[Nfbwv-talk] President Riccobono's Notebook for 8/7/18

Tue Aug 7 19:22:32 UTC 2018

8/7/18
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,

It did not take long for things to heat up after the national convention. The NFB Jernigan Institute has been alive with activity during the past week as thirty high school students were in our building for NFB EQ, and the NFB of Maryland BELL Academy took over East Mall and continues to occupy the building this week, spreading the love for Braille throughout the building. Speaking of Braille, check out the Presidential Release or the below note for some news about Braille that will leave a good taste in your mouth.

This weekend we start the fall convention season with our NFB of South Carolina convention. I anticipate lots of exciting reports from the work of our affiliates this fall.

Congratulations to Ron Brown and the Indianapolis Thunder for their third World Series championship title in a row!

Critical Actions This Week:

August Presidential Release:
This month's release is available at https://nfb.org/presidential-releases.

The Secret Is Out:
On July 26, the United States AbilityOne Commission announced that the American Foundation for the Blind was being appointed as a central nonprofit under the program. This action was taken completely under cover without public comment and without any disclosure even to the other central nonprofits. Read my yet-to-be-answered letter to the AbilityOne Commission<https://nfb.org/images/nfb/documents/pdf/ballard_third_cna_designation_08032018.pdf> challenging the lack of consultation with the organized blind movement.

News:
Share the Love:
The National Federation of the Blind is partnering with Kellogg's Rice Krispies Treats to create Braille and audio "Love Notes" so parents can share messages of love and encouragement with blind children. The Love Notes are an accessible version of the writable wrapper on Rice Krispies Treats, which allows parents to include messages in their children's lunch boxes. The new, accessible Love Notes are available in two forms: Braille stickers and re-recordable audio boxes. The Braille stickers are heart shaped to match the space on Rice Krispies Treats writable wrappers for written notes. Each Braille sticker sheet includes eight uplifting messages for parents to share with their children, such as "you've got this" and "love you lots." The re-recordable audio box holds a Rice Krispies Treat and, when opened, plays a ten-second, pre-recorded message. The audio box messages can be re-recorded over a thousand times. A video has been produced to promote this partnership, featuring two of our members, Eme and Tabby Mitchell. The plan is to distribute over 6,000 sheets of Braille stickers and co-branded NFB/Kellogg's Rice Krispy Treats alphabet cards, as well as over 1,500 re-recordable audio boxes. A print/Braille welcome letter will go out in every delivery to reinforce the importance of Braille and ensure everyone gets the same welcome. The National Federation of the Blind will be prominently featured on the website about this program, including a link to subscribe to our Imagineering Our Future newsletter. Our participation in this initiative reflects our commitment to helping parents raise blind children who are prepared to be confident, happy, and productive members of society, as well as our emphasis on Braille literacy and accessibility.

To check out the website and order Love Notes for your child, visit ricekrispies.com/lovenotes<https://www.ricekrispies.com/en_US/love-notes.html>.

AV START Act:
I had an op-ed published in The Hill<http://thehill.com/blogs/congress-blog/technology/399503-the-senate-must-act-legislation-so-americans-can-reap-the> last week supporting the AV START Act and urging the Senate to act on it. Neil Romano, chairman of the National Council on Disability and speaker at this year's convention, had an opinion piece in The Hill<http://thehill.com/opinion/civil-rights/399752-its-time-for-people-with-disabilities-to-get-paid-their-fair-share> later in the week.

Advocacy Update:
On the legislative front, we continue to gain momentum on the Access Technology Affordability Act. We are up to eighty cosponsors in the House of Representatives, and ten cosponsors in the Senate. In addition, we know that the Joint Committee on Taxation (JCT) is actively working to estimate the annual cost of the bill, more colloquially referred to in Congress as the bill's "score."  Getting the JCT to officially score the bill is a significant accomplishment on our part. We need you to build upon this momentum by calling or emailing your senators and representatives in order to obtain as many cosponsors as possible. Our Advocacy and Policy team will be distributing more information on this topic later this week.

Dates to Keep in Mind:

  *   October 11-12, 2018: Tactile Graphics Symposium
  *   March 28-29, 2019: Jacobus tenBroek Law Symposium
  *   July 7-12, 2019: NFB National Convention, Las Vegas, Nevada

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>

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.

This email and any files transmitted with it are intended solely for the individuals or entities originally addressed, and may contain confidential and privileged information protected by law. If you are not the intended recipient, any dissemination, distribution, copying, or action taken in relation to the contents of this email is prohibited and may be unlawful. If you have received this email in error, please notify the sender immediately and permanently delete the original and any copy or printout.