[Ohio-Talk] Piggest Raffle

[Todd Elzey]

Have you bought your Piggest Raffle tickets yet?  I know many of you
haven't because I have a list of those who purchased tickets as of a week
ago. So, let me begin again - why haven't you bought your Piggest Raffle
tickets yet?  Tickets are only $5 a piece and that $5 could win you
$10,000, $5,000, or a $1,500 weekend getaway to Cincinnati.

But the most important reason to purchase tickets is that every single
penny of the $5 ticket price comes back to the NFB of Ohio. Why is that
important you might wonder?  Well funding the NFB is essential because it
allows us to do the work that we do to improve what it means to be blind.

Sometimes it's easy to forget as we live our everyday lives why
it's important to fund the organization. Well, we need to fund this
movement because unfortunately, discrimination against the blind lives
strongly in Ohio.

Just yesterday I learned that Goodwill Easter Seals Miami Valley in Dayton,
which serves blind clients, discriminates in their hiring process by
requiring a driver's license for almost all of their jobs. They even ask
screening questions at the beginning of their applications to screen out
people who don't have a license. They ask these
license screening questions, even when the license has nothing to do with
the job. All of Goodwill's job descriptions also have a vision abilities
requirement that reads "Specific vision abilities required by this job
include close vision, distance vision, color vision, peripheral vision,
depth perception, and the ability to adjust focus."  Now we know that there
are alternative techniques and reasonable accommodations that can allow a
blind person to do any job, including the ability to travel for work
assignments. But apparently, Goodwill Easter Seals Miami Valley has
decided, while it's acceptable for them to serve blind clients, they don't
want blind workers among their workforce in true professional jobs. So they
screen them out with antiquated requirements. You and I know this is wrong,
but the reality is that it could be tough to fight because it can be an
expensive process and despite being only a countywide organization,
Goodwill Easter Seals Miami Valley has a financial war chest that dwarfs
ours. Last year Goodwill had revenue of over $48,000,000. No that's not a
typo, they actually had revenue of over $48 million dollars. Just their
donation income alone for one year dwarfs our assets. Goodwill even spent
more in travel expenses ($1.5 Million) in one year than our organization
has taken in probably the last 2 decades or perhaps longer.

Goodwill is only one organization that discriminates against the blind. We
also fight for the rights of blind guide dog users, blind students, blind
parents, blind business owners, etc. If Goodwill Easter Seals of the Miami
Valley has an annual budget of $48 Million, imagine what any City
government or college can throw at us when we fight them on discrimination.
Or imagine what a major corporation can throw at us if we have to fight for
the right of a blind job applicant to work there.

This is why we must fund this organization's mission to improve what it
means to be blind in Ohio. So now I will change my original question to a
call to action. Go to http://piggestraffleever.com/ now to buy your Piggest
Raffle tickets to help protect the rights of blind Ohioans. Remember to
select the National Federation of the Blind of Ohio to ensure that our
organization receives your donation.

Remember, we can't get to the point where we can fight a $48 Million war
chest by ourselves.  So don't stop by just buying tickets yourself. Tell
everyone you know about this fundraiser, tell them why we are raising
money, and ask them to join us in protecting the rights of blind Ohioans by
purchasing Piggest Raffle tickets at http://piggestraffleever.com/

Let's raise as much money as we can and truly change what it means to be
blind in Ohio!

Todd Elzey, Treasurer and Fundraising Committee Chairman
National Federation of the Blind of Ohio