[Oabs] Looking to August

[Kaiti Shelton]

Hi, OABS,

Thank you to Emily and Lillie Pennington for their pretty extensive
help in getting the awards sheet started yesterday.  Granted, they had
somewhat of an unfair advantage as they were in the same room as I was
during the call.  Thank you also to Aleeha, who struggled against the
cell signal at OSSB to call in.

We will need to finish the awards packet at our August meeting.
Emily, Lillie, Aleeha, and I got through most of the preliminary
information, however we still do have a few matters to clear up.
Emily, Lillie, and I also got a head start on answering some of the
short answer questions, and some of the responses we will write will
be contingent on the answers awards chair J.W Smith has to questions
I've sent him via email.  I found yesterday that Emily, Lillie, and
Aleeha thought of questions which I missed when I filled in the
information I could before the call, so I do think it is important
that everyone has a chance to both provide their information for the
report, as well as hear the questions and the responses we have for
them so any potential questions can be addressed.

So everyone can think of questions for me to email to J.W ahead of
time, and so some information can be provided in advance of our August
meeting, I have pasted some of the awards packet questions below.
Please take a few minutes to consider them and to provide me with an
email addressing your answers to the questions.

Before I post the questions, I would also like to remind everyone to
send me the information for the membership roster by midnight on Jul
31.  I am going out of town on the morning of August 1st, and would
like to compile the information and send it to Eric before I lose
access to a computer until the 11th.  The deadline to have this
information in to Eric is August 17th, but let's just get it in early
so we have one less thing on our plates.

Without further ado, here are the questions to consider for the awards
packet.  I have also posted some explanatory information to help hyou
think of specific questions in the way the awards committee has
intended for them to be considered.

>From the awards packet, explanations of questions:
Question #2 may puzzle some readers. The committee is not interested
in the civic activities of chapter or division members or the group as
a whole if they have nothing to do with educating the public about the
capacities of blind people or furthering the goals of the National
Federation of the Blind of Ohio. For example, prevention-of-blindness
projects are valuable civic activities, but they do not, as a matter
of course, fall into the interests of the NFB; we work to help blind
people function effectively rather than to prevent blindness. On the
other hand, if chapter members took part in a political campaign
because a candidate indicated interest in an NFB-sponsored piece of
legislation, this is noteworthy, not only because we are making
valuable friends through this effort, but because we are educating
other campaign workers about the abilities of blind people.

Question 4 seeks to identify and to promote inter-group activity as
well as chapter or division programs, division support for chapters,
and assistance to other elements of the Federation.

Question 5 is an effort to understand what kind of fundraising each
chapter or division is doing and how much of the work is actually
completed by NFB members. It is also useful to know in what ways other
organizations and individuals are or were brought into the fundraising
process.

Question 6 seeks to measure the proportion of chapter or division
contributions to state and national work.  For example, if the chapter
made a contribution to the state or national organization in order to
assist in important projects, like the Washington Seminar or for
members to attend the national convention, those contributions count
for purposes of this question.

We are now requiring all groups to answer Question 7. We should all be
looking for the ways in which our members are becoming more
sophisticated and experienced Federationists. This question requires
chapter and division members to look at the larger picture. Answering
it will increase your group's score and will help chapter and division
leaders chart a sound course in the coming year.

DIVISION GAVEL AWARD QUESTIONNAIRE 2014

Division name: The Ohio Association of Blind Students

Division President's name: Kaiti Shelton

Current dues-paying membership: 0 Members.  (Dues were waved due to
size of membership and lack of income until this year).
(Note, I put this disclaimer in for the time being.  I have asked J.W
how to best answer this question since until this point dues were
waved by past presidents.  If he allows us to state that we will be
paying dues now that we have the capability to with our bank account,
and that we intend to make back payments for last year, it might help
our case for earning the most improved division award).

Membership last year: 7 Members.
(There was some dispute over who we consider to be members.  Last year
our roster was the people who received personal emails from me as
secretary, since we did not use the list to communicate.  However,
some of those members failed to show to any meetings, so the following
members are currently considered members because they showed to at
least one meeting.  Myself, Aleeha, Emily, Lillie, Amber, Kyle Conley,
and Abby).

Number of new members joining this year: (worth 1 pt. each):  3 members.
(The three new members I have listed as joining are Elif, Joy, and
Ryan.  Again, this is based on the people who have called in to at
least one meeting this year).

Total number of members and non-members on your mailing list:  Members
on list, 10.  Non-members on list, 23.  (42 total, count excluded NFB
moderators, NABS moderators, our affiliate liaison, and Eric Duffy).
(I have asked if this negatively impacts us in any way.  As far as I
can tell, there is no way to boot unresponsive members from the list.
Some names I have recognized as student division members from 10 years
ago, so I'm assumimg that they just have old addresses that they never
took off the list).


Before September, 2014, how many division board meetings will your
division have conducted since September, 2013? (worth 1 pt. each): 2.


Before September, 2014, how many membership meetings or events will
your division have conducted since September, 2013? (worth 1 pt. each)
:
(I have asked J.W if we should only count our "Membership meetings" or
every month whether we are conducting business or membership in the
meeting since the meetings are the crux of what we do).

How many members are registered with NFB-NEWSLINE?  3 members.
(The people included in this count are Aleeha, Lillie, and myself).

How many new users have signed up this year? (worth 1 pt. each): 1 member.
(That person is me.  I know Emily is planning on signing up, and
she'll be added when she does.  If you sign up for Newsline, or are
already signed up for Newsline, please let me know so I can adjust the
numbers accordingly).

For the Parents Division only, how many children are signed up?  N.A.

How many have signed up this year?  N.A.

How many members have purchased gift cards through the NFB Ohio Scrip
Program? (worth 1 pt. each): 0.

How many newsletters has your division circulated during this period?
(worth 1 pt. each): 0.












1.	How does your division promote the goals, philosophy, and
activities of the National Federation of the Blind among division
members and the general public? (worth 10 pts.)
Our division promotes the philosophy, goals, and activities of the NFB
through a variety of membership programs.  Through our monthly calls,
in which we host speakers and round tables on various
blindness-related topics in addition to conducting business, members
gain valuable information about current event in the NFB, as well as
tips for living an independent lifestyle.  Discussion of
blindness-related topics is conducted between meetings on our list
serve, and several members contribute regularly.  All members are
encouraged to become involved with local chapters, and 50% of the
division belongs to a chapter in Ohio.  2 Members are on the board of
their local chapter.  Membership calls have also focused on national
initiatives including the scholarship program, legislation of
importance to the NFB, and the NFB training centers.  Several members
are also active in the Ohio affiliate, serving as volunteers at the
BELL program, and playing roles in the NAPUB radio play at State
Convention.






 2. Civic Activities: Aside from participating in local, state, and national
Federation activities, in what community programs have your division members
been involved? Examples: social or political causes, religious
institutions, civic organizations, or student activities. (worth 10
pts.)
2 Members have served as counselors/cabin monitors and leaders at an
orientation and mobility camp for blind youth, sponsored by World
Access for the Blind and Blind Vision Inc.








 3. In what forms of advocacy are your division members involved?
(worth 10 pts.)
1 member is involved in a collegiate chapter of Students Against
Destructive Decisions.  1 member is an advocate for music therapy and
disability rights.  1 member advocates for sexual assault prevention
and awareness.  1 member advocates for mental health and is interested
in participating on a youth suicide prevention council (sponsored by
Cincinnati Children's Hospital).





4. Please note this question has three parts so that we can determine
how closely our chapters and divisions are working together and how
much we see ourselves as part of the larger organizations at the state
and national levels. Be sure to answer each part of this question. How
has your division interacted with other NFB chapters or divisions
during the past year?
OABS has significantly boosted outreach to other student divisions in
the surrounding area.  President Kaiti Shelton has been in contact
with Christopher Meyer, president of the Indiana Association of Blind
Students and Jordyn Castor, President of the Michigan Association of
Blind Students.  Christopher Meyer and his division have successfully
sponsored a membership event with the Illinois Association of Blind
Students this summer, and Ohio and Michigan are also interested in
collaborating on the event and meeting other student federationists
next year.  Additionally, one of our members has networked at National
Convention, and placed Miss Shelton in contact with the president of
the Massachusetts Association of Blind Students.  Though the two
students are not in the same region, they have started an initiative
to act as "Sister divisions," by sharing ideas and supporting each
other.  OABS has also reached out to the parents division in Ohio to
see if they would be interested in hosting an event together, or would
be interested in collaborating to boost membership in both divisions
by drawing in parents of student division members and children of
parents division members.  3 of our members collaborated with NAPUB to
perform last year's radio play, The Adventures of Sam Spade.  The
Cincinnati chapter has also provided some assistance to OABS while the
division worked to establish its own bank account.



 A. List all activities in which your division has participated with
another division or chapter; how many members took part in each?
(worth 10 pts.)
3 members participated in the Ohio NAPUB performance of Sam Spade at
the 2013 convention.  The Cincinnati chapter provided assistance to
OABS while the division worked to set up its own bank account.  This
assistance was for the the division as a whole, and involved
Cincinnati setting up a subsidiary in their bank account for OABS to
use on a temporary basis.  OABS president Kaiti Shelton has also
networked with the presidents of the Indiana Association of Blind
Students and the Michigan Association of Blind Students in hopes of
collaborating on a membership event next summer.  The Massachusetts
Association of Blind Students has also shown interest in acting as a
"sister division" with Ohio, to share support, ideas, and advice from
a different geographical region as well as a different region of NABS.





B. List all state-affiliate-sponsored activities in which your
division participated; how many members took part in each? (worth 10
pts.)
Bell, 1 member.  State convention 2013, 8 members.





C. List all events sponsored by the national organization in which
division members have participated this year; how many took part in
each? (worth 10 pts.)
National Convention, 5 members.  NFB STEM 2 U, 1 member accepted to
begin participation in early Sept 2014 through May 2015.  2 members
wrote articles for Future Reflections and were published in the NabS
publication, The Student Slate.  1 member participated as a mentee in
the NABS Mentoring Program, and was also on the committee responsible
for planning the project.  2 members contributed to The Student Slate
by serving as editors on the Slate committee in NABS.


5. What fundraising projects has your division engaged in during the
past year? (worth 10 pts.)
Raffle fundraiser at state convention 2013.  Raffle fundraiser (funds
going to 2015 BELL program starter fund).

 A. Describe the extent to which division members take responsibility
for such projects.
We have a fundraising committee, but there has been some difficulty in
getting fundraising projects off the ground.  Till late April we had a
treasurer who did not uphold the responsibilities of her office, and
our current treasurer has needed to work harder to establish a bank
account in the midst of a fundraising endeavor.  Fundraising committee
meetings are generally well attended, however some members clearly
take more responsibility for their contributions to the projects than
others.  Issues arise when the work is divided equally among committee
members, and one or two people fail to follow through.

 B. What role did outside organizations or sighted volunteers play in
these activities?
We had no sighted help with these projects.

6. Funding the projects and activities of the National Federation of
the Blind at the local, state, and national levels is vitally
important work for all of us. Answering the following questions will
assist the awards committee to compute the percentages of financial
support for each division. This will enable the committee to make
useful comparisons.



 A. What was your division's bank balance as of September, 2013? $
    and as of September, 2014? $
Sept 2013, $0.00.  Sept 2014, $150.  (Note, this is a placeholder.  I
will put in the actual amount once we have a better idea of what it
will be at the conclusion of the raffle fundraiser).


 B. After subtracting all expenses associated with fundraising, how
much money has your division raised during the year ending September,
2014? How much money came in from all other sources during this
period?


C. How much money has your division contributed to the state affiliate
during this period? How much financial assistance did your chapter
contribute to members to attend the state convention in the form of
grants? (worth 10 pts.)


D. How much money has your division contributed to the national
organization during this period? How much money did your chapter
contribute for members to attend the national convention in the form
of grants?  (worth 10 pts.)




7. Take no more than two paragraphs to discuss the ways in which your
division is a stronger part of the National Federation of the Blind
today than it was a year ago. (worth 10 pts.)
	The Ohio Association of Blind Students has made significant progress
over the past year.  Before the affiliate convened in November of
2013, we had no bank account, were not using our own division list
serve to distribute information, and were out of compliance with our
own constitution.  Within a few weeks of convention the constitution
was revised and a board, complete with 5 officers and 2 at-large
member positions, was established.  By January 2014 all members were
subscribed to our list serve hosted on nfbnet.org.  In May, a bank
account doing business as the Ohio Association of Blind Students was
established at PNC bank, and OABS officially became a registered
entity with the IRS.  From what I understand OABS has been a sleepy
division for quite some time, and it has finally come into the here
and now.
New paragraph:  (Just wrote this, and couldn't add in a tab without my
computer moving me to the send button).
Our division members are very active in the Ohio affiliate.  A year
ago we did not have any members participating in local chapters, and
now 50% of the chapter is a member of a local chapter.  We also had
50% of our division attend this summer's National Convention in
Orlando, and a few members serve on committees including the
fundraising, education, the awards committee, and vehicle donation.
Two members helped plan for BELL and have been involved in the program
since its inception last July, and one of those members assisted as an
on-site volunteer this year.  Though the group is still working to
improve, the division has started to fundraise and is putting forth
its best effort to give back to the affiliate in the future.



-- 
Kaiti Shelton
University of Dayton 2016.
Music Therapy, Psychology, Philosophy
President, Ohio Association of Blind Students
Sigma Alpha Iota-Delta Sigma