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</o:shapelayout></xml><![endif]--></head><body lang=EN-US link=blue vlink=purple><div class=WordSection1><p class=MsoNormal>See message below, it is about contributing to youth in Nicaragua.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Justin<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><div><div style='border:none;border-top:solid #E1E1E1 1.0pt;padding:3.0pt 0in 0in 0in'><p class=MsoNormal><b>From:</b> Nfbnet-members-list [mailto:nfbnet-members-list-bounces@nfbnet.org] <b>On Behalf Of </b>Sean Whalen via Nfbnet-members-list<br><b>Sent:</b> Sunday, June 26, 2016 9:32 PM<br><b>To:</b> nfbnet-members-list@nfbnet.org<br><b>Subject:</b> [Nfbnet-members-list] Requesting Your Assistance to Provide Materials to Blind Youth in Nicaragua<o:p></o:p></p></div></div><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Greetings fellow Federationists,<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>My name is Sean Whalen. I currently serve as the president of the National Association of Blind Students and have been heavily involved with the work of the Federation for nearly a decade. I am currently on a deferral from law school and am living and working in Nicaragua with blind youth through a small NGO call Empowerment Through Integration (ETI). Having seen the immense positive impact that exposure to a positive philosophy on blindness and the development of the essential skills of blindness had in my life, I am now attempting to provide those skills and that philosophy to blind youngsters in Nicaragua. <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>One of the greatest challenges in the education of blind kids here is a lack of resources. That is why I am asking for your help. As National Convention approaches, I am reaching out to my extended Federation family in an attempt to collect materials of use to blind youth and their educators. I have established relationships with organizations of, and schools for, the blind here in Nicaragua. And they are all in desperate need of basic materials. Canes, slates, Braille paper, accessible cell phones, tablets, old laptops: these are all things that are difficult to come by and very much needed. I am asking you, as you pack for Convention, if you have any of these items and are not using them, or anything else that would be of use to blind youth, please consider tossing them in your suitcase and letting me take them back with me after Convention to distribute to schools and training programs for blind kids. If you have materials to donate, but can’t bring them to Orlando, please contact me and we can arrange for you to send them to ETI in Boston via free matter, from where I will pick them up prior to flying back to Central America. And if you don’t have anything to donate but wish to support the cause, please contact me directly and we would be thrilled to accept any donations to our 501C3 organization. All funds will be used to provide canes and other basic materials for blind youngsters here. <o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Do you have more slates than you know what to do with, or an old iPhone laying in a drawer collecting dust? These items that you scarcely think about could make a real meaningful difference in the lives of blind kids who are not as fortunate as we were to have the training and opportunities offered in our country. If you have any questions at all about our work or about donating to the effort, please do not hesitate to contact me at <a href="mailto:smwhalenpsp@gmail.com">smwhalenpsp@gmail.com</a> or by texting or calling 608 957-7337.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Thank you very much, and see you in Orlando!<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Sincerely,<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Sean Whalen<o:p></o:p></p></div></body></html>