[nabs-l] sample justification letter

[Martha Harris]

Hi Everyone,
I am in the process of requesting funding from my state agency to attend BLIND Inc. I'm pasting my letter below.

HTH,
Martha

Dear XXX:

 

I am writing to request funding to attend Blindness: Learning In New Dimensions Incorporated (BLIND, Incorporated), a facility that will provide comprehensive adjustment-to-blindness training.  I recognize the necessity to learn job-related skills as well as alternative techniques that will affect my abilities to function successfully and competitively as a grad student and employee.

 

I talked extensively with staff and former students of BLIND, Incorporated and found they live the positive philosophy I want. Not only does BLIND, Incorporated believe in blind people, most of its staff is blind. A board of directors who are all blind also governs it. This is in contrast to centers such as Pittsburgh Vision Services, which is staffed mainly by sighted people.

 

I have learned to use a computer and some other blindness technology with some success, and as you know, computers, software, and technology change on a regular basis.  In Communications Class, BLIND, Incorporated, will not only teach me some of this updated software and technology, but teach me how to "teach myself" when these changes occur.  In addition, this Communications Class can capitalize on my current Braille skills to improve my reading and writing speed, and give me "hands-on" experience and practice with a variety of Braille devices and technology. I feel that this class can assist me in acquiring the "competitive edge" necessary for my college and employment objectives.

 

I am able to do some household-related chores, but I need safe non-visual techniques for cooking. I have received some local services from BVS in the past, but I need a program that teaches these skills over a longer period of time. I will learn how to make every part of a meal on an electric and gas stove, in the oven, and on a charcoal grill. I will eventually know how to set up and cook for 40 people without assistance. 

 

Students live in apartments with a roommate and are required to cook daily and maintain this apartment while living there. I can be around blind and sighted people and practice what I am learning, outside of class.

 

Another significant reason for comprehensive training is travel. I know how to travel independently in familiar areas and routes I have done several times before however, I am completely unsuccessful and dependent on sighted friends or pedestrians. I do not know how to figure out where I am in a new area, especially a city such as Washington, D.C. or Boston. I eventually want to be a journalist or researcher, and I need to move to an area with public transportation and places in walking distance. 

 

Growing up in Altoona, I have not had much experience with subways, light rails, and local buses. Furthermore, attending Bloomsburg University has placed me in a rural area with little traffic. I was never a confident traveler before, but now, because of lack of practice and time, I am nervous in heavy traffic. I need to know I can travel in a city by myself without taking excess time judging light cycles and second-guessing my decision to cross the street. 

 

Attending this center for 6-9 months will allow me to become confident and truly know I have the skills to be an independent traveler. I will learn how to discover and explore unfamiliar routes and how to plan the best way to get to a specific destination. This will be important for my future job. I am a journalism and sociology major, and as a journalist, I will possibly have to travel to new locations on a daily basis. I know, with the skills I currently possess, I cannot do this, no matter if I am in a rural or urban setting.  If I am employed as a researcher or in another sociology-related field, I will attend large conferences and travel frequently for projects and data analysis. I lack confidence in crowds, and again, a conference is an unfamiliar place. 

 

I attended a conference in December, and if it weren't for my roommates, I would have been stranded and lost the whole time with no idea how to attend sessions. This is not dignified or independent and would not present a professional image. While at BLIND Incorporated, students attend a conference with 3,000 other blind people in a city, go on three-day tours, and go to a Minnesota state fair with over 1,000,000 people. 

 

There is no substitute for practical experience. The highly accomplished people at BLIND, Incorporated have a far broader and deeper wealth of experience about blindness than anyone else I could find locally.

 

Under the rehabilitation act and regulations, clients have the right to informed choice. They have the right to choose their vocational goal, the services they need, the providers of those services, and the way those services are provided. This is not a privilege, but a right under federal law.  I now wish to exercise this right. I am aware that other people from Pennsylvania have been funded through this agency to attend BLIND, Incorporated and other out of state training centers so a precedence has already been set. 

 

While I am attending BLIND, Incorporated, each instructor will send monthly progress reports to you, and we can also have conferences with you and the executive director either in person or by phone. The average time for the comprehensive training is six to nine months with individual variability.  I know that no facility can cover everything, but I want to do what I can so that I do not have to keep coming back for more training every time I run into a new problem or task I cannot complete because of a lack of blindness skills. As stated in law, I want to maximize my potential so that I can be employable, not underemployed.

 

Thank you for the opportunity to tell you why I want to attend BLIND, Incorporated. I think there is a much greater likelihood that I will be successful in both college and employment. Therefore, I request that you approve funding so that I can start training at BLIND, Incorporated.

 

Sincerely,

 

Martha Harris