[Nfbwv-talk] President Mark Riccobono's Notebook

[Smyth, Charlene R]

Date: April 14, 2015 at 3:30:27 PM EDT
President's Notebook
National Federation of the Blind
Mark A. Riccobono
officeofthepresident at nfb.org<mailto:officeofthepresident at nfb.org>
(410) 659-9314
Dear Fellow Federationists,
Please see below for this week's notes. It should be noted that there are only 81 days until our 75th anniversary family reunion in Orlando, Florida. I hope each of our affiliates is aiming for record attendance.
News:
NFB EQ:
Please pass this information along to any in your affiliate that would be interested. NFB EQ is a week-long engineering program for blind and low vision high school students (currently in grades 9-12) scheduled August 2-8, 2015, at the National Federation of the Blind Jernigan Institute. Applications are due by June 7. To learn more and to apply, visitwww.blindscience.org/NFBEQ<http://www.blindscience.org/NFBEQ>.



Braille Book Fair:
It's time to donate gently used Braille books to the 2015 Braille Book Fair sponsored by the National Organization of Parents of Blind Children. Our goal is 750 print braille books to celebrate the 75th anniversary of NFB.Ship your donations to:

UPS

ELAINNA MOORE - HR DEPT

8901 ATLANTIC AVE

ORLANDO, FL 32824
Please note that you are shipping the books to a UPS address (where they will be stored until convention), but all books can be shipped FREE MATTER FOR THE BLIND. Please label the side of the box with what it contains. You can list book titles, or simply label the category of the books (print/Braille (Twin Vision), pre-kindergarten, grades 1-2, grades 3-4, grades 5-6, young adult fiction, adult fiction, adult nonfiction, sports, poetry, religion/faith).

This year's coordinator is Krystal Guillory (318-245-8955 orkguillory at lcb-ruston.com<mailto:kguillory at lcb-ruston.com>). The Braille Book Fair is scheduled to take place on Tuesday, July 7, from 5:00-7:00 p.m. Please check the convention agenda for location.


Community Service Division:
The NFB Community Service Division is looking for stories from affiliates and chapters about community service projects that have been done over the past year to form a feature presentation for our annual seminar at this year's national convention. If you should have such stories, please send them to Darian Smith at dsmithnfb at gmail.com<mailto:dsmithnfb at gmail.com> by April 30, 2015.

Video:
In this week's video, 35 Cents, people with disabilities are legally permitted to be paid far less than the federal minimum wage, regardless of their qualifications, skills, and preferences. The pernicious effects of this practice go far beyond the low wages that these workers receive. Watch this story about Melissa to learn why this is unfair, discriminatory, and immoral, and what can be done about it. You can view thevideo on the NFB channel at https://www.youtube.com/user/NationsBlind.

Dates to keep in mind:

*         < !--[if !supportLists]--><!--[endif]-->Spring affiliate conventions<https://nfb.org/state-conventions>

*         < !--[if !supportLists]--><!--[endif]-->May 14-16, 2015: NFB STEM2U Columbus (OH), COSI

*         < !--[if !supportLists]--><!--[endif]-->June 7, 2015: NFB 6 DOT DASH

*         < !--[if !supportLists]--><!--[endif]-->July 5-10, 2015: 75th Annual Convention of the National Federation of the Blind

*         < !--[if !supportLists]--><!--[endif]-->August 2-8, 2015: NFB STEM EQ

*         < !--[if !supportLists]--><!--[endif]-->September 11-13, 2015: NFB STEM2U Leadership Academy

*         < !--[if !supportLists]--><!--[endif]-->May, 2016: WBU-ICEVI General Assembly

*         < !--[if !supportLists]--><!--[endif]-->June 19-25, 2016: NFB EQ (first iteration)

*         < !--[if !supportLists]--><!--[endif]-->July 31-August 6, 2016 (second iteration)

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
National Federation of the Blind
200 East Wells Street at Jernigan Place
Baltimore, Maryland 21230
Phone: (410) 659-9314
Fax: (410) 659-5129
Email:officeofthepresident at nfb.org<mailto:officeofthepresident at nfb.org>
Twitter: @Riccobono and @NFB_Voice
Web:www.nfb.org<http://www.nfb.org/>
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