[NFBofSC] : Positive Note 1806

Mon Mar 22 10:31:25 UTC 2021

March 22, 2021

Memo To:  Executive Officers, Board Members, Chapter & Division Presidents &
Others

From:  Jennifer Bazer, President

Positive Note 1806

803-960-9977  

Jhipp25 at sc.rr.com <mailto:Jhipp25 at sc.rr.com> 

Greetings Fellow Federationists:

What a successful first annual talent show hosted by the National Federation
of the Blind of South Carolina, NFB of SC! Ten participants entered the
contest with various talents including: singing, playing the guitar,
clogging, playing the piano and more. Participants were from the Palmetto
state and other affiliates and were from age 12 and up. A total of $4,074
was brought in. First place received 10% of the earnings, second place
received 5% of the earnings, and third place received 3% of the earnings.
The NFB of SC cleared $3,340.70 after winners were paid their monetary
prizes.

First place, Marcia Harton   1417 votes

              Melinda Ham     1227 votes

           Kimberlynn Michele Mitchell       672 votes

Congratulations to all individuals who boldly entered the talent show! Thank
you to all who supported the contestants with their paid votes. Thank you to
Debra Canty and the fund-raising committee for their hard work and thank you
to Steve Cook for the behind the scenes work in uploading all entries to the
website, tracking votes, helping individuals vote electronically if needed.
Thank you to David Houck at the Federation Center for collecting votes via
mail. We were successful because we worked together! We look forward to this
being an annual fund-raiser for the Palmetto affiliate!

IN the last several Positive Notes, I began sharing blind women in history
who made a difference in our movement. I continue sharing stories of
influential blind women through President Riccobono’s 2018 national banquet
speech in Orlando, Florida. You can read the entire speech at the link
below.

https://www.nfb.org/images/nfb/publications/convent/banquet-speech-2018-2.ht
ml

“A woman who was not born in the United states and who was not blind at the
time of our founding came to be a force for sharing our message around the
world. Isabelle Lyon Dean was born in 1896 in a fishing village on the
northern coast of Scotland. At the age of twenty-eight, Isabelle and her
husband, Dr. Alexander Grant, left Scotland to build their life together in
the United States. In 1927 Isabelle began teaching in the Los Angeles County
schools where, aided by her fluency in Spanish, she became a vocal advocate
for the sizable population of Mexican American students. In 1940 she further
enhanced her teaching credentials by earning a PhD in comparative
literature.

Her career took a turn when she developed glaucoma and, by the fall of 1948,
Dr. Grant was totally blind. She found no hope among the agencies for the
blind she visited, and her uncertainty grew regarding how to manage her job
as vice principal at Belvedere Junior High School. Hope and opportunity
returned to her when a friend introduced her to a blind man who was a member
of the National Federation of the Blind—an encounter that put her on the
road to mastering the skills of blindness, to internalizing our shared
philosophy, and to becoming an active member in our California affiliate.

Dr. Grant’s own determination, the unwavering support of her professional
colleagues in the school, and the shared bond with her sisters and brothers
in the Federation assisted in rejecting the school district’s attempt to
force her to retire based on her disability. Yet, Dr. Grant would endure
more than a decade of maneuvers by the district to sabotage her work by
regularly shifting her assigned school and the students on her caseload. The
discrimination she faced caused her real pain. One example is that the
district assigned her a sighted teaching assistant to be with her at all
times. When the sighted person left the classroom, the door was required to
be locked as a safety precaution—a circumstance she described as “the blind
teacher in a glass cage.”

As the first blind teacher in the California public school system, Dr. Grant
worked tirelessly so that future generations of blind educators would not
face similar barriers. She advocated for new state laws, organized
conferences for blind educators, and innovated quality educational services
for blind children based on the authentic experience of blind people. A trip
to an international conference in 1957 sparked a passion for working on
issues of education and self-organization of the blind outside of the United
States, which would drive the final twenty years of her life.

During the 1959-60 school year, she took a sabbatical from teaching to make
a remarkable journey through twenty-three countries, traveling alone, with
the aim to learn from the educational and living conditions of other blind
people, and to raise expectations through self-organization. She chronicled
her adventures in a manuscript entitled, “Crooked Paths Made Straight,”
which went unpublished until 2016. She would make many more international
trips and correspond regularly with hundreds of blind people around the
world. Significantly, 1960 also marked Dr. Grant’s election to the Board of
the National Federation of the Blind on which she served until her death in
1977. In everything she did, no matter the continent, she was a constant
promoter and information gatherer for the Federation. Blindness was what
brought Dr. Grant to the Federation family, but it was only one of many
dynamic characteristics that added synergy to our movement.

Isabel Grant was most certainly influenced by a blind educator from New
Mexico named Pauline Gomez. Blind from birth, Pauline was educated at the
New Mexico School for the Blind, where she graduated in 1940. A scholarship
from the Perkins Institute for the Blind gave her an opportunity to meet
blind people from around the country and set her on the path to be a
teacher. In the fall of 1941, Pauline became the first blind student to
enroll at the University of New Mexico, where she had to pioneer methods for
gaining access to instructional materials and navigating the campus
independently.

Upon successful graduation from the university, Pauline returned home to
Santa Fe, where she planned to teach in the public schools. Despite her
qualifications, the public-school administrators could not imagine a blind
teacher working with children, but Pauline was determined to build her own
opportunity to share her talents with the children of Santa Fe. On October
1, 1946, Los Niños Kindergarten School opened in the back room of Pauline’s
home. There were eight children in her first class, and Pauline served as
the only teacher, in addition to managing the administrative details of the
school. From that modest beginning, Pauline expanded her school over the
following decades, serving the children of all of the most prominent
families in Santa Fe.

Pauline’s school had been open almost a decade when she assisted in
organizing the New Mexico affiliate of the National Federation of the Blind
in 1956. When Pauline became president of the affiliate in 1960, she began
aggressively working on legislative proposals to improve opportunities for
the blind. A keen educator, Pauline recognized the efficacy of Kenneth
Jernigan’s Iowa training program using the Federation’s philosophy. She
wanted that level of training in New Mexico. In 1963 she persuaded the state
legislature to study the value of establishing an adult rehabilitation
training center in the state, which threatened the monopoly that the
workshops for the blind had on the employment pipeline. Workshop supervisors
attended the 1963 Convention of the NFB of New Mexico where they were able
to coerce their blind employees into electing four agency supporters to the
affiliate’s board of directors. Pauline took swift action to guard against
the hostile takeover of the organized blind movement by sending affiliate
documents to the President of the Federation, securing the treasury, and
reorganizing the affiliate, all of this while running her own growing school
in Santa Fe.

Whether it was in the president’s chair or another position within the
Federation, Pauline had a hand in more victories than we can do justice to
this evening. From leading New Mexico to be the first state in the nation to
pass the Federation’s model White Cane Law in 1967, to developing the
teachers division of the National Federation of the Blind in 1970, for
Pauline the Federation was personal. Her community contributions outside of
the Federation were extraordinary and widely celebrated. Her school was
admired for its quality and innovative practices. It would have been easy
for her to decide that the organized blind movement did not matter. Except
for her it did matter. She was a blind person, she felt the pain of
discrimination, and she understood the synergy of equality. The National
Federation of the Blind fueled Pauline’s hope for the future, and we helped
her to know she could do something to shape that future. She brought
perspective, diversity, knowledge, and determination to us, and we gave to
her the place where her blindness was a most important factor in her
leadership, but the least important factor in her success.”

As we continue to focus on women during the month of March, we would like to
spotlight a member who has offered to give a percentage back to the NFB of
SC when you purchase products from her during the month of March:

In Carolyn’s own words:

I have been an official Federation member since 2020 having attended NFB
events over the years in my role as a Vision Teacher and Orientation and
Mobility Specialist. I have been an Independent Mary Kay consultant since
May of 2020. 

MARY KAY'S MISSION IS TO ENRICH WOMEN'S LIVE

They do this in tangible ways, by offering quality products to consumers,
financial opportunities to independent beauty consultants, and offering
fulfilling careers to employees.

They reach out to the heart and spirit of women,

enabling personal growth and fulfillment for the women whose lives are
touched by Mary Kay.

Mary Kay's products include skin care products for all skin types,
cosmetics, and fragrances. 

During the month of March, I will donate 40% of all sales to the SC NFB. If
you are interested in a complimentary pampering sample for either skincare,
spa treatment or color matching,  please contact me. 

My business website is Marykay.com/CACooley. I can also be reached by text
or call at 803-727-3347 or email

              The following meetings are scheduled on the Zoom platform this
month. You are welcome to attend any of these meetings, even if you are not
a member of the chapter or committee.  All Committee meetings are open to
the public for listening. Contact President Bazer if you would like to be
added to any NFB of SC committee so that information stays current on our
website and membership list.  Here is what is coming up on Zoom for the
month. All meetings are on the main Federation ID of 803-254-3777, unless
noted.

Dates & Times of meetings are subject to change.

              Monday, March 22, 2021 

Anderson Chapter Meeting 6:00 PM, in-person, contact demetrius for location
details

Doing Our Fair Share Committee Meeting 7:00 PM 

              Tuesday, March 23, 2021 

Get Fit with Sports and Rec Division 5:30 PM

Diversity & Inclusion Committee Meeting 8:00 PM 

              Thursday, March 25, 2021 

Social Media Committee Meeting 7:30 PM 

Friday, March 26, 

Touch the Top of the World Audio Described Movie 8 PM

              Saturday, March 27, 2021

Get Fit with the Sports & Rec Division 8:00 AM 

              NFB of SC Federation Center is inviting you to a scheduled
Zoom meeting.

Topic: NFB of SC Chapter and Committee meetings

Times are in  Eastern Time (US and Canada)

Join Zoom Meeting

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/8032543777?pwd=QTVQd2RzN3l6QnNmZ0FmSnp6NG8vQT09

Meeting ID: 803 254 3777

Passcode: 124578

One tap mobile

+19292056099,,8032543777# US (New York)

              Palmetto Connects

            We will have our next palmetto connects meeting on Thursday,
April 1, 2021 at 6:00 p.m. Eastern time.  Please encourage your chapters,
divisions, committees to attend to learn about the latest happenings in the
NFB of SC! All are welcome from everywhere!

Advocacy Committee:

We will be developing an Advocacy committee which will meet the third
Wednesdays of each month at 6:00 PM Eastern starting April 21. If you are
interested in serving on this committee, please contact me at 803-960-9977
via text or phone, or, you may email me your interest at

Jhipp25 at sc.rr.com <mailto:Jhipp25 at sc.rr.com> 

Let’s advocate for blind South Carolinians through the advocacy committee
under the NFB of SC. Below, I have shared some text from the www.nfb.org
<http://www.nfb.org>  website that may give you insight on the interests and
responsibilities of the advocacy committee that we will launch on April 21
at 6:00 PM!

The National Federation of the Blind is continuously working toward securing
full integration, equality, independence, acceptance, and respect for all
blind Americans.

Our advocacy work has centered on issues related to education, employment,
transportation, voting, and civil rights, and is directed by the
<https://nfb.org/resources/speeches-and-reports/resolutions> resolutions
that are passed every year during our
<https://nfb.org/get-involved/national-convention> national convention. As
the oldest and largest nationwide organization of blind Americans, we are
able to provide expert advice in these areas to blind people, their
families, agencies for the blind, corporations, and the government. 

Movie Night March 26:

We will be having an audio described movie night on Friday, March 26 at 8:00
PM Eastern. All are welcome to attend from anywhere. Bring your favorite
popcorn, candy, friend, and four-legged friend and join us!

Touch the Top of the World is based on an incredible and inspiring true
story about Erik Weihenmayer. The story follows his life from childhood,
when he lost his eyesight due to a rare disease, through his amazing climb
to the top of Mount Everest. 

Conway and Loris chapter Interest

We will be having a Conway and Loris chapter interest meeting on Monday,
April 5 to revitalize the Conway and Loris chapters. If you are interested
in attending this in-person meeting, please contact David Rebocho at
401-484-4525 or you may email him at 

drnfbsc at yahoo.com <mailto:drnfbsc at yahoo.com> 

If you have contact information of previous members or perspective members
in these areas, please feel free to contact David Rebocho so we may have a
large turn-out for this meeting.

Sports and Rec Fund-Raising Meeting All Invited:

The Sports and Rec Division invites the Public Relations and Meet the Blind
committees along with anyone else interested in their October walk-a-thon
held in many cities in SC to their April 7 meeting on zoom. Times can be
found in the April zoom events in the March 29 Positive Note.

For more information, please contact David Rebocho, President of the Sports
and Rec Division at 401-484-4525 or email him at 

drnfbsc at yahoo.com <mailto:drnfbsc at yahoo.com> 

              PAC Plan Challenge:

              We will be running a contest from December 5, 2020  through
May 31, 2021 for our NFB of SC affiliate. We are currently 13 and would like
to be in the top 10 or higher. One of our members would like to see us as an
affiliate contribute $1,500 to PAC each month between chapters, divisions,
individuals and our NFB of SC affiliate. If you join PAC, your name will be
entered into a drawing for a $100 visa gift card. If you increase your PAC
donation, your name will be entered into a different $100 visa gift card
drawing. I have a list of chapters, divisions, and individuals who are on
PAC at this time. On June 1, I will ask the national office for another list
which I will use to have the two drawings on June 1. There are many ways to
give. Below, is a little about PAC.

              Thank you for your interest in the National Federation of the
Blind's Pre-Authorized Contribution (PAC) program. This program allows you
to contribute to the NFB through recurring monthly donations. These can be
direct withdrawals from a checking account or charges to a credit card.
Please contact pac at nfb.org <mailto:pac at nfb.org>  with any questions. Thank
you for your generosity.

              You can go to https://www.nfb.org/pac to complete the online
form.

              You may also call the national office at 410-659-9314
extension 2622 or email PAC at nfb.org <mailto:PAC at nfb.org>  with questions.

              There are several chapters and divisions within our state who
are on PAC and we are grateful for those contributions. There are
individuals who are on PAC and we are appreciative of those members who give
each month. As an affiliate, we are averaging $17.41 per person and less
than 10% of our members are on PAC. Let’s see if we can increase those
percentages to over $20 per month and have at least 20% of our members on
PAC. I appreciate you considering to get on the PAC plan or increasing your
donation each month!

The following individuals and chapters have jumped on the PAC plan or
increased their PAC plan.

New donors and currently inactive donors that reactivated: 

Cheri Euton

Lori Coley

Dale and Pat Wolthoff

NFB SC At Large Chapter

NFB SC Lancaster Chapter

Melanie Torrance 

David Rebocho

Increases:

David Bundy

Debra Canty

NFB SC Sumter Chapter

Steve and Shannon Cook

              SUN Shares

              Shares Unlimited NFB (SUN) is a rainy day fund. Shares are
just $10 each. We collected and others pledged toward this giving at our
statewide seminar. You can donate in increments of $10 for this rainy day
fund. The Palmetto state is currently 13 and we would love to be in the top
five. You are welcome to send checks made to NFB of SC with SUN in the memo
line to the Federation Center, 119 S. Kilbourne Road, Columbia, SC 29205.
You may also donate using our pay pal link on our page

www.nfbofsc.org <http://www.nfbofsc.org> 

              Please when you donate give a little extra to help cover the
cost of administration fees from pay pal, $.30 for each $10. Thank you for
considering if you can donate to this fund.

The following individuals made a pledge at our statewide seminar. If you
have not fulfilled this pledge, please make an effort to do so as soon as
possible. If there is a discrepancy and you mailed a check, please contact
David Houck at the Center at 803-254-3777. If you paid using Pay Pal, please
check with Steve Cook at 803-254-0222.

SUN SHARES pledged– 70

63 collected

          3 Sumter - paid

          6 Coppel’s - paid

          1 Diane Haycraft - paid

2 Pearl Riley

          3 Houcks – paid Paypal

          2 Loretta Green - paid

          4 Ed Bible – paid

          3 Cooks – paid, Paypal

          2 Marty McKenzie - paid

          2 Pam Schexnider – paid

          4 RogerWebb - paid

2 Spittles – paid

          2 Janice Crosby – paid, Paypal

2 Nancy Irwin

          3 Cheri Euton - paid

          6 Melanie Torrance - paid

2 Linda Dizzley

          3 Malaya Reese - paid

          2 Demetrius Williford - paid

          2 Herbert Boykin

          2 Pat Wolthoff - paid

2 Jamela Carmera

          2 Donna O’Neal

          7 Jennifer Bazer – paid Pay Pal

          4 Casey Rose - paid

          2  Roosevelt Burgess - paid

1 David Rebocho : paid

              Leadership Seminar:

              Our next leadership seminar will be April 10, 2021 at the
Federation Center. All presidents of divisions and chapters along with
Federation Center board members, Rocky Bottom board members and NFB of SC
board members are encouraged to attend in-person or through zoom. Others who
are interested are welcome to attend via zoom or in-person as well.

              If you notify David Houck by April 5, 2021 whether you plan to
attend on zoom or in-person, your name will be entered into a $50 gift card
drawing. You must be present to win. There will be additional door prizes
throughout the seminar; only individuals who notify David by calling
803-254-3777 or emailing nfbsc at sc.rr.com <mailto:nfbsc at sc.rr.com>  about
your zoom or in-person attendance will be entered into the $50 gift card
drawing. All are welcome from everywhere!

Thank you to the following individuals who have recorded your attendance. We
appreciate your promptness in letting us know so we can plan appropriately!
We currently have around 55 individuals signed up and look forward to
doubling this number by the seminar!

LEADERSHIP SEMINAR APRIL 10

Deadline April 5

IN PERSON  

Jennifer Bazer

David & Darlene Houck

Steve & Shannon Cook

Tracy and Thom Spittle

Frank & Shelley Coppel

Melanie Torrance

Ed & Julie Bible

David Rebocho

Pat & Dale Wolthoff

Ike Nelson

Doug Hudson

ON ZOOM  

Debra Canty

Regina Mitchell

Jamie Allison – morning only

Gail Cummings

George Johnson

Ronald Benjamin

Paul and Charlis Borodin

Debbie Zaleski

Bobby Joe Medlin

Courtney Rone

Demetrius Williford

Frank Loza

Phillip Outland

Diane Haycraft

Melissa Staley

Tomecki Williams

Jennifer Duffell-Hoffman

Laverne Addison

Patricia Anthony

Dorothy Barksdale

Cheri Euton

Pathronda Anderson

>From Phil Marret 

IT is with much sadness that the Upstate Blind Fishing committee has deemed
it necessary to call our tournament off again this year.

              Nationally:

              Open House: Information for Non-Members Interested in Joining:

Please share with non-members the following: The National Federation of the
Blind invites blind people to learn more about being a member and the
benefits of membership on Wednesday, March 24, at 8:00 p.m. eastern. This is
a great opportunity to hear from active members and leaders on the myths and
uncertainties of the Federation. Sign up for the open-house gathering call
by emailing membership at nfb.org <mailto:membership at nfb.org>  or calling
410-659-9314, extension 2509.

Final Thought:

“I raise up my voice—not so I can shout but so that those without a voice
can be heard
 We cannot succeed when half of us are held back.” – Malala
Yousafzai, Pakistani activist for female education and the youngest Nobel
Prize laureate

NFB Pledge - I pledge to participate actively in the effort of the National
Federation of the Blind to achieve equality, opportunity, and security for
the blind; to support the policies and programs of the Federation; and to
abide by its constitution.

NFB One Minute Message - “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.” 

If this message was forwarded to you and you would like to receive it
directly in your inbox, as well as, receive messages regarding the National
Federation of the Blind of South Carolina, please email Steve Cook at
cookcafe at sc.rr.com <mailto:cookcafe at sc.rr.com> 

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