[NFBofSC] FW: [Community-Service] January 2022 Newsletter

Thu Jan 6 22:32:15 UTC 2022

Steve Cook

District 2 State Board Member of the National Federation of the Blind of SC

President of the Computer Science & Technology Division of the National Federation of the Blind of SC

1st Vice President of the Columbia chapter of the National Federation of the Blind of SC

Click here to view the National Federation of the Blind of SC 2021 PSA! <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H4awrn7eddQ&t=16s> 

The National Federation of the Blind creates and distributes several publications and audio reports to inform both our membership and our friends about the true nature of blindness, issues of interest to the blind, NFB news and action items, and the many important stories we share. 

Click here to read more about Publications and Media from the NFB! <https://www.nfb.org/resources/publications-and-media> 

From: Community-Service <community-service-bounces at nfbnet.org> On Behalf Of Maggie Stringer via Community-Service
Sent: Thursday, January 6, 2022 5:22 PM
To: Community Service Discussion List <community-service at nfbnet.org>
Cc: Maggie Stringer <ravensfan784 at gmail.com>
Subject: [Community-Service] January 2022 Newsletter

“Beyond the Six Dots”

National Federation of the Blind Community Service Division

January 2022 Newsletter

We use a white cane, slate & stylus, and screen readers in between,

We read from the left, write from the right, and will tap tap onto any scene.

We want our communities to know what we’ve got, a commitment to serve,

Beyond the Six Dots!

IT’S 2022

Cheers to a New Year! It is time to POP right back into service.

Devoted readers! We invite all of our community members, friends, family, co-workers, neighbors, and federation family members, to leave your nine-to-five uniforms in your closets and suit up in your best Rebuilding Together armor this holiday! The Community Service Division is on a mission to embodies service in 2022, and will begin by kicking off the new year with a celebration to honor the work, life, and legacy of civil rights leader Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. This significant holiday is also recognized as MLK Day of Service and is intended to empower individuals, strengthen communities, bridge barriers, create solutions to social problems, and move us closer to Dr. King’s vision of a “Beloved Community.”

Monday, January 17, 2022 @ 7PM Eastern

Our evening of festivities will take place in the comfort of your own home, brought to you by a Zoom near you! Join in fifteen minutes early, and win POPUP prizes as we celebrate the CSD way. Double tap on the link below, you don’t want to miss the show.

 <https://us02web.zoom.us/j/8283687686> https://us02web.zoom.us/j/8283687686

Meeting ID: 828 368 7686

Don’t forget to share your MLK Day of Service on our Facebook page! 

 <http://www.facebook.com/communityservicedivision/> www.facebook.com/communityservicedivision/

Popular hash tags include:

#VirtualVolunteerism 

#MLKDay

#MartinLutherKingJr

#IHaveADream

"The time is always right to do what is right.”

ROLLING OUT THE RED CARPET

Because of Braille

Contributed by Ron Smith, Colleen Roth, & Daria Bannerman

We are rolling out our infamous RED CARPET for one very extraordinary individual! A man that has touched all of our lives one cell at a time. We celebrate Louis Braille and his 213th birthday!

Louis Braille was a French educator that spent most of his life teaching others. When he was three years of age, he had accidentally been blinded by a leather punching tool. His parents were advised to send their son away to a mental institution. Thankfully, they didn’t listen to friends or local physicians, they believed their son could do anything.

When Louis was thirteen years old, he and his fellow classmates were taught the army’s secret code of communications. The military wanted to send and receive messages without their enemies being able to decode their communications. Their system consisted of a twelve-dot method that seemed to be rather complicated. Louis thought there had to be a much simpler way and after working diligently for two years, designed a six dots system. Ladies & Gentlemen, the invention of BRAILLE!

We do not only recognize the birthday of Louis Braille on January 4th; the entire month is dedicated to Braille literacy! We asked a few of our members to share how Braille has influenced their lives.

Braille Makes Me Want to Sing

By Colleen Roth, NFB Ohio At Large President

“I remember my second and third grade teacher Sister Maura O'Brien, who had a Master's Degree in blindness. She made it her mission to help me finished learning the Braille code. She was a dedicated teacher that would go above and beyond for her students.  I even recall her surrounding me with Braille dots by labeling everything in her classroom.  Sister O’Brien truly seemed to understand the power and the importance of knowing and using Braille.

Braille is so beautiful, just to touch it makes me want to sing! These glorious dots have had a tremendous impact on my life. I took it with me to Bowling Green State University, I have taught many sighted and blind individuals of all ages how to read and write in Braille, and I am one of the biggest lifetime advocates of Braille literacy! I truly believe the invention of Braille has opened the doors for all of us.”

Braille Rockstar

By Daria Bannerman, NFB CSD, Secretary

“When I was six years old, I started learning to read and write Braille. I remember seeing a Perkins Brailler for the first time. I thought it was going to be a struggle to learn, but was also fascinated with this heavy metal device. Very quickly, I fell in love and began to appreciate Braille. Because of Braille, I was given opportunities! I had opportunities to be active in lots of activities and could be competitive with my peers. If I had remained intimidated by those six dots, I would have never been able to independently do the things I wanted to do, such as taking part in spelling competitions or the confidence to pursue my college degree.”

Braille Boss

By Ron Smith

“In Kindergarten, my braille teacher Mrs. Hartman opened a whole new world for me. Once I learned uncontracted braille, I loved having a book in my hands. But then I learned contracted braille, and I felt as if I had the entire world at my fingertips. I was only in the second grade at that time, so I did not realize that what I was feeling, was not just a feeling, it was reality.

Because of braille, I can sit in a crowded, very noisy airport, or at a bus stop, or in a car with music blasting, and read a book, or work on a report for my job. Because of braille, I can walk into a meeting at my job, and with confidence, giving my full attention to the people I am addressing, present statistics and if necessary, I am able to answer them. I don’t have to rely on what someone tells me.”

Teachers like Sister O'Brien & Mrs. Hartman have been giving blind students the key to independence, and they’ve been unlocking Braille cells ever since!

“Braille readers are leaders!”

THE GIGGLING CORNER

Someone will smile, then the other person smiles. And we all know that one smile, creates many smiles together!

Let’s start the new CSD calendar year with a year-long contagious circle of smiles!

Question: How did Jack Frost get to work on New Year’s day?

Answer: By icicles!

“a CSD mirror smiling back at you!”

THE QUEEN OF CLAY

International Creativity Month

Written by Roshunda J. Holt

My journey of discovering who I was, began the day I was diagnosed with Retinitis Pigmentosa. It put things into perspective, like, why I was so ‘clumsy’ and helped me make sense of the shortcomings within my sighted world.

Before I was diagnosed, I would draw using graphite and color pencils, but that was the extent of my skill.

Once I discovered Envision Arts, my whole world changed! I became more confident and comfortable with my sight since being around people who were learning to live with their own visually impairments. I was handed a piece of clay and asked to mold it into whatever I was feeling. I had never held clay in my life prior to walking into this classroom, and it gave me the feeling of control I was needing during this time of discoveries.

I was losing my sight, no longer able to drive, no longer ‘visually’ keeping up with my current employment, and now, I had the ability to create outside of a sketch pad and pencils. With this new craft, I opened myself up to being called an Artist! I found a skill that was meant for me and no one could take that away.

I use this gift to give back to those who help me along in my journey as a humble way of saying Thank You: or caring, supporting and encouraging me! For having the patience with me as I learn who I really am for the first time.

I have art on display throughout Sedgwick County and I am grateful to everyone who has invested in me and it is an honor to have earned the reputation as a certified Visually Impaired Artist.

Because I recognize that I have been blessed with such an amazing gift, I have also given back by hosting workshops and donating some of my pieces to auctions. It has been a magnificent journey and if given the option of being fully sighted or Retinitis Pigmentosa, I would choose this unique eyesight every time!

CHANGING ATTITUDES

National Mentoring Month

National Federation of the Blind CAREER Mentoring Program

Written by Maurice Peret 

In October of 2004 the National Federation of the Blind Jernigan Institute received a five-year model demonstration grant from the US Department of Education Rehabilitation Services Administration (RSA) to develop a mentoring excellence program for blind youth between the ages of sixteen and twenty-six. With this grant, the Federation established a National Center for Mentoring Excellence to design, develop, implement, and evaluate a comprehensive national mentoring program to connect young blind people with successful blind adults. Today we are building on the quantitative and qualitative data collected from that experience to establish NFB CAREER Mentoring Programs across the country for blind youth with a stronger emphasis upon pre-employment transition services as outlined in the Workforce Innovation and Opportunities Act (WIOA). The NFB CAREER Mentoring Program combines best practices in mentoring with the philosophy of the NFB—a philosophy that combines high expectations, a positive attitude, the value of alternative techniques of blindness, and the belief that it is okay to be blind. In the end, we hope to instill a conviction in the blind women and men we serve that they can live the lives they want and that blindness is not what holds them back.

The empowering role that mentors play in encouraging and modeling proven strategies and winning behaviors to young mentees can hardly be overstated. From the time they are very young, boys and girls begin to think about what they want to become when they grow up. Unfortunately, this is also the time that society begins to tell blind and visually-impaired children and their families that not only are they different from other children, but that this difference means that there will be less expected of them because they could never measure up to the expectations held for sighted children. Combined with the tendency for blind and low-vision youth to be underexposed to blind adult role models who are successful in a variety of technical, professional, and academic pursuits within the mainstream workplace, these societal misperceptions of the capabilities of the blind discourage blind children from using their imagination to combine their personal interests, aptitudes, and innate talents to dream big about what they want to be when they grow up. In the words of Frederick Douglass, “It is easier to build strong children than to repair broken men.”

Blind youth need exposure to positive blind role models who demonstrate a solid belief in the abilities of blind people and can, through guidance and example, raise expectations and offer practical tips and tricks for accessing resources and acquiring skills for success. When successful blind role models take a concerted interest in the lives of young blind people, expectations are raised about what can be accomplished. As dreams become reality, practical lessons are absorbed, often without even knowing that the learning is taking place. With an intolerably high rate of unemployment and under employment of working-age blind people in our nation, knowing what it takes to succeed in the vocation of one’s choosing is critical. Navigating the labyrinth of the special education, vocational rehabilitation, and other social systems while juggling the dissidence and mixed messaging of expectation imbalances can become perplexing and wearisome. The personal knowledge and experience of successful blind adults helps ground blind youth to internalize the philosophy that blindness is not the characteristic that defines them or their future. Every day successful blind mentors help raise the expectations of blind young people because low expectations create obstacles between blind people and their dreams. They come to know that they can live the lives they want; blindness is not what holds them back.

Many Federationists have stories of how mentorship by an older or more experienced Federationist changed their life. For some it was someone in their local or state chapter; for some it was someone like past Presidents Dr. tenBroek, Dr. Jernigan, or Dr. Maurer. And most of those Federationists talk about their determination to pay the time, faith, and confidence spent on them forward with new and younger Federationists.

VOLUNTEERS ARE LIFESAVERS

National Blood Donation Mont

Did you know that 38% of the U.S. population are eligible to give blood, yet only 7% do? Every two seconds, someone in the U.S. needs blood. And those needs do not diminish during disasters or pandemics. That patient could be a grandparent battling COVID-19 in need of convalescent plasma, a child battling cancer, an accident victim being raced into the Emergency Room, or new mom with a complicated childbirth.

Through a national inventory system, the Red Cross has the ability to move blood around the country to wherever and whenever it is needed most. With the help of volunteer donors, the Red Cross stands ready to provide blood and blood products as needed in response to these ongoing emergencies both large and small. Health emergencies don’t pause for holidays, game days or a pandemic. 

As COVID-19 cases have risen across the U.S., so has the need for convalescent plasma, leading to a shortage of this potentially lifesaving blood product.

Those who have recovered from COVID-19 can make a big difference too! The Red Cross is collecting convalescent plasma at over 170 locations throughout the country. If you’ve recovered from COVID-19, you may be eligible to donate your plasma to help others going through COVID-19 treatment. Fill out the eligibility form to start the process. In addition, Plasma from whole blood donations that test positive for COVID-19 antibodies may be used to help COVID-19 patients. 

Make an appointment today to give blood by downloading the free Blood Donor App, visiting 

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

or calling (800) RED CROSS.

Start the year by making a lifesaving donation during National Blood Donor Month!

RESOURCES

Search for virtual volunteering or locally based opportunities:

 <http://www.MLKDay.gov> www.MLKDay.gov

If you would like to apply as a mentor for the NFB CAREER Mentoring Program, go to 

 <http://www.nfb.org/mentorapplication> www.nfb.org/mentorapplication

If you are that young Federationist who would like to benefit from the advice and support of a mentor, go to 

 <http://www.nfb.org/menteeapplication> www.nfb.org/menteeapplication

Make A Blood Donation Near You

First United Methodist Church of Portland

January 9, 2022

9AM to 1PM CST

Portland, TX 

 <https://donor.coastalbendbloodcenter.org/donor/schedules/drive_schedule/30629> https://donor.coastalbendbloodcenter.org/donor/schedules/drive_schedule/30629

Stuart's Opera House 

Nelsonville, Ohio

Monday, January 17, 2022

1PM to 7PM EST

 <https://stuartsoperahouse.org/events/blood-drive-at-stuarts-opera-house-5/> https://stuartsoperahouse.org/events/blood-drive-at-stuarts-opera-house-5/

Memorial Blood Centers

St. Paul, MN

 <https://www.mbc.org/> https://www.mbc.org/

Lifesouth Community Blood Centers

Florida, Alabama, & Georgia

 <https://www.lifesouth.org> https://www.lifesouth.org

Donate Blood, Platelets or Plasma: Red Cross 

 <https://www.redcrossblood.org/> https://www.redcrossblood.org/

More Information on Learning Braille

Hadley Vision

Phone: (800) 323-4238

Website:  <https://hadley.edu/learn?topic_id=15> https://hadley.edu/learn?topic_id=15

NFB 2022 National Convention 

July 5 through July 10, 2022

New Orleans, LA 

Website:  <https://nfb.org/get-involved/national-convention> https://nfb.org/get-involved/national-convention

Will NFB22 be your first National Convention?

Learn about the Kenneth Jernigan Convention Scholarship that helps active NFB members, blind or sighted, attend their first NFB National Convention.

If you have questions, please contact us at:

Phone: (410) 659-9314

Email:  <mailto:nfb at nfb.org> nfb at nfb.org

EDITOR’S NOTES

We want to feature you in our next issue! Write about your personal experience with your community service project and submit the article by the first of the month.

We also want to help promote your community projects and state affiliate events. Share your calendar with Beyond The Six Dots and we will feature your events in the ‘Represent Your State’ section of our next issue. Contact our editor to submit your calendar events and featured articles. (The editor may edit the Length and/or wording of your article.)

NFB Community Service Division

 <http://www.facebook.com/communityservicedivision/> www.facebook.com/communityservicedivision/

President Jeanetta Price

Email:  <mailto:price.jeanetta at gmail.com> price.jeanetta at gmail.com

Mobile: (409) 344-1005

Newsletter Editor: Maggie Stringer

Email:  <mailto:Ravensfan784 at gmail.com> Ravensfan784 at gmail.com

Mobile: (443) 750-0070

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. We are survivors!

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