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<DIV>Greetings to all!</DIV>
<DIV>Once again, we have the opportunity to have our voices heard.</DIV>
<DIV>Please read through the message, submit your testimony and continue to
raise expectations to live the life we want.</DIV>
<DIV>Make your voices heard!</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Do not wait for someone else to provide testimony, get to it!</DIV>
<DIV>Let’s exceed the number of testimonies requested.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Warmly,</DIV>
<DIV>Joe </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>**</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>
<DIV
style='FONT-SIZE: small; TEXT-DECORATION: none; FONT-FAMILY: "Calibri";
FONT-WEIGHT: normal; COLOR: #000000; FONT-STYLE: normal; DISPLAY:
inline'><B>From:</B>
<A title=elizabethrouse.nfb@gmail.com
href="mailto:elizabethrouse.nfb@gmail.com">Elizabeth Rouse</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt tahoma">
<DIV style="BACKGROUND: #f5f5f5">
<DIV><B>Sent:</B> Sunday, December 15, 2019 1:19 PM</DIV>
<DIV><B>To:</B> <A title=jrzobek@gmail.com
href="mailto:jrzobek@gmail.com">Jonathan Zobek</A> ; <A
title=nabs.president@gmail.com
href="mailto:nabs.president@gmail.com">Kathryn
Webster, National Student President</A> ; <A title=trishak.nfb@gmail.com
href="mailto:trishak.nfb@gmail.com">Trisha Kulkarni</A> ; <A
title=nfbnj1@verizon.net href="mailto:nfbnj1@verizon.net">joe ruffalo</A>
</DIV>
<DIV><B>Subject:</B> Action requested: procuring student
testimonies</DIV></DIV></DIV>
<DIV>Good afternoon Joe and Jonathan,</DIV>
<DIV>I am writing to request for you and your student membership’s
participation</DIV>
<DIV>in a very important initiative for the National Association of
Blind</DIV>
<DIV>Students. As of Friday, AIM High, or H.R. 5312, was dropped in the
House
of</DIV>
<DIV>Representatives! This bill works to create guidelines for
accessibility</DIV>
<DIV>standards in higher education, and now we need to share our stories
with</DIV>
<DIV>Congress so that they know the importance of this bill to the success
of</DIV>
<DIV>blind students everywhere!</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>We would really appreciate your state’s contribution by asking students
to</DIV>
<DIV>write short testimonies about a time each student faced an
accessibility</DIV>
<DIV>challenge with educational materials and what the passage of AIM High
would</DIV>
<DIV>mean to him/her. Students can submit statements through this Google
form</DIV>
<DIV><<A
href="https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSf68TacBetKMAHZcMhGJLmYgeWDIjjpSm9Sz1OUwYKxzsIEAg/viewform?usp=sf_link">https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSf68TacBetKMAHZcMhGJLmYgeWDIjjpSm9Sz1OUwYKxzsIEAg/viewform?usp=sf_link</A>>.</DIV>
<DIV>Our goal is to get at least 3 testimonies from every state by December
23,</DIV>
<DIV>a week from tomorrow. We will be sharing these stories with your</DIV>
<DIV>representatives on social media, by email, and in person. Here is
an</DIV>
<DIV>example from NABS Secretary Mausam Mehta.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>“Last August, I was really excited to dive into the prerequisite
coursework</DIV>
<DIV>for my perspective program at the University of Virginia. As a
sophomore,</DIV>
<DIV>pursuing a degree in business and economics, I quickly discovered</DIV>
<DIV>significant access barriers, primarily in the form of
inaccessible</DIV>
<DIV>instructional systems in accounting that I could not use independently
with</DIV>
<DIV>my assistive technology. This forced me to rely on a sighted
counterpart
to</DIV>
<DIV>input my work, frustrating me to not be able to fully take charge of
my</DIV>
<DIV>academic aspirations. Unfortunately, this issue is not unique to</DIV>
<DIV>accounting. Inaccessible materials are a preventable reality for
blind</DIV>
<DIV>students, and right now, our representatives have the power to take
an</DIV>
<DIV>important step in reducing these barriers across the country. I
strongly</DIV>
<DIV>urge Congress to pass AIM High (HR5312) to ensure that blind students,
like</DIV>
<DIV>myself, can be competitive applicants for top programs without
the</DIV>
<DIV>lingering question of access slowing us down.”</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Please reach out to me directly at elizabethrouse.nfb@gmail.com with
any</DIV>
<DIV>questions.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Thank you so much for your investment in our movement!</DIV>
<DIV>Elizabeth</DIV>
<DIV>-- </DIV>
<DIV>Elizabeth Rouse</DIV>
<DIV>Chair | Fundraising Committee</DIV>
<DIV>Board Member | National Association of Blind Students</DIV>
<DIV>A proud division of the National Federation of the Blind</DIV>
<DIV>www.nabslink.org</DIV>
<DIV>elizabethrouse.nfb@gmail.com</DIV>
<DIV>563-210-1854</DIV></DIV></DIV></DIV></BODY></HTML>