and parents of blind children to use when they encounter
inaccessible education technology software at their or their children’s
schools. As the templates recommend, please copy NFB on any letters you
send via the email address
advocacy at nfb.org

 Blind Parent Template Letter Regarding Inaccessible Education Technology
<https://nfb.org/programs-services/legal-program/support-and-resources/blind-parent-template-letter-regarding>

  Blind Student Template Letter Regarding Inaccessible Education Technology
<https://nfb.org/programs-services/legal-program/support-and-resources/blind-student-template-letter-regarding>

 Parent of Blind Student Template Letter Regarding Inaccessible Education
Technology
<https://nfb.org/programs-services/legal-program/support-and-resources/parent-blind-student-template-letter>

Please also continue to report information about accessible and
inaccessible education tech software through NFB’s Education

Technology Survey:
https://nfb.org/programs-services/legal-program/education-technology-survey

Accessible Self-Service Kiosks at McDonald’s Restaurants:
As a part of the NFB’s collaboration with McDonald’s to improve access for
blind McDonald’s customers, the attached list includes the corporate-owned
McDonald’s restaurants that now feature screen-reading software, tactile
keypads, and the ability for customers to connect their headphones or
earbuds to the kiosk and independently place their orders by responding to
audio prompts. For more information about the NFB’s collaboration with
McDonald’s, please visit
https://nfb.org/about-us/press-room/mcdonalds-and-national-federation-blind-collaborate-self-service-kiosks

To watch the McDonald’s kiosk video shared during the NFB’s 2021 National
Convention, please visit
https://nfb.org/get-involved/national-convention/past-conventions/2021-national-convention


Dates to Keep in Mind: (all times eastern)
• March 1: Presidential Release, 8:00 P.M.
• March 31: Deadline to submit scholarship application
• April 15: Deadline for the Dr. Jacob Bolotin Award nominations
• July 5-10: National Convention, New Orleans



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.
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