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</o:shapelayout></xml><![endif]--></head><body lang=EN-US link="#0563C1" vlink="#954F72"><div class=WordSection1><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif'>Ohio:<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif'>I sent out the below email this week. If you know of a student or parent, please share!<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif'>Suzanne,<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><div><div style='border:none;border-top:solid #E1E1E1 1.0pt;padding:3.0pt 0in 0in 0in'><p class=MsoNormal><b><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif'>From:</span></b><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif'> Suzanne Turner <smturner.234@gmail.com> <br><b>Sent:</b> Thursday, April 11, 2019 8:08 AM<br><b>To:</b> nicole.m.bell19@outlook.com; colwillre19@lakecatholicapps.org; jjstover@kent.edu; jessicajones0199@gmail.com; padaemma1@gmail.com; mmolchan908@gmail.com; Lcassi@kent.edu; Kinshuk.tella@gmail.com; BigPapaZo@roadrunner.com; R.Lutner@csuohio.edu; Disability@case.edu; remacd3@gmail.com; Jessica.Baldwin@ClevelandMetroSchools.org; Kestranekm@parmaCitySchools.org; L.Casalina@csuohio.edu; Disability@case.edu; SAS@Kent.edu; Studentdisabilitysvs@utoledo.edu; Access@UAkron.edu; Mitchell.Jones@uc.edu; Access@bgsu.edu; SAS@JCU.EDU; CDixon@cpl.org; SDs34@case.edu; SterlingGarrett@vgsjob.org; PMiller@ossb.oh.gov; Sarah.j.kelly@ood.ohio.gov; GLMcgranaham@YSU.EDU; Katy.Mason@ood.ohio.gov; Brandon.Wray@ood.ohio.gov; nveltri@dsc.org<br><b>Cc:</b> smturner.234@gmail.com; rchpay7@gmail.com<br><b>Subject:</b> Attention All Blind Students and Faculty! <o:p></o:p></span></p></div></div><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif'>Dear Students, Parents and Others,<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:12.0pt;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:12.0pt;margin-left:0in;line-height:18.0pt'><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif'>My name is Suzanne Turner and I am a member of the National Federation of the Blind. We are the largest organization that advocates for equality and the rights of blind Ohioans, from infancy to senior hood, as well as elementary to doctrinarism. We are over 500k strong with members in every state, including the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:12.0pt;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:12.0pt;margin-left:0in;line-height:18.0pt'><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:12.0pt;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:12.0pt;margin-left:0in;line-height:18.0pt'><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif'>Today I am reaching out to you, because you are our future. The world of students is vital to the productivity of the blind not only in Ohio, but throughout the world. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:12.0pt;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:12.0pt;margin-left:0in;line-height:18.0pt'><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:12.0pt;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:12.0pt;margin-left:0in;line-height:18.0pt'><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif'>I am so impressed and honored to meet you. As a former student, I understand how education is primary in your life, and please do not waivor in running toward that finish line. However, sometimes there are instances that you need support or a listening ear. Also, situations arise that perhaps a new perspective can be helpful. I do not have all of the answers, but I love researching and will do my best to provide you with whatever will assist you in your endeavors.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:12.0pt;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:12.0pt;margin-left:0in;line-height:18.0pt'><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:12.0pt;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:12.0pt;margin-left:0in;line-height:18.0pt'><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif'>Did you know that Ohio is one of the seven founders of this organization? Did you know that each year Ohio provides three scholarships to students seeking a higher education? Did you know that we assist parents and their blind children with an array of services and programs during the summer? Did you know that this year, our National Convention that will have over 3 thousand members attending, including students represented in every state is in Las Vegas? Did you know, that the Federation has a National Mentoring Program that can be a guide and a match with your educational degree to offer support and breakdown barriers? And, did you know that we have a committee for parents with blind children? Well, we do! <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:12.0pt;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:12.0pt;margin-left:0in;line-height:18.0pt'><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:12.0pt;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:12.0pt;margin-left:0in;line-height:18.0pt'><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif'>I would love meeting you to talk about the organization and why I am committed to its mission and purpose. Also, I can provide more information of why I am here to cheer you on as a student who is preparing to make a difference in the world. If you are available, I would like to invite you to a teleconference call. Would you be available on Sunday, April 14, 2019 at 4:00 PM? The call would be for an hour and I can guarantee it will be worth the time. You could sit in your dorm room or be in travel. Below is the information. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:12.0pt;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:12.0pt;margin-left:0in;line-height:18.0pt'><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:12.0pt;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:12.0pt;margin-left:0in;line-height:18.0pt'><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif'>Thank you for taking time out of your schedule to read my email. And please take a moment and read our philosophy below.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:12.0pt;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:12.0pt;margin-left:0in;line-height:18.0pt'><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:12.0pt;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:12.0pt;margin-left:0in;line-height:18.0pt'><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif'>I hope to meet you on the call on Sunday at 4:00 PM. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:12.0pt;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:12.0pt;margin-left:0in;line-height:18.0pt'><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:12.0pt;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:12.0pt;margin-left:0in;line-height:18.0pt'><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif'>Teleconference info:<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:12.0pt;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:12.0pt;margin-left:0in;line-height:18.0pt'><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif'>Date: Sunday, April 14, 2019<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:12.0pt;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:12.0pt;margin-left:0in;line-height:18.0pt'><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif'>Time: 4:00 PM<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:12.0pt;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:12.0pt;margin-left:0in;line-height:18.0pt'><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif'>Tel: 605-313-4834<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:12.0pt;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:12.0pt;margin-left:0in;line-height:18.0pt'><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif'>Code: 246345<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:12.0pt;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:12.0pt;margin-left:0in;line-height:18.0pt'><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:12.0pt;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:12.0pt;margin-left:0in;line-height:18.0pt'><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif'>Listen to the prompts and enter the code.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:12.0pt;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:12.0pt;margin-left:0in;line-height:18.0pt'><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:12.0pt;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:12.0pt;margin-left:0in;line-height:18.0pt'><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif'>Click on this video to learn more about the National Federation of the Blind of Ohio.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><a name="_Hlk4506587"><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif'><o:p> </o:p></span></a></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='mso-bookmark:_Hlk4506587'></span><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TGe_1qGbkX8"><span style='mso-bookmark:_Hlk4506587'><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif'>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TGe_1qGbkX8</span></span><span style='mso-bookmark:_Hlk4506587'></span></a><span style='mso-bookmark:_Hlk4506587'><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif'><o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='mso-bookmark:_Hlk4506587'><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif'><o:p> </o:p></span></span></p><span style='mso-bookmark:_Hlk4506587'></span><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:12.0pt;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:12.0pt;margin-left:0in;line-height:18.0pt'><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif'>Suzanne<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:12.0pt;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:12.0pt;margin-left:0in;line-height:18.0pt'><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif'> <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif'>Suzanne Hartfield-Turner, <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif'>National Federation of the Blind of Ohio<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif'>C: (216) 990-6199<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif'>////<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:12.0pt;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:12.0pt;margin-left:0in;line-height:18.0pt'><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;color:#333333'>The Federation's positive belief system about Blindness.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:12.0pt;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:12.0pt;margin-left:0in;line-height:18.0pt'><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;color:#333333'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:12.0pt;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:12.0pt;margin-left:0in;line-height:18.0pt'><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;color:#333333'>Members of the Federation realized the simple truth many years ago that blind people are just people who cannot see—we are not broken sighted people. Blind people are as different as sighted people are; that is, we are a cross-section of the broader society and, therefore, are not all alike as some assume. Blindness is a physical characteristic, but it is not the characteristic that defines us or our future. It is low expectations and misconceptions, not blindness itself, that stand between blind people and our dreams.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:12.0pt;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:12.0pt;margin-left:0in;line-height:18.0pt'><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;color:#333333'>Given proper training and opportunity, blind people can and do live the lives we want. It is respectable to be blind, and, with the right tools and techniques, blindness may be reduced to the level of a nuisance or inconvenience. To combat the low expectations, misconceptions, and stereotypes that are the true barriers to achieving our dreams, the blind have organized for the same reasons other minorities have—to make positive social change through collective action. The Federation philosophy provides an overall framework for thinking about blindness, what it means, and what it doesn't mean. However, it is not intended to be rigid or dogmatic. As we just said, blind people are individuals, and we may disagree on any number of things, including how to handle a given situation as blind people. What our philosophy does do is give us a positive way of thinking about our blindness, rather than the negative ways in which we have often been conditioned to think about it by society. Rather than saying that we as blind people can't do something, we try to find ways that we can, and to challenge each other, in a loving way, to always push the envelope and expand the limits of our independence. As you read further, you'll discover that, to the extent we need to formulate specific positions about blindness and the policies related to it, we use a democratic process to arrive at these positions.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:12.0pt;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:12.0pt;margin-left:0in;line-height:18.0pt'><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;color:#333333'>The National Federation of the Blind also provides encouragement and support to families with blind children and to people who are losing vision or have become blind later in life, by bringing them into a network of tens of thousands of blind people who are living full lives and who can serve as mentors and role models. Together, with love, hope, and determination, the members of the National Federation of the Blind transform dreams into reality.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif'><o:p> </o:p></span></p></div></body></html>