[Vabs] NABS December Bulletin!

Tue Dec 8 03:19:39 UTC 2009

national Association of Blind Students
>From the Desk of the President
December 7, 2009

In This Bulletin:
1.  Check Out the Student Slate!
2. NABS On Facebook and Twitter!
3.  Pennies for Pages!
4.  Washington Seminar Update
5.  2010 NFB Scholarship Application Now Available!
6.  State Division Announcements

1.  Check Out the Student Slate!

The National Association of Blind  Students once again brings you the
latest edition of the Student Slate, our quarterly newsletter. In this
issue you will learn about the lives of a blind climatologist,
substitute teacher, and student, as well as learn about the latest
developments in legislation as we prepare for Washington Seminar. This
issue is truly one-of-a-kind, and I give great appreciation to Karen
Anderson, Domonique Lawless, and Sean Whalen for their diligence in
recruiting and editing such a diverse and interesting set of articles.
Please find the Slate attached to this  message, and it will be posted
on our Website,
www.nabslink.org
by the end of this week.

2. NABS on Facebook and Twitter:

I'm pleased to announce that the National Association of Blind
Students now has a page on Facebook and an account on Twitter! Become
a fan of NABS on Facebook to stay in touch and communicate with other
blind students across the country.  Follow us on Twitter to receive
announcements about what NABS is doing both nationally and in our
state divisions.  You can find us by searching for "National
Association of Blind Students" on Facebook and "NABSLINK" on Twitter.

Do you have a piece of news that you want us to post on Facebook and
Twitter? Please send it to the membership committee by writing an
email to
Nabs.membership at gmail.com
3.  Pennies for Pages:
Sean Whalen, second vice-president of NABS, writes the following. For
more information about the Braille Readers are Leaders contest, please
visit
www.braille.org

Greetings to all members and friends of NABS,

I am writing to announce and solicit assistance for an exciting new
fundraising effort we are currently undertaking. The fundraiser is
Pennies for Pages, and is being run in conjunction with the NFB’s
Braille Readers are Leaders program. We believe that this fundraiser
has a lot of potential. However, in order to realize this potential,
we need help from all of you!

The idea is this. Students, or anybody else who is interested in
helping to raise money for Braille literacy and our national student
division, can sign up to participate in the Braille Readers are
Leaders program and then solicit donations from friends, family, or
anybody really, for Braille pages read throughout the duration of the
contest. Of course, donations of fixed sums are also gratefully
accepted.

If you are already participating in the Braille Readers are Leaders
contest, you can simply find people to sponsor you for each page you
read. If you are not yet signed up for the contest, no worries! The
reading contest runs through January 4th, and registration can be
submitted up until that point. It is by no means too late to get
started! As an added incentive, NABS will be offering a $50 Amazon.com
gift card to the participant who raises the most money.

Donated funds can be accepted in cash or as checks made out to the
National Association of Blind Students and can be given to our
Treasurer, Nijat Worley, either in person at Washington Seminar or
sent via postal mail.

If you wish to participate or have any questions at all about the
plan, please contact me (Sean Whalen) at either  608-332-4147
608-332-4147 or smwhalenpsp at gmail.com. I will be compiling the list of
participants and would be happy to answer any questions which anybody
might have.

Half of any money we raise through this effort will go to the NFB to
support Braille literacy programs and the other half will go to NABS.

We all look forward to working together to raise money for and promote
Braille literacy!

Sincerely,

Sean Whalen

4.  Washington Seminar Update:
On Sunday, January 31, 2010, the National Association of Blind
Students will hold its annual all-day seminar in Washington, D.C.
just before the opening of the NFB's annual Washington Seminar.  The
NABS seminar will take place from 10:00 a.m.  to 5:00 p.m.  at the
Holiday Inn Capitol hotel in Washington, D.C.  On Sunday evening we
will conclude our gathering with an informal dinner, mixer and an
auction.

Generally, our seminar consists of both speeches and breakout sessions
concerning a variety of issues relevant to blind students.  If there
are particular topics that you'd like to see on the agenda this year,
or things we've done in the past that you liked or didn't like, please
let me know before the end of this month.  Also, if you or someone you
know has had an opportunity this year that you think other blind
students might want to know about, like a job or a trip abroad, tell
me that as well!

5. 2010 Scholarship Applications Now Available:
Each year the National Federation of the Blind awards thirty
scholarships to legally blind college and graduate students across the
country.  The scholarship includes a cash award ranging from $3000 to
$12,000, plus a free trip to the NFB national convention and often a
piece of assistive technology such as a KNFB Reader Mobile.  The
scholarship application for 2010 is now on the Web at
www.nfb.org/scholarships
Applications are due by March 31, 2010.
Already won a national NFB scholarship? You can apply again and
potentially win a second scholarship, also known as a TenBroek
fellowship.
In addition, many NFB affiliates offer scholarships to blind students.
 You needn't be an active member of the NFB to win.  Contact your NFB
state president for details.  You can find a list of state affiliates
and their contact information at
http://www.nfb.org/nfb/State_and_Local_Organizations.asp
Finally, there are lots of other scholarship resources available to
blind and sighted students alike that are worth examining.  Check out
the "Scholars Hall" section of our website for details.

6. State Division Announcements:
>From New Mexico:
The New Mexico Association of Blind has been busy again this month.
On November 21st, 5 of the students participated in Scuba Diving with
the Cody Unser First Step Foundation! All of us who participated
enjoyed the activity and hope to continue it. We went in a swimming
pool and all of us had a good time!
If anyone would like more information on the event, please contact me.
I do not have any new information on the benefit nights we held last
month, but I hope to have something.
NMABS is going to be having their annual Christmas party in
conjunction with our december monthly meeting on December 20 at 5:00
PM before the meeting begins at 7:00 MST.

Tara Sena, President
New Mexico Association of Blind Students

>From the membership committee:
Greetings from the   Nabs membership committee.

We would like to thank those of you who were able to attend our   most
recent conference call where we discussed the benefits of community
service to self as well as the greater blindness community.
 This month, we hope that you will be able to join us for a fun and
informative discussion on dating and relationships.
 The call will take place on Sunday, December the 13th at 7p.m. EST.
  We are pleased to have Special guest speakers LisaMaria Martinez and
Antonio Guimaraes who will talk about their respective experiences on
this topic.  As well, we are excited to have fellow student and
membership committee co-chair Janice Jeang serve as moderator on what
will be a lively   topic to be sure.
  Should you have any questions, or wish to take part and would like
the call-in information; please do not hesitate to contact   Janice
Jeang at: Janice.jeang at gmail.com or Darian smith at:
Dsmithnfb at gmail.com.
And as always; keep a look out on the nabs list serve for more
information   about  the conference call  series, as well as  other
announcements from the membership committee.
    We look forward to seeing you all on the call in a few days!
 Warmest holiday wishes to you and yours,
  The National Association of Blind Students Membership committee.

-- 
Arielle Silverman
President, National Association of Blind Students
Phone:  602-502-2255
Email:
nabs.president at gmail.com
Website:
www.nabslink.org
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