[Ohio-Talk] Ohio State School for the Blind Model Restoration Project

[Todd Elzey]

Good afternoon!  At Saturday's NFB of Ohio Board of Director's meeting the
Board approved a process for donating to the Ohio State School for the
Blind (OSSB) Model Restoration Project.  OSSB has numerous models of
historical buildings and items that are used as part of the school's
education programs. These models are very old as they were originally built
by artists during the Work Projects Programs of the 1930s and 1940s. These
models have served many generations. I attended OSSB during the 70s and
early 80s and I certainly benefited from being able to use the models to
better understand what the historical buildings and items they represent
looked like. Unfortunately, time has not been kind to many of the models
and they must be restored so that they continue to serve their educational
purposes. Restoring these models is not an inexpensive process as they must
be restored by hand. OSSB is accepting donations to assist with model
restorations and is offering a plaque to be placed on models for every$500
donated.

On Saturday the Board of Directors authorized a program where the NFB of
Ohio will match all donations made to the project via the Affiliate by July
1, 2021. The goal is to garner at least $1000 in donations so that we can
receive at least two plaques to honor long-time NFB members and OSSB
graduates Paul Dressell and Paul Jordan. If we are able to raise additional
funds, we will also be able to receive plaques to honor other long-time NFB
members/OSSB graduates.

The NFB of Ohio will match all donations received by members, Chapters,
and/or Divisions received for the project between Saturday, April 24, 2021,
and July 1, 2021. I am writing today to call on all members, chapters, and
divisions to donate to this project. We received $75 in donations on the
first day of donations.  Let's show OSSB that we are committed to assisting
in maintaining these important historical learning aids by raising as much
money as we can for this project.

Donations to the project can be made through the Affiliate's Paypal Account
or the Affiliate's Zelle Account. The email for both payment venues is
treasurer at nfbohio.org. Payments may also be made directly via check to:
NFB of Ohio, Todd Elzey, Treasurer, 3779 Waterbury Dr., Dayton, OH 45439.
Please make sure that you designate your donation specifically to the "OSSB
Model Restoration Project" so that it is properly credited to qualify as
part of the NFB of Ohio's matching donation.

I look forward to receiving lots of donations for this project. Please do
not hesitate to let me know if you have any questions regarding this
project.

Todd Elzey, Treasurer
National Federation of the Blind of Ohio
toddelzey at gmail.com
315-879-1746
3779 Waterbury Dr.
Dayton, OH  45439