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<DIV>Greetings to all!</DIV>
<DIV>Please review this reminder for your consideration to apply for the
Kenneth
Jernigan First Timers Scholarship for Texas, 2020!</DIV>
<DIV>If you are considering, please call me to discuss.</DIV>
<DIV>Please read through the information provided below. </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>My contact information is located in my signature block at the
conclusion
of this email.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Warmly,</DIV>
<DIV>Joe </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>**</DIV>
<DIV>[PHOTO CAPTION: Tracy Soforenko]</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Kenneth Jernigan Convention Scholarship</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>
by Tracy Soforenko</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>
>From the Editor: Tracy Soforenko is the newly appointed </DIV>
<DIV>chairman of the Kenneth Jernigan Convention Scholarship Fund and is the
</DIV>
<DIV>president of the National Federation of the Blind of Virginia. The
Kenneth
</DIV>
<DIV>Jernigan Convention Scholarship Fund plays a big role in helping </DIV>
<DIV>first-timers attend the national convention, and here is what he has to
say:</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>
Have you always wanted to attend an NFB annual convention </DIV>
<DIV>but have not done so because of the lack of funds? The Kenneth Jernigan
</DIV>
<DIV>Convention Scholarship Fund invites you to make an application for a
</DIV>
<DIV>scholarship grant. Perhaps this July you too can be in the Hilton
Americas
</DIV>
<DIV>Hotel in Houston, Texas, enjoying the many pleasures and learning
</DIV>
<DIV>opportunities at the largest and most important yearly convention of
blind
</DIV>
<DIV>people in the world.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>
The three biggest ticket items you need to cover when </DIV>
<DIV>attending an NFB national convention are the roundtrip transportation,
the
</DIV>
<DIV>hotel room for a week, and the food (which tends to be higher priced
than
at </DIV>
<DIV>home). We attempt to award additional funds to families, but, whether a
</DIV>
<DIV>family or an individual is granted a scholarship, this fund can only
help;
</DIV>
<DIV>it won't pay all the costs. Most years the grants were in the range of
$400
</DIV>
<DIV>to $500 per individual. In 2019, ninety grants were offered.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>
We recommend that you find an NFB member as your personal </DIV>
<DIV>convention mentor, someone who has been to many national conventions
and is
</DIV>
<DIV>able to share money-saving tips with you and tips on navigating the
</DIV>
<DIV>extensive agenda in the big hotel. Your mentor will help you get the
most
</DIV>
<DIV>out of the amazing experience that is convention week.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Who is eligible?</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>
Active NFB members, blind or sighted, who have not yet </DIV>
<DIV>attended an NFB national convention because of lack of funding are
eligible
</DIV>
<DIV>to apply.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>How do I apply for funding assistance?</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>
This year, we will be accepting applications online. Since </DIV>
<DIV>applications must be completed in a single session online, we strongly
</DIV>
<DIV>recommend you prepare your responses in a document, then cut and paste
your
</DIV>
<DIV>responses into the application form. The application form does not
support
</DIV>
<DIV>complex formatting, so we recommend avoiding formatting such as bullet
</DIV>
<DIV>points and fonts/styles.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>
Effective, January 1, 2020, the application form can be </DIV>
<DIV>found at the following link:</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><A
href="https://www.nfb.org/get-involved/national-convention/kenneth-jernigan-convention-scholarship">https://www.nfb.org/get-involved/national-convention/kenneth-jernigan-convention-scholarship</A></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>
The application will ask for the following information:</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>
Contact information: Include your full name and both your </DIV>
<DIV>primary phone where you can be contacted by your state president and
your
</DIV>
<DIV>mobile phone you might use at convention, if available.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>
Please include your mailing address and, if you have one, </DIV>
<DIV>your email address. If you don't have an email address, please consider
if
</DIV>
<DIV>there is a friend or chapter member who might be able to assist with
email
</DIV>
<DIV>correspondence.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>
State affiliate/chapter information: Include your state </DIV>
<DIV>affiliate, your state president, chapter, and chapter president, if you
</DIV>
<DIV>attend a chapter.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>
Mentor information: Include your personal convention mentor </DIV>
<DIV>and provide that person's phone number.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>
Funding request: Include your specific request and explain </DIV>
<DIV>how much money you need from this fund to make this trip possible for
you.
</DIV>
<DIV>We suggest you consult with other members to make a rough budget for
</DIV>
<DIV>yourself.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>
Essay questions to explain why this is a good investment for </DIV>
<DIV>the NFB: How do you currently participate in the Federation? Why do you
want </DIV>
<DIV>to attend a national convention? What would you receive? What can you
share
</DIV>
<DIV>or give? Provide any special circumstances you hope the committee will
take
</DIV>
<DIV>into consideration.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>
If you cannot apply online, you can still apply by writing a </DIV>
<DIV>letter to your state affiliate president answering the above questions.
This </DIV>
<DIV>letter should be emailed to your state affiliate president. Once you
have
</DIV>
<DIV>decided you will apply, please contact your state president in person
or by
</DIV>
<DIV>phone to request his or her help in obtaining funding. Be sure to tell
the
</DIV>
<DIV>state affiliate president when to expect that your application will be
</DIV>
<DIV>submitted and mention the deadline.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>
Once your online application has been submitted, your </DIV>
<DIV>application will be provided to your state president via email. It is
still
</DIV>
<DIV>your responsibility to contact your affiliate president. He or she must
</DIV>
<DIV>email a president's recommendation directly to the Kenneth Jernigan
</DIV>
<DIV>Convention Scholarship Fund Committee at kjscholarships@nfb.org
[HYPERLINK:
</DIV>
<DIV>mailto:kjscholarships@nfb.org]. Your president must email the
recommendation </DIV>
<DIV>no later than the deadline of April 15, 2020. If you have applied
outside
of </DIV>
<DIV>the online form, the state affiliate president must email both the
</DIV>
<DIV>recommendation and the application letter.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Notification of Award</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>
If you are chosen to receive this scholarship, you will </DIV>
<DIV>receive a letter with convention details that should answer most of
your
</DIV>
<DIV>questions. The committee makes every effort to notify winners by May
15,
but </DIV>
<DIV>you must do several things before that to be prepared to attend if you
are
</DIV>
<DIV>chosen:</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>
:: Make your own hotel reservation. If something prevents </DIV>
<DIV>you from attending, you can cancel the reservation. (Yes, you may
arrange
</DIV>
<DIV>for roommates of your own to reduce the cost.)</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>
:: Register online for the entire convention, including the </DIV>
<DIV>banquet, by May 31.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>
:: Find someone in your chapter or affiliate who has been to </DIV>
<DIV>many conventions and can answer your questions as a friend and
mentor.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>If you do not hear from the committee by May 15, then you did not win a
</DIV>
<DIV>scholarship this year.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Receiving the Award</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>
At the convention you will be given a debit card or credit </DIV>
<DIV>card loaded with the amount of your award. The times and locations to
pick
</DIV>
<DIV>up your card will be listed in the letter we send you. The committee is
not
</DIV>
<DIV>able to provide funds before the convention, so work with your chapter
and
</DIV>
<DIV>state affiliate to assist you by obtaining an agreement to advance
funds if
</DIV>
<DIV>you win a scholarship, and to pay your treasury back after you receive
your
</DIV>
<DIV>debit or credit card.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>More Information</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>
For additional information, please contact the chairman of </DIV>
<DIV>the Kenneth Jernigan Convention Scholarship Fund Committee, Tracy
Soforenko, </DIV>
<DIV>at kjscholarships@nfb.org [HYPERLINK: mailto:kjscholarships@nfb.org] or
</DIV>
<DIV>410-659-9314, extension 2415.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>
Above all, please use this opportunity to attend your first </DIV>
<DIV>convention on the national level and join several thousand active
</DIV>
<DIV>Federationists in the most important meeting of the blind in the world.
We
</DIV>
<DIV>hope to see you in Houston.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>
----------</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>-----------------------------------</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Calibri'; COLOR: #000000">We
care. We
share. We grow. We make a difference<BR>Joe Ruffalo, President <BR>National
Federation of the Blind of New Jersey <BR>973 743
0075<BR>nfbnj1@verizon.net<BR><A
href="http://www.nfbnj.org">www.nfbnj.org</A></DIV>
<DIV style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Calibri'; COLOR: #000000">Raising
Expectations To Live The Life You Want!</DIV>
<DIV
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Calibri'; COLOR: #000000"> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Calibri'; COLOR: #000000">Your
old
car keys can be keys to literacy for the blind.<BR>Donate your unwanted
vehicle
to us by clicking <BR>www.carshelpingtheblind.org <BR>or call 855 659
9314<BR></DIV></DIV></DIV></BODY></HTML>