The following information is listed on the NFB page giving the presidential releases. The link to that page is: https://nfb.org/resources/publications-and-media/presidential-releases The links in this note are shown below preceded by a ! symbol. The information about that topic is also given. and marked with a !! indicator March 2019 President Riccobono announces that preregistration for the ! 2019 National Convention is now open. He also discusses the ! Dr. Jacob Bolotin Awards,  ! the Marrakesh Treaty, a new series of ! blind parent podcasts, our latest ! policy statements,  ! NFB summer programs, the national ! scholarship program, the ! Jacobus tenBroek Disability Law Symposium,  and the ! Dream Makers Circle. !! National Convention The National Federation of the Blind National Convention is the largest gathering of blind people in the world. NFB members cheer during the general session of the 2018 National Convention. It is the premier event for training, support, and information for the blind community. It also serves as a governing body, democratically electing our leadership and establishing each year's organizational priorities. Although the convention is open to all, our constitution states that only members of the NFB have the right to participate in decision making when it comes to organizational policy. If you are not already a member, you can join the NFB today. 2019 Dates Sunday, July 7 through Friday, July 12, 2019 2019 Location Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino 3950 South Las Vegas Boulevard Las Vegas, NV 89119 For the first time in seven years, the convention will be held west of the Mississippi at Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino. Listen to Everybody Loves Raymond star Brad Garrett announce the new location to our members. Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino is situated at the beginning of the world-famous Las Vegas strip, so it is the perfect location for enjoying as much or as little of the strip as you want. Mandalay Bay has more than two dozen restaurants in addition to various activities for people of all ages to enjoy. Among its features is an aquatic playground called Mandalay Bay Beach which has real sand, a wave pool, and rentable cabanas. The hotel is also home to an aquarium with more than 2,000 animals including sharks, green sea turtles, and a Komodo dragon. Entertainment options include Michael Jackson ONE by Cirque du Soleil. Hotel Reservations Room reservations at the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino can be made starting January 1, 2019. Please call the hotel at 877-632-9001 to book your room. The hotel will take a deposit of the first night’s room rate for each room and will require a credit card or a personal check. If you use a credit card, the deposit will be charged against your card immediately. If a reservation is cancelled before Saturday, June 1, 2019, half of the deposit will be returned. Otherwise, refunds will not be made. For NFB convention attendees, the nightly rate for singles, doubles, triples, and quads is $99. Hotel taxes are 13.38 percent and sales tax is 8.25 percent. The resort fee, normally $37 a night, is waived for NFB convention attendees. However, fees for internet access, local and toll-free calls, and fitness center access might apply. Registration Online Preregistration Online preregistration is now open. You can preregister from March 1 to May 31, 2019 at convention.nfb.org. On-Site Registration Registration will be available on site in Las Vegas. Agenda The full 2019 National Convention agenda will be posted online in June of 2019. The daily schedule for the 2019 National Convention is as follows: • Sunday, July 7—Seminar Day • Monday, July 8—Registration and Resolutions Day • Tuesday, July 9—Board Meeting and Division Day • Wednesday, July 10—Opening Session • Thursday, July 11—Business Session • Friday, July 12—Banquet Day and Adjournment More Information Additional details will be posted online as they become available. For more information, please contact us at 410-659-9314 or nfb@nfb.org. To access materials and highlights from previous national conventions, please visit our past conventions page. !! Dr. Jacob Bolotin Awards The Dr. Jacob Bolotin Awards honor individuals and organizations that are a positive force in the lives of blind people. Dr. Jacob W. Bolotin (1888-1924) was the world’s first physician who was blind from birth. He achieved that goal despite the tremendous challenges faced by blind people in his time. Not only did he realize his own dream, but he also went on to support and inspire many others. Winners of the Dr. Jacob Bolotin Awards: • Break down barriers facing blind people in an innovative way • Change negative perceptions of blindness and blind people • Push past existing boundaries to inspire blind people to achieve new heights Winners receive a cash award and have included entrepreneurs, volunteers, filmmakers, authors, mathematicians, technology developers, artists, teachers, nonprofit organizations, programs, partnerships, and more. I have many hopes and dreams for The Blind History Lady. Some I will make come true on my own. With funds through the Jacob Bolotin Award, we can make a few more of my dreams a reality. — Peggy Chong, 2018 Dr. Jacob Bolotin Award Recipient The awards are presented annually at our national convention in July. The Dr. Jacob Bolotin Awards are funded by the National Federation of the Blind with assistance from the Alfred and Rosalind Perlman Trust, which was created by a bequest left to the Santa Barbara Foundation and the NFB by Dr. Jacob Bolotin’s niece-in-law, author Rosalind Perlman. The online application for the 2019 awards is available from November 15, 2018 through April 15, 2019. More Information Blue badge that reads "National Federation of the Blind Bolotin Award Winner." James Gashel, Chairman Dr. Jacob Bolotin Award Committee Email: bolotinaward@nfb.org Mobile: 808-234-9259 Google Voice: 970-306-9779 Sponsored by the Alfred & Rosalind Perlman Trust. Presented by the National Federation of the Blind. !! Marrakesh Treaty Braille Monitor                          March 2019 How the Marrakesh Treaty Came to Be Policy: The Perspective from a Longtime Legislator by Senator Charles Grassley Senator Charles Grassley From the Editor: In a preceding article we noted that Senator Charles Grassley was given the Distinguished Legislator Award by the National Federation of the Blind. After that presentation, he was given the microphone and asked to speak on the topic of how the Marrakesh Treaty became the law of the land from the perspective of one of the senators who made it happen. With some modest editing, here are the remarks he made: Thank you so much for this award and as for those kind remarks, I could’ve listened to those for a long, long time. [applause] I really appreciate the opportunity to meet with you, and it means a lot to me that you folks have honored me with what you have said is a keynote speech to the Great Gathering-In meeting. I guess it is a great gathering by the large number of people who are here, and I especially want to say hi to the folks who came here from Iowa. A lot of you in this room know about the work of Ken Jernigan, and some of you knew him. It was exactly sixty years ago this month, my first month in the Iowa legislature, that I met Ken Jernigan. [applause] He was very well respected by legislators of both parties, and I don’t know how many times I went through his woodshop, where he was training people to run a circular saw with blinders on. My first thought was, “Ye gods, all I’m going to see here is blood.” But you know, in all of the years being in the legislature and touring there, I was blessed by seeing people who were so proud to be a part of that program and more importantly to be independent. This is what I learned year after year after year in serving my constituents. So thank you very much for this award, and thank you also for all of the activities we have been involved in all these years. I’ve been asked to speak to you about something you probably know everything about, so what you will be hearing tonight is how it looked from my point of view. I will be talking with you about the Marrakesh Treaty and the implementing legislation. In the last Congress, when I was the chairman of the Senate Judiciary committee, I worked on this issue. This legislation is something I felt strongly about. We were able to reach an agreement after several years of hard work. The treaty was finally ratified by the Senate, and the implementation legislation passed last year. As many of you know, the treaty was negotiated and concluded under the auspices of the World Intellectual Property Organization. The treaty was concluded in the place where it gets its name, Marrakesh, Morocco, on June 28 of 2013. It was signed by the United States on October 2, 2013. The intent behind the treaty is to facilitate access to printed works for people with print disabilities. There is a global shortage of print material in accessible formats such as Braille, digital Braille, large print, specialized audio files, and other alternative formats. The treaty helps address this book famine, a problem for blind and visually impaired individuals all over the world. As you know, the United States enjoys a significant production of accessible format copies for America’s blind people. However, the ability to share such copies across borders expands opportunities for blind people in America and all around the world. This is particularly valuable for blind and visually impaired Americans who read and learn in languages other than English, as well as those who need specialized works such as scholarly texts for graduate work at universities. The treaty addresses this problem by making clear that copyright protections shouldn’t impede the creation and distribution of such accessible format copies. It does this while including safeguards that protect the rights of material creators and distributors, because we want to encourage innovation and, equally important, the treaty fosters the international exchange of accessible copies of printed materials. According to the treaty, every country is required to provide an exception or limitation in their national copyright laws for the creation and distribution of accessible format copies for the exclusive use of blind and other print-disabled persons—subject, of course, to international obligations. The treaty also requires countries to permit the exchange across borders of accessible format copies made under such national law exceptions for the use of the blind in other countries that are parties to the treaty. At the same time the treaty provides assurances to authors and publishers that the system won’t expose their published works to misuse or distribution to anyone other than the intended beneficiaries. It’s also very much reiterating the requirements that the cross-border sharing of accessible format copies of works will be limited to certain special cases which don’t conflict with the normal use of the work and also don’t unrealistically prejudice the legitimate interests of the rights holders. Everyone would agree with the Marrakesh Treaty’s worthy goals. Consequently, the treaty and its implementation would have a glide path to getting things done quickly. Right? Well, unfortunately not. There was much discussion among the stakeholders, but agreement couldn’t be reached on how to implement the treaty. Finally, in February 2016, the previous administration submitted the treaty and its implementation to the United States Senate. But there were still obstacles and no consensus on the legislative package to implement the United States’ obligation under the treaty. Concerns were expressed by stakeholders with the approach taken by the previous administration. There were concerns that there wasn’t enough accountability and that the rules would be gamed. There were concerns that the rules would change and libraries would be burdened with additional regulatory requirements. There were concerns that the interests of rights holders were not adequately protected. Others saw an opportunity to bring issues beyond what the treaty was trying to accomplish. So the bottom line was that with these concerns, the two sides simply couldn’t agree. Senators were concerned with moving the treaty before an agreement had been reached on implementing legislation. You need to have a pretty widespread consensus in order to move a bill in the United States Senate, and I’m sure the last thirty-five days have convinced you of that. [A thirty-five-day government shutdown had been concluded just days before this presentation was given.] It is sometimes hard to get things done, and of course I was concerned. But this is such a worthy endeavor that the Senate Judiciary Committee and the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, encouraged by your organization, the National Federation of the Blind, along with the Library Copyright Alliance and the Association of American publishers continued to negotiate and propose language that could be supported by all interested stakeholders, including the copyright community, public interest groups, the United States Patent and Trade Office, and the United States Copyright Office. It may sound like your concerns weren’t being taken into consideration, but let me tell you the National Federation of the Blind made sure your concerns were addressed. [applause] So the National Federation then sprang into action at the federal level and also at the state level. To credit a number of individuals: John Paré, Scott LaBarre, Gabe Cazares, as well as a professor at the Loyola Law school, Prof. Justin Hughes. The National Federation of the Blind was instrumental in bringing all this together. Your engagement helped to creatively reach a consensus not just with respect to the legislative text that implements the treaty but also the important legislative history that goes along with the bill’s committee report so the courts know exactly what we are trying to accomplish. This effort was supported and ultimately succeeded because of the close relationship between the chairman and ranking members of both committees of jurisdiction in the Senate: foreign relations, with jurisdiction over treaties, and judiciary with jurisdiction over copyright law. We worked hand-in-hand on a bipartisan basis (I know you don’t believe that) to move this bill. The staff worked with the House to ensure that there weren’t any problems. The State Department, the US Patent and Trade Office, and the US Copyright Office were informed and were available for consultation to avoid any last-minute hiccups. So, on March 15, 2018, we introduced Senate Bill 2559, the Marrakesh Treaty Implementation Act, which was the consensus product of these negotiations and the vetting with stakeholders who were the publishers, the libraries, and the print-disabled community who is best represented by the National Federation of the Blind. The bill made modest adjustments to the United States copyright law. The treaty is based on current US copyright law that provides an exception or limitation for the creation and distribution of accessible format copies for the exclusive use of the blind or other print-disabled people. The implementing legislation broadens the scope of accessible works to include previously published music and musical works. It also refines the definition of eligible person and creates a new section in the copyright act to deal with the export and import of accessible format copies. Both the Foreign Relations and Judiciary Committees then moved swiftly and in tandem on the treaty from Foreign Relations and the implementing legislation from the committee on Judiciary. In May of last year, the Judiciary Committee reported the bill out by a vote that I know you won’t believe. It was twenty to zero. [applause] The Foreign Relations Committee marked up the treaty shortly thereafter. You know, I can’t help but think of something that I tell my town meetings. When I say that you can’t believe it was a twenty-to-zero vote, this is because everybody thinks that nobody in Washington gets along ever. The people who get along you never read about in the paper [laughter], but every time there’s a disagreement, it is what you read about. If I can brag for a minute, sixty-one bills came out of my committee. Every one of them were bipartisan bills, and thirty-four of them were signed by either a Republican or Democratic president. [applause] Of course, this was one of them, but all you ever heard about that the committee did in the last two or three years was fight about judges. On January 28, 2018, the treaty and the bill passed the Senate, and on September 25, the House of Representatives passed the bill and the president signed it on October 9, 2018. [applause] Now if you hadn’t labeled my speech a keynote address, it wouldn’t have to be so long. So I have just a few more words to say. We are waiting for some last steps; the treaty still needs to be deposited in Geneva, and I am hopeful this will happen soon. I cannot stress enough that this treaty and this bill wouldn’t have become law but for the incredible efforts on the part of all of you of the National Federation of the Blind at both the national and state levels. You worked tirelessly to bring together the Association of American Publishers and the Library Copyright Alliance. Your work raised the profile of this issue and gained the attention of your representatives here in the House and the Senate, and we would not be here today without your efforts. I think that this treaty and this bill are a model of how we can accomplish great things [applause] and get legislation done at a time when partisan logjams have taken over a large part of our government. In conclusion, let me just thank a lot of people. I’m not very good at pronouncing their names, but I assume that they will understand that I was talking about them and that I in no way intended to overlook anyone who participated in this process. Listen now: I get an award, and it’s got all this nice stuff on it that I just love to read, but I hope I say this every time I get an award: we get an award for stuff you folks at the grassroots level work so hard to do, so I think you ought to applaud yourselves for what you did to get this bill passed. [applause] Again, I say thank you. !! Blind parents podcasts are at https://nfb.org/resources/publications-and-media/nations-blind-podcast !! Policy statements include: • Letter to Chairman Ryan Supporting the Relocation of the National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped (February 26, 2019) • Letter to FDA Regarding the Need for Prescription Point-of-Care Blood Glucose Monitor Accessibility Guidelines (February 25, 2019) • Letter to FDA Regarding the Need for Over-the-Counter Blood Glucose Monitor Accessibility Guidelines (February 25, 2019) • Letter to Chairman Scott Supporting the Transformation to Competitive Employment Act (January 25, 2019) • Letter to Senator Casey Supporting the Transformation to Competitive Employment Act (January 25, 2019) 2018  • Letter Criticizing Changes to 14(c) Certificate Application Process (December 10, 2018) • NFB Response to DHS Docket No. USCIS-2010-0012 (December 10, 2018) • Letter Supporting the Updated AV START Act (December 4, 2018) • Letter Opposing Section 437 of FAA Reauthorization Act of 2018 (September 25, 2018) • NFB Comments Regarding the Tentative Findings for the 2018 Twenty-First Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act (CVAA) Biennial Report (August 22, 2018) • Letter from President Riccobono to Tina Ballard, AbilityOne Executive Director, Regarding Appointment of Third Central Nonprofit (August 2, 2018) • NFB Comments Regarding a Letter Sent by 103 Members of the House of Representatives to Attorney General Sessions about Title III Accommodations (July 27, 2018) • NFB and the Diabetes Action Network Follow Up Request to the Administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (April 27, 2018) • NFB and the Diabetes Action Network Request Meeting with Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Regarding Continuous Glucose Monitors (March 27, 2018) 2017  • NFB Comments Regarding Accessible Video Games • National Council of State Agencies for the Blind Comments on Elimination of Federal Funding for Public Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) Programs in the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act • NFB Comments Regarding Regulations for Increased Described Television Programming • NFB Comments Regarding the Evaluation of Existing Regulations by the Department of Education • NFB Comments with the Association of People • Supporting Employment First (APSE) and the Collaboration to Promote Self-Determination (CPSD) in Support of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act • NFB Supports the Definition of "Competitive Integrated Employment" in the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act • NFB Comments with the National Disability Rights Network and American Civil Liberties Union Regarding Prisoners with Disabilities • Updated Opposition to H.R. 620 • NFB Comments on Broadband Medical Technology • NFB Opposes Privatization of Interstate Rest Areas • NFB Opposes H.R. 620 • NFB Comments on Regulations Implementing Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 • NFB Comments with the Consortium for Citizens with Disabilities Regarding HR 620 2016 • NFB v PARCC Settlement Agreement • NFB Comments Regarding the Issue of Nondiscrimination Against Passengers with Disabilities in Air Travel (80 FR 75953) 2015 • NFB Comments in Support of Requirements for Emergency Information and Video Description: Implementation of the Twenty-First Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act of 2010 • NFB Comments Regarding SSDI Earnings Cliff • NFB Comments Regarding Guidance Under Section 529A: Qualified ABLE Programs (IRS REG-102837-15) !! Summer Programs The National Federation of the Blind and the country’s premier training centers for the blind offer a variety of summer programs for blind and low-vision children and young adults that build blindness skills and encourage independence. 2019 National Summer Programs NFB BELL Academy NFB BELL Academy is a two-week-long summer program that prepares blind and low-vision children to be confident and independent adults. They learn Braille and nonvisual skills through fun, hands-on activities in a daytime or residential setting. • Ages: 4 to 12 • Dates: Varies • Location: Nationwide NFB EQ NFB EQ is a week-long summer engineering program for blind and low-vision teens. Participants forge new friendships while increasing their engineering knowledge, problem-solving abilities, self-confidence, and independence. • Grades: 9 to 12 • Dates: June 16 to 22, 2019 • Location: Baltimore, MD NFB National Convention Youth Track The NFB National Convention is the largest gathering of blind people in the world. Every year, blind youth can participate in a variety of seminars and social activities designed to provide a meaningful convention experience, foster independence, and promote positive attitudes about blindness. • Ages: Varies • Dates: July 7 to 12, 2019 • Location: Las Vegas, NV 2019 Summer Programs at BLIND, Inc. Buddy Program In the Buddy Program blind children learn important skills, embrace the empowering attitudes and philosophy of the National Federation of the Blind, and explore the wonderful and fun Twin Cities. • Ages: 9 to 13 • Dates: June 9 to 29, 2019 • Location: Minneapolis, MN PREP The Post-Secondary Readiness and Empowerment Program (PREP) is an eight-week-long summer program for blind teens where they learn new skills and become better prepared to attend college and transition into the workforce. • Grades: 9 to 12 • Dates: June 8 to August 3, 2019 • Location: Minneapolis, MN STYLE The Summer Transition Youth Learning Experience (STYLE) program offers three separate five-day-long sessions for high school students where they learn new skills, gain confidence, and have fun throughout the summer. Attend one, two, or all three sessions. • Ages: 14 to 21 • Session 1: July 15 to 19, 2019; Session 2: July 22 to 26, 2019; Session 3: July 29 to August 2, 2019 • Location: Minneapolis, MN Summer College Comprehensive Program The summer college comprehensive program is designed with the busy college student in mind. Participants enhance their blindness skills and increase their confidence during one or more summer programs at BLIND, Inc. • Ages: High school graduates (18 years and older) • Dates: June 1 to August 10, 2019 • Location: Minneapolis, MN 2019 Summer Programs at the Colorado Center for the Blind Confidence Camp Confidence Camp is a two-week-long day program filled with learning, challenges, and fun. Children meet blind role models and focus on cooking, cleaning, Braille, independent travel, and technology. They also have fun swimming, rock climbing, making a tactile art piece, and going on exciting field trips. • Ages: 5 to 10 • Dates: June 10 to 21, 2019 • Location: Littleton, CO Module Madness For those interested in a shorter program, the Colorado Center offers three different modules throughout the summer. In all three modules, students live in an apartment with other students and a counselor, and build core skills in Braille, technology, home management, and cane travel. Challenge and Adventure Module In the Challenge and Adventure module, students can run in a 5K race, play goalball and hockey, learn self-defense, and go canoeing. They can also try yoga, gymnastics, and develop an exercise routine. They learn how to prepare delicious foods and how to maintain a nutritious diet. • Ages: 11 to 21 • Dates: June 21 to 30, 2019 • Location: Littleton, CO Cracking the College Code Module In Cracking the College Code, blind students develop the skills they need to be successful in college. They learn about accessible tools and strategies for chemistry, biology, statistics, robotics, and more. In addition, they learn how to practice self-advocacy and learn how to navigate the landscape of higher education. • Ages: 16 to 21 • Dates: July 18 to August 2, 2019 • Location: Littleton, CO World of Work Module In the World of Work module, students travel to the Denver metro area via bus and light rail to meet with blind people who work in a variety of professions. They develop confidence, practice their interviewing skills, and put together a résumé. • Ages: 11 to 21 • Dates: June 7 to 21, 2019 • Location: Littleton, CO No Limits to Learning No Limits to Learning is an eight-week-long residential program. Students live in an apartment and meet blind people who work in all kinds of jobs. They participate in rock climbing, goalball, white water rafting, and more. They also build core skills in Braille, technology, home management, and cane travel, and attend the NFB National Convention. • Ages: 14 to 21 • Dates: June 7 to August 2, 2019 • Location: Littleton, CO 2019 Summer Programs at the Louisiana Center for the Blind Buddy Program The Buddy Program is an innovative three-week-long program that pairs blind children with positive blind role models, teaches them alternative techniques, and includes fun activities such as swimming, tandem biking, and horseback riding. • Grades: 4 to 8 • Dates: July 21 to August 10, 2019 • Location: Ruston, LA STEP Program The eight-week-long Summer Transition and Empowerment Program (STEP) introduces blind teens to the alternative techniques of blindness and workplace readiness skills through a paid internship. By interacting with mentors and peers (including during the NFB National Convention), students acquire the skills and attitudes necessary for living independently and productively. • Grades: 9 to 12 • Dates: June 16 to August 10, 2019 • Location: Ruston, LA !! Scholarship Program The National Federation of the Blind's annual scholarship program is the largest of its kind in the nation. Every year, we award 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. I am grateful for the scholarship, but more importantly, I am grateful for the terrific leaders I have met. They have taught me to dream bigger, pushing my dreams beyond what I once believed to be possible. 2018 scholarship winners sit for a group photo at the NFB National Convention. The 2019 scholarship application is now open and will be available through March 31. Please see below for additional information. Thanks to our generous partners, there are thirty merit-based scholarships currently available, ranging from $3,000 to $12,000. All scholarships are awarded on the basis of academic excellence, community service, and leadership. The finalists are announced every spring. They then attend our national convention in July when the winners of each individual scholarship are selected. Scholarship winners have gone on to succeed in careers ranging from computer science and engineering to civil rights law and international diplomacy. Deadline For the 2019 awards, application materials were available beginning November 1, 2018 and are due by midnight Eastern Time on March 31, 2019 (either submitted online or postmarked). Eligibility The following requirements apply to all applicants: • Must be legally blind (PDF) in both eyes. • Must be residing in the United States, the District of Columbia, or Puerto Rico. • Must be pursuing or planning to pursue a full-time, post-secondary course of study in a degree program at a U.S. institution in the fall of the year of application (one scholarship may be given to a person employed full-time while attending school part-time). • Must participate in the entire NFB National Convention and in all of its scheduled scholarship program activities (finalists will receive assistance to attend the national convention). For more information regarding eligibility, we strongly encourage you to review our 2019 scholarship FAQ document (Word). How to Apply 1. Confirm your eligibility by confirming you are legally blind (PDF) in both eyes. 2. Apply online or through the mail.  ◦ Online Scholarship Application Form (please note that if a PDF file will not upload to the online form, you can attach it to an email and send it to scholarships@nfb.org) ◦ Print Scholarship Application Form (Word)  NFB/HumanWare STEM Internship The NFB and HumanWare, a leading assistive technology company that makes products to help blind people participate equally in society, have collaborated to offer a STEM internship opportunity. The intern will be part of HumanWare’s research and development department in Longueuil QC, Canada starting around June 2019 through August 2019. The intern will also travel to the NFB National Convention in July. The internship package includes housing, travel expenses, and an internship wage to be determined. If you are interested, please complete the NFB scholarship application on or before February 28, 2019. You will then be given the opportunity to complete the HumanWare internship application. Helpful Resources • "Self-Advocacy in Higher Education" (Word) by President Mark Riccobono • College Scholarships and Financial Aid for Students with Disabilities (Affordable Colleges Online) • Helping Students With Visual Disabilities: Resources, Tools And Technology To Foster School Success (Accredited Schools Online) Past Scholarship Winners • 2018 Winners (Braille Monitor, August-September) • 2017 Winners (Braille Monitor, August-September) • 2016 Winners (Braille Monitor, August-September) • 2015 Winners (Braille Monitor, August-September) • 2014 Winners (Braille Monitor, August-September) • 2013 Winners (Braille Monitor, August-September) • 2012 Winners (Braille Monitor, August-September) • 2011 Winners (Braille Monitor, August-September) Read about more winners in past issues the Braille Monitor. Scholarship classes are typically highlighted in the August-September issue every year. More Information For more information about the scholarship program, please contact our scholarship committee chairperson (email is preferred). Cayte Mendez, Chairperson NFB Scholarship Committee Email: scholarships@nfb.org Phone: 410-659-9314, extension 2415 NFB Scholarship Program !! Jacobus tenBroek Disability Law Symposium The annual Jacobus tenBroek Disability Law Symposium honors the legacy of Dr. Jacobus tenBroek who founded the National Federation of the Blind in 1940. 2019 Dates  Thursday, March 28 through Friday March 29, 2019 2019 Location National Federation of the Blind 200 East Wells Street at Jernigan Place Baltimore, MD 21230 2019 Theme The theme of the 2019 symposium is "The Impact of Public Attitudes and Stigma on Our Right to Live in the World.” Please join us as we examine Dr. Jacobus tenBroek’s legacy through a social lens, exploring the intersection of law and public attitudes about disability. We will focus on how public attitudes about disability induce negative stereotypes of persons with mental health diagnoses, the disabled homeless, and disabled immigrants, as well as how these attitudes influence treatment under the law of persons with disabilities in education, healthcare, employment, housing, and the criminal justice system. We will also explore strategies for combating the stigma attributed to persons with disabilities by, among other methods, exploring how we frame the image of disability in advocacy. Registration Please register here for the 2019 Jacobus tenBroek Disability Law Symposium. Registration Fee: $200 (nonrefundable) Students: $25 (nonrefundable) All registration is online. Payment may be made by credit card or check made payable to the National Federation of the Blind and mailed to: Stacie Dubnow, Project Manager !! Dream Makers Circle The Dream Makers Circle honors friends of the National Federation of the Blind who are helping us build a successful future and transforming dreams into reality through their commitment of a legacy gift. Benefits of membership in the Dream Makers Circle include: • Special recognition in NFB publications • A specially designed and personalized thank you gift • A subscription to all NFB publications Current Dream Makers Roland and Pam Allen Dana Ard Denise Avant Everette Bacon John Berggren Tom and Virginia Bickford Charles and Jacqueline Brown Deborah Brown Ron and Jean Brown Shane and Amy Buresh Shawn and Latonya Callaway Patti and Francisco Chang Michelle S. Clark Buna Dahal and Tommy Powell Christopher S. Danielsen Parnell and Kim Diggs  Rick Fox James and Susan Gashel Louise Geretti Mara Gold Marilyn Green Ever Lee Hairston John and Sandy Halverson Steve Hastalis Mike and Karen Hingson Cathy Jackson Carl and Mindy Jacobsen Valentino Jaurigue and Karen Liwinski   Mary Ellen Jernigan Sasan Jones Kathryn Keim and Virgil Stinnett Barbara Kirsh  Bob and Lynn Kresmer Sharon Krevor-weisbaum and Harold Weisbaum Scott and Anahit LaBarre Anne-Marie Laney Anil Lewis Bradley D. and Barbara E. Loos Gary and Denise Mackenstadt Al and Sharon Maneki Tiffany Manosh Marc and Patricia Maurer Carla and Lucas McQuillan John A. Mitchell Frances Mullane John C. Mullin Jack and Pat Munson Nancy L. Oltman Jim and Sharon Omvig Ronza M. Othman  John G. Pare, Jr.  Linda Pennell Barbara and Robert Pierce Avraham Rabby Cathy Randall Eileen Rivera-Ley Mark Anthony and Melissa Ann Riccobono Joe and Judy Ruffalo  Marvin and Mimi Sandler Connie J. Scheu Fred and Cathy Schroeder Barbara Shaidnagle Tracy and Sharon Soforenko Mary and Craig Sonksen Dick and Debbie Stein Ruth Szantay David A. Ticchi Ramona Walhof Kathryn C. Webster Kevan and Bridget Worley Sheila B. Wright Gary and Debbie Wunder If you'd like to learn more about how you can join our Dream Makers Circle, please visit our planned giving page. (Updated January 2019)