[NFBofSC] FW: NFB President’s Notebook - Week of 09/26/2023

Tue Sep 26 22:13:48 UTC 2023

Good Evening,

Please see the President’s Notebook for lots of information from President Riccobono.

My Best,

Marty

From: President, National Federation of the Blind <OfficeOfThePresident at nfb.org>
Sent: Tuesday, September 26, 2023 10:36 AM
To: State Presidents <StatePresidents at nfb.org>; NFB-Division-Leaders at nfbnet.org; NCB Staff <NCBStaff at nfb.org>
Subject: NFB President’s Notebook - Week of 09/26/2023

President’s Notebook
National Federation of the Blind
Mark A. Riccobono
officeofthepresident at nfb.org<mailto:officeofthepresident at nfb.org>
410-659-9314

Dear Federation Family,

Martin Luther King, Jr., reminded us that “the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.” This week the White House and some federal agencies are celebrating the 50th anniversary of the passage of the Rehabilitation Act. One thing that makes the Federation particularly effective is not simply that we have been here for all of those fifty years, but that we engage throughout the whole process, including as laws are implemented and need to evolve. Whether we are thinking about Social Security legislation, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, pedestrian safety, ratification of the Marrakesh Treaty, or any other priority we have pursued, we recognize that getting a law is only the first step. As the nation celebrates this important historical milestone, we should recognize that the progress has come partly through our hard work. More importantly, progress will continue because we dedicate ourselves to following the arc the rest of the way to justice.

As we get geared up for Blind Equality Achievement Month, we need to dedicate ourselves to creating awareness of how blind people have raised expectations throughout society. We have more work to do to get our message and our understanding out into the general public. We also need to challenge ourselves to find innovative ways to capture the attention of the non-blind public and draw them into talking about the issues that impact our lives on a daily basis. October creates that opportunity, and I hope you will share with all of us the approaches that you find to be most effective in your community.

I will be on the road for the first part of October, including a visit to our Florida state convention. I am anticipating the opportunity to be with our members in Kentucky and Florida as we enter the final quarter of a very successful year.

Thank you for your efforts to build our organization.

Critical Actions:
Blind Equality Achievement Month:
October is Blind Equality Achievement Month, and we want to highlight our successes. We encourage affiliates and divisions to update their social media with any activities that they are doing, as well as with their members’ success stories. We’ll be sure to share some on our platforms. Please send links to your posts to Cricket Bidleman at cbidleman at nfb.org<mailto:cbidleman at nfb.org>.

October Presidential Release LIVE from Kentucky:
The National Federation of the Blind Presidential Release #531<https://nfb.org/resources/publications-and-media/presidential-releases> will be broadcast from Louisville, on October 3, 2023, at 8:00 p.m., eastern. Closed captions and Spanish interpretations will be available. Presidential Release Zoom ID: 999 6853 1572. Please share the live event opportunity on your affiliate and chapter social media channels.

COVID Tests:
The White House announced recently that COVIDtests.gov is re-opening.  People are now again able to order free, at-home COVID-19 tests. Each household may place one order; each order will contain twelve tests. Blind people are able to order, by phone or online, the more accessible tests manufactured by Ellume. To ensure that the accessible tests go to people that need them, go to ACL.gov/AccessibleTests<http://ACL.gov/AccessibleTests> to order online. To order by phone, call 1-800-232-0233. Select language by pressing 1 for English, 2 for Spanish, 3 for other languages. Then select 8 for the accessible test (rather than 1 for the inaccessible test).

For assistance placing orders or administering the test, call 888-677-1199. DIAL operators are available Monday-Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m., eastern. In addition, live chat and ASL services are available through the DIAL website<http://dial.acl.gov/>.

News:
National Federation of the Blind Responds to Department of Justice Title II Website NPRM:
On August 4, 2023, the United States Department of Justice published a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) regarding ADA Title II website and mobile app accessibility regulations in the Federal Register. The proposed rule was more than two hundred pages long and asked readers to answer over sixty questions. Since we have been waiting for these regulations for thirteen years and wanted to ensure a thorough and appropriate response, we spent many weeks carefully reviewing the proposed rule and crafting our comments. I am pleased to say that we submitted our comprehensive comments, answering all relevant questions, on Tuesday, September 19. I encourage you to read our full ADA Title II NPRM response<https://nfb.org/programs-services/advocacy/policy-statements/comments-ada-title-ii-website-and-mobile-app-notice> on the Policy Statements page of our website.

NFBMD President, Ronza Othman, Testified Before Senate Aging Committee:
On Thursday, September 21, Ronza Othman, the president of our Maryland affiliate and the president of the National Association of Blind Government Employees, testified before the Senate Special Committee on Aging at a hearing titled “Unlocking the Virtual Front Door: Ensuring Accessible Government Technology for People with Disabilities, Older Adults, and Veterans.” Ronza did a terrific job and her full testimony<https://nfb.org/programs-services/advocacy/policy-statements/ronza-othmans-testimony-senate-special-committee-aging> can be found on our policy page.

SSI Savings Penalty Elimination Act (H.R. 5408/S. 2767):
We are working Capitol Hill to find champions for the Blind Americans Return to Work Act in the House and Senate and hope to have news for you within the coming months. In the meantime, a new bill has emerged that will raise the resource limitations placed upon beneficiaries of Supplemental Security Income (SSI). The bipartisan SSI Savings Penalty Elimination Act has been introduced in the House and Senate as H.R. 5408 and S. 2767 respectively. Please reach out to your senators and representative and urge them to cosponsor this important legislation. If you would like to know whether your representative or senators are already cosponsors on the above legislation, please contact Lindsey Walsh in our Advocacy and Policy Department at lwalsh at nfb.org<mailto:lwalsh at nfb.org>.

NFB-NEWSLINE®:
We experienced a significant NFB-NEWSLINE outage on Sunday, September 24, at approximately 10:30 p.m., eastern time. Nearly all of the content has now been restored except for the local channels and some magazines. We expect the remaining content to be restored within the next twenty-four hours. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact Scott White at swhite at nfb.org<mailto:swhite at nfb.org>.

National Disability Employment Awareness Month:
October is also National Disability Employment Awareness Month and to celebrate, the Employment Committee of the National Federation of the Blind will be hosting multiple events throughout the month to get interested members “employment ready.” Two of the events are described below.

Where the Blind Work Webinar:
On Wednesday, October 18, join the Employment Committee of the National Federation of the Blind as we celebrate the work and accomplishments of blind people with a panel discussion. This online seminar will take place on Wednesday October 18, from 8:00–9:15 p.m., eastern. Unemployment and under-employment persist as among the most stubborn factors affecting blind people’s pursuit of cultural and economic equity in society. Below are our panel participants:

·         Jennifer Wenzel, Human Resources Specialist, Wisconsin

·         Kris Colcock, Certified Work Incentive Practitioner, Washington

·         Rachel Kuntz, Community Relations Liaison, Arizona
Register at Where the Blind Work<https://nfb.org/programs-services/employment/where-the-blind-work-webinars-registration> for Zoom details. We look forward to your participation!

National Federation of the Blind Virtual Career Fair:
Join the Employment Committee on Thursday, October 26, from 1:00 to 4:00 p.m., eastern, via Zoom for our fall virtual career fair. The National Federation of the Blind career fairs are events for blind people seeking jobs to connect with employers and are an opportunity for employers to seek more talent for their teams. Registration is required by October 16, 2023.

·         Career Fair – Job Seeker<https://nfb.org/form/career-fair-jobseeker-registration>

·         Career Fair – Employer<https://nfb.org/form/career-fair-employer-registration>

To prepare job seekers, the Employment Committee will be hosting “Getting the Most from Your Virtual Fair Experience,” an online seminar designed to provide tips and techniques for creating the most positive experience while attending the fair. Members will automatically be registered for the online seminar once they have registered for the career fair. For more information on the career fair or webinar, please contact Jennifer Wenzel , Employment Committee chair, at jenwen319 at gmail.com<mailto:jenwen319 at gmail.com>, or Rachel Kuntz, employer liaison, at rkuntz at saavi.us<https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/h/1x9qu3194t9sc/?&cs=wh&v=b&to=rkuntz@saavi.us>.

Ride for Literacy Contribution Totals:
It is not too late to help us make our contribution goal for the Route 66 Ride for Literacy. Please share the link https://nfb.org/route66 with your friends and family and on social media. We are just under our goal of $50,000 in support from the ride. To help reach the goal, please consider posting something like:
Dan O’Rourke road more than 2,700 miles on his bike for literacy and to bring awareness to the National Federation of the Blind. You can help without riding your bike across the country. Please help us achieve our $50,000 goal. Visit https://nfb.org/route66.

STEM2U Affiliate Programs:
Your affiliate has the opportunity to host their own NFB STEM2U program for blind youth in the spring of 2024. Participating affiliates will receive all needed materials, accessible instructions, and financial support to put on a daylong STEM workshop for youth. Interested affiliates should email Ashleigh Moon, STEM2U program coordinator, at amoon at nfb.org<mailto:AMOON at nfb.org>.

Seeking Updated Contact Information for 2023-2024 NFB BELL® Academy Coordinators:
The NFB BELL® Academy is designed to give children hands-on experiences with Braille during the summer, as well as expose them to positive blind role models who can show them that blindness does not have to hold them back from achieving their dreams. We encourage affiliate presidents, including those who have appointed BELL coordinators in previous years, to appoint an NFB BELL coordinator in your state who will receive specific news and information about the upcoming 2024 NFB BELL Academy season. Please note that BELL coordinators must be reappointed each year by you as an affiliate president in order to receive information about the upcoming NFB BELL Academy season. Please email your NFB BELL Academy coordinator’s name and email to bell at nfb.org<mailto:bell at nfb.org>. If you have questions about the NFB BELL coordinator role, please reach out to Karen Anderson, education programs coordinator, at kanderson at nfb.org<mailto:kanderson at nfb.org> or by calling 410-659-9314, extension 2243.

Reminders:
Mastodon:
The Federation is now on Mastodon—a decentralized social media platform that allows us to have our own server dedicated to NFB news, events, and updates. You can find and follow our server at nfb.social. We invite affiliate and national division presidents to email mastodon at nfb.org<mailto:mastodon at nfb.org> to indicate interest in having an account. Please note that our server is not open to individuals at this time.

Dates to Keep in Mind:
(all times eastern)

  *   October: Blind Equality Achievement Month
  *   October 18: Where the Blind Work Webinar, 8:00 p.m.
  *   October 26: National Federation of the Blind Virtual Career Fair, 1:00 p.m.
  *   November 8: Introduction to the Organized Blind Movement, 8:00 p.m.
  *   December 7 and 10: Chapter Presidents Call, 8:00 p.m. (Planning the Year Ahead)
  *   July 3-8, 2024: National Convention; Orlando, Florida

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.

Mark A. Riccobono, President
200 East Wells Street, Baltimore, MD 21230
410-659-9314 | Officeofthepresident at nfb.org<mailto:Officeofthepresident at nfb.org>
Mastodon: @President at nfb.social
Pronouns: he, him, his

[National Federation of the Blind]<https://nfb.org/>

                         [Facebook] <http://www.facebook.com/nationalfederationoftheblind>     [Twitter] <https://twitter.com/NFB_Voice>     [Youtube] <https://www.youtube.com/NationsBlind>

The National Federation of the Blind is a community of members and friends who believe in the hopes and dreams of the nation’s blind. Every day we work together to help blind people live the lives they want.

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://nfbnet.org/pipermail/nfbofsc_nfbnet.org/attachments/20230926/93c29e9f/attachment.html>