[NFBWATlk] national news you can use

[Marci Carpenter]

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 <http://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 ourfull 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. Visithttps://nfb.org/route66.
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