[Ohio-Talk] October 2019 at Aira

Thu Oct 17 19:40:52 UTC 2019

Subject: October 2019 at Aira

  <https://aira.io/wp/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/aira_logos_RGB-bluewhite.png> 

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October 2019 at Aira 

Happy Blindness Awareness Month! In this October edition of the newsroom expect to learn about:

*	A new way to invite friends to Aira and get free minutes
*	Exciting additions to the Aira Access Network
*	Information about the Career Launch at Perkins program
*	Our integration with BlindSquare

Read about all this, and more, right here in the Aira Newsroom. Like what you’ve read and think someone else will enjoy it? Forward this email to them!

Aira Announcements

It’s Now Easier Than Ever To Invite Friends and Get Free Minutes

Because sharing is caring, anyone with an Aira account (both paying and free Explorers) can now invite friends to earn 30 Add-on Minutes to their account. Any friend that accepts your invite and creates an account will also get 30 Add-on Minutes – regardless of whether they get a plan or not.

The more people you invite who then sign up, the more minutes we’ll throw your way. Just two people is a whole hour of Aira, completely free.

 Learn more at www.aira.io/invite <http://click.sfdc-sap.aira.io/?qs=d14eeffd64559b3f8eea950a5fbdf5f58cf0df24d7fefc956761fb8600b709c929bfff6c04eafbbc23d334da8c3c9ef2b57368f4fbb664c5> . 

MTA NYC Launches Free Access to Aira

On October 16, 2019, the NY MTA launched a three-month pilot at an opening ceremony held at the Jay Street-MetroTech accessibility model station. Aira can now be used for free at all 496 subway stations, as well as a phased rollout of free Aira Access for all 13K bus routes. 

"Aira is passionate about transforming daily life for people who are blind or have low vision. We believe that better mobility leads to a better economy, which impacts everyone positively," said Suman Kanuganti, Founder and President of Aira. "We are proud to partner with NYC MTA, one of the largest transit authorities in the world. Together, we will increase accessibility on public transit for communities in NYC while setting an example for others to follow. Today NYC, tomorrow the world."

Read the full announcement here. <http://click.sfdc-sap.aira.io/?qs=d14eeffd64559b3f4d76be86ae43ba34bc6d49fef56158487081a15c894eb8bc377ce124a62a786776f5087445fd9ad5db4b80952ca0829c> 

Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital Somerset Becomes The First Hospital to Provide Free Aira Access

On October 15, 2019, Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital Somerset, an RWJBarnabas Health facility, became the first hospital in the nation to offer free access to Aira for its blind and low-vision patients and visitors.

“Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital Somerset is committed to eliminating barriers to health care and improving access for all members of our community,” said Tony Cava, President and Chief Executive Officer, Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital Somerset. “We are proud to be Aira’s first hospital partner, ensuring that blind and low-vision members of our community can safely access our facility to get the care that they need.”

Read the full announcement here. <http://click.sfdc-sap.aira.io/?qs=d14eeffd64559b3fcf972b9102d26259baed1e6c573a7ab8296a0297e079313e8c600b892796115a6e0d2eb8b401e5285a5f92cea341222e> 

Career Launch at Perkins

Our partner, Perkins School for the Blind, has applications open for their new careers program, Career Launch at Perkins. 

Career Launch at Perkins is designed to give you the hands-on training and experience you need to build a sustainable career.

You’ll be equipped to work in any professional field where exceptional customer engagement is key to business success. That means you’ll leave the program a well-rounded problem solver with transferable skills in a number of in-demand areas, including sales and marketing, transaction management, recruitment, client services and more.

The program starts on January 15, 2020, and applications are now open.

Learn more about Career Launch at Perkins. <http://click.sfdc-sap.aira.io/?qs=d14eeffd64559b3fc5319940d769178c3ca1eadd25e1c61b9d25a814dbbbb92fac6a1d7c52da46e048f20d5e7547cdb9eca5f26b1e7d7f69> 

White Cane Safety Day 2019

This year marks the 55th anniversary of White Cane Safety Day – a day where we take the opportunity to raise awareness around this important tool for independence. To commemorate White Cane Safety Day this year, we asked all of you to share your photos with us of how you celebrated the day with the hashtag #WhiteCaneDay. 

We hope everyone had a great day and that everyone continues to enjoy Blindness Awareness Month. 

Here are more places you can use Aira for free

The Aira Access Network continues to grow. Our latest additions include:

*	Denver International Airport
*	Memorial City Mall
*	Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA NYC)
*	San Bernardino County
*	Vancouver International Airport
*	Adelphi University
*	Bose (all store locations)
*	Miami International Airport
*	Rhode Island Historical Society
*	Winnipeg Airports Authority

To see the full list of free Access offers, just tap on “Apply a Free Access Offer” on the Aira app home screen. Here you can find task-based Access Offers which enable you to take advantage of them anywhere if your task meets certain criteria, such as the Intuit QuickBooks Small Business offer. In addition, if you select the Location option in the list, you can search for locations that offer free access to Aira as soon as you enter the business.

Visit our Access Partners page <http://click.sfdc-sap.aira.io/?qs=d14eeffd64559b3f48f79c1c370897c23c9cad0dd946b9b7d6f8187f48d23138e5ef79e4a396a2ca01890b69571e22d829cb9068371d7b91>  to find a public list of who’s joined the Aira Access Network.

Recently Announced Features and Updates

BlindSquare gets Aira Integration

As you may have heard, Aira and BlindSquare have partnered to provide BlindSquare  users with simple access to Aira agents. This is perfect for solving for the final frustrating 50 feet of a journey.

What is BlindSquare? BlindSquare is one of the most popular GPS informational apps used by the Blind and Low-Vision Community today. BlindSquare provides information about businesses around you as you are navigating, however, it does not perform turn-by-turn directions for a user to follow a route. 

The app is only available on iOS and they’ve released an update to the App Store which adds the Aira integration.

Interesting News

Here’s some of what you may have missed happening in the community. 

*	From Engadget:  <http://click.sfdc-sap.aira.io/?qs=d14eeffd64559b3f17af22eeebec0bffbcde3497efe43d8e4cfe1423c6cc49419c3c5affc5875563f5bafdfcddae835719293b1261541125> "Google has announced a new feature for Chrome which will use machine learning to recognize images and offer text descriptions of what they show."

*	From American Theatre: “The story of a blind woman whose husband and doctor pressure her into risky restorative vision surgery, Molly Sweeney was written by lauded Irish playwright Brian Friel in 1994. And though Friel, who died in 2015, could not have been aware of the social changes to come, Silverstein and Pamela Sabaugh, the low-vision actor tackling the title role, believe that staging the play now requires an examination of both its ableist and feminist undertones—specifically, its warnings about men who alter women’s bodies through coercion.” <http://click.sfdc-sap.aira.io/?qs=d14eeffd64559b3fd910f8703d7bf8b9faf12d901fe22e9569953353e19bac381d3fbacaa834486af6ac425180d1f00af821f3b458c6b274> 

*	From Business Insider: “This watch is for people who are blind or living with low vision — it’s also a well-made work of art in its own right.” <http://click.sfdc-sap.aira.io/?qs=d14eeffd64559b3f5af404edcfd3a71305af5c7fbca1adaa52276c82ffd55727eeb17931e35b93a5e833f78660d6acd06d7f8daeccfbbea4> 

*	From Phys.org: “One of the most common barriers to employment for people who are blind is negative employer attitudes.” <http://click.sfdc-sap.aira.io/?qs=d14eeffd64559b3f5f79afec4a53890f0c6bad1e9c978a0f4c37e0e33169f345dc75b7b9047c4c4e3e6390f832ba5cd91d3c33381aac78c1> 

Airacast Episode 18 – It’s Cool to Be Blind

October is a time to celebrate! In this episode, we take a look at Disability Employment Awareness with Explorer Paul Merrell. Greg Stilson, Vice President for Product, and Danielle Toby, Product Designer here at Aira, tell us about two exciting new features: integration with Blind Square and our Invite A Friend program. The agent spotlight shines this time on Mark Lawrence.

Listen at: http://traffic.libsyn.com/airacast/airacast_18.mp3 <http://click.sfdc-sap.aira.io/?qs=d14eeffd64559b3fb83e7e4e39ad611d9a63f9c61dca6e18e63be91b8021bff6de19e0d7031dffb03faae91e0b72f5825787c058628688cc> , or in your podcast app of choice.

Email us and tell us what you think of the podcast at airacast at aira.io <mailto:airacast at aira.io> .

Aira Community

Join our Explorer Community

Have you considered joining our online community? Here are some ways to get involved:

*	Join us on Groups.io: send an email to aira+subscribe at groups.io <mailto:aira+subscribe at groups.io>  or visit http://groups.io/g/aira/join <http://click.sfdc-sap.aira.io/?qs=d14eeffd64559b3f730a15ec396d934776867fdbdc7c9938398008a57d384d0f4fda6ab2b61d13a4d871e008fec4ac49c6148ae84d42def9> . Remember that you can sign up for Digest Mode to only receive one message per day.
*	Join our Facebook Community page: https://www.facebook.com/groups/222989288221347/ <http://click.sfdc-sap.aira.io/?qs=d14eeffd64559b3ff267a386140f12aa58bca0f5367d4003e23a053d809ba8c9770e7c4afa56fb98689348932d641cdae88fddcb18b3e78f> 
*	Join our next Community Call on Wednesday, November 13, at 5 PM PT: https://aira.zoom.us/j/967956202 <http://click.sfdc-sap.aira.io/?qs=d14eeffd64559b3f612e8d59551ac3f643b5d2cd8e3652d68325320e2bbb814f0569e71f54c4d08cd9cc959c2a786c6a00753e0dac6ef178>  

Follow us on Social Media

Find us on the following platforms and join the conversation:

*	Facebook <http://click.sfdc-sap.aira.io/?qs=d14eeffd64559b3f875cd1ea39e8e9bbe71a4e143315d0c9aa3b4cba44d89d5c9c5adffc7bd653cc8dcff9ed69566896fa4956c6d464fc23>  
*	Twitter <http://click.sfdc-sap.aira.io/?qs=d14eeffd64559b3fdeb742aea9ac7140ee960a4f2d401861e2a7e0d6817a06cb4ab7a4c122816c1f74601f9d9f1fb523cf76d4e10e1e1acd> 
*	LinkedIn <http://click.sfdc-sap.aira.io/?qs=d14eeffd64559b3f30868e18b16f201689ffbab6d7594a044e82dd8b87bce9aa6a9eed85724df7b0b7504d7df21323ed68c28981dd5d3243>  

Aira Blog

We continue to share stories about our community, industry, and real life experiences on our Aira Blog. Here are a couple of stories that we’ve recently published:

*	Life is an Adventure <http://click.sfdc-sap.aira.io/?qs=d14eeffd64559b3fc95cc960570e0fe9bdc79d186a0c77eacf2517d606f9b2ae0cc10bcbf21e63777175ba13322bd785400f7925545d54a2> : An honest reflection on following his own path, and where that led Kyle in his career.
*	Telling Stories with Sound <http://click.sfdc-sap.aira.io/?qs=d14eeffd64559b3f53be26938bdf02b8a86fd7118a52b1e1e596e54fc7c7b6239c67efa421359fdc93bf0a4819fa506a602e2860421dc90f> : A review on the audio drama, Blackout – the author's first audio drama she has listened to but, as she says, "it certainly won't be the last." 

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Have any questions or issues? Contact Customer Care at 800-835-1934 or email support at aira.io <mailto:support at aira.io> . 

Refer a friend to join Aira and get a discount on your Aira service! Simply choose “Referral” in the Aira app to send them an invite. 

  <http://click.sfdc-sap.aira.io/open.aspx?ffcb10-feca15787764037e-fe551c72726602797d11-fe3815707564067e731374-ff2b15787260-fe37157075660279711576-ff991575&d=100112> Manage Subscriptions <http://click.sfdc-sap.aira.io/subscription_center.aspx?qs=70434bd5fe78710187bb2460e7439104584e60982428c25f47eb832e0b14b269b0a5f573ed70c060cf987d12eada908bfc513da1e97fbd78fd10456e67c155fe55f55e8404bc88bf>  | Update Profile <http://click.sfdc-sap.aira.io/profile_center.aspx?qs=70434bd5fe787101f05777257cd9241d566c03da448a9e6c7c4cff05e5888124bd17bd8e46b6891421a0d60ee02525d8fc9b3ebb6dedb880c6d682e109cc6d110eba917fc800f40e>  | Unsubscribe <http://click.sfdc-sap.aira.io/unsub_center.aspx?qs=70434bd5fe78710187bb2460e7439104584e60982428c25f47eb832e0b14b269c3090303c409942e102a580aac6df1bef007198f44a5bd043c20624b5fed6d950bf32981250132ae> 

Aira Tech Corp
4225 Executive Drive Suite 400 SAN DIEGO, CA, 92037, US

[Richard Payne,  President] 

Richard Payne,  President

National Federation of the Blind of Ohio

937-396-5573 or 937/829/3368

Rchpay7 at gmail.com

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