CHANGING WHAT IT MEANS
TO BE BLIND!
Come Walk with the Blind in historic Fredericksburg,
Virginia
The 8th annual Walk with the Blind will happen on
April 17, 2010 starting 10 A.M at city dock in Fredericksburg. Walkers
that register will be eligible for gift certificates from shops and restaurants
on Caroline Street along the walk. Register today, collect donations,
then joins us for a fun walk. The walk is not more than two miles and
most people end up visiting the shops to use their gift certificate and joining
friends for lunch at the many restaurants. Many historic attractions are
on the walk route or nearby. Your needed
donations are used to help promote the use of Braille, scholarships for Blind. Click
on Upcoming events for sponsor forms, flier and more.
Our seventieth annual national convention will be held in
Dallas Texas July 3-8 go to http://www.nfb.org
for more information and to register..
http://www.nfb.org/images/nfb/nfbji/Braille_Lit_Logo.gif
We face a crisis in Braille literacy!
We need your help!
Fifty years ago, almost anyone who was legally blind learned
Braille. At that time, almost anyone who was legally blind went to a
school for the blind. Over the past 35 years, most legally blind children
go to public schools. Most legally blind children attending public
schools do not learn Braille, the non-visual equivalent to print.
Fifty years ago, 90 percent of legally blind people were Braille
literate. now about ten percent of legally blind people read Braille.
. Of those who read Braille, 80 percent are employed. Those who do
not have adequate literacy skills, show a ten percent employment rate.
Our Virginia chapter of the National Federation of the Blind joins a
nation-wide effort to double the number of public school children reading
Braille by 2015.
With 2009 being the 200th anniversary of the birth of
Louis Braille, the inventor of the tactile code we use to read and write, it
seemed fitting to make Braille literacy our highest priority this year.
As part of that Braille literacy campaign, a Louis Braille
commemorative coin is on sale at the U.S. mint. Only four hundred
thousand of these special coins can be sold with ten dollars of each sale
coming to our nation-wide Braille literacy efforts. We are required to
match each ten dollars. If you purchase a coin, you will contribute to
that monetary match and also provide resources to achieve the literacy campaign
goal of doubling the number of Braille readers in six years. Our Virginia
Chapter of the National Federation of the Blind will receive a portion of the
funds raised in this matching fund raising effort. We plan to use our portion
to conduct braille literacy seminars, teach braille to children and adults and
work with public school officials to assure adequate braille teaching resources
are available. To buy a Louis Braille Coin, go to
www.braille.org
and there is a link which will take you directly to the U. S. mint.
Click here to sign up for NFB Newsline and gain access to newspapers and
magazines by phone, email or download them to a Daisy Digital player.
http://www.nfb.org/NEWSLINE®
mp3 files of NFB Presidential Releases made by National President Maurer:
http://www.nfb.org/nfb/Presidential_Releases.asp?SnID=887575
LOCAL CHAPTERS:
- BLUE RIDGE CHAPTER - Charlottesville Area - Meets the
third Saturday of each month. For information contact President, Kathy
Owen at 434-293-3556 or at kcowen@ntelos.net
- CHESAPEAKE BAY CHAPTER - Meets the fourth Saturday of
the month at 11AM until 1PM. We meet at the Virginian Steak House, 620
First Colonial Road, Virginia Beach, VA
23454. For more info, contact chapter President, Mary Durbin at
757-431-1205 (home), 757-472-2495 (cell) or email: mrdurbin@cox.net.
Please visit the chapter's website at www.cbcbvi.org.
- EASTERN SHORE CHAPTER - The chapter meets on the first
Saturday of every month at 4364 Lankford Highway, Exmore, Virginia, from
11 am to 1 pm. For additional information contact President Rick Holley by
email at holleymanor@verizon.net
or call: 757-824-3233 or 757-894-3685.
- FAIRFAX CHAPTER –We meet on the 3rd Thursday
of the month. We gather in the banquet room at the Fairfax City Red
Lobster located at 10325 Fairfax Boulevard. They can be reached at (703)
691-1011. Their website is www.redlobster.com. Those who want dinner should arrive at
6:30 p.m. The formal meeting will
begin promptly at 7:00 p.m. and run till 9:00 p.m. If you need transportation assistance
from the Vienna Metro Station, please contact Chapter Vice-President Cathy
Schroeder at (703) 319-9226. We
want to make sure anyone who wants to attend a meeting is able to do
so. For more information, please
call John Bailey at 703.994.2040 or via e-mail at john_bailey17@hotmail.com
- FREDERICKSBURG AREA CHAPTER - Meets the second Thursday
of each month at the disAbility Resource Center, 409 Progress Street,
Fredericksburg, from 7 until 9 PM. For information please contact
President Michael Kasey, at michaelgkasey@verizon.net
or telephone 540-760-3885.
- PENINSULA CHAPTER- We meet on the second Saturday of
each month at Angelus Restaurant located at 755 J. Clyde Morris Boulevard
in Newport News. The time is from one pm to three pm. If you are having
lunch please arrive by twelve thirty. We are a chapter striving for
excellence! If you have any questions please contact President Andre Tynes
at 757-594-6111 or Vice President Hardy Alexander at 757-303-9806 or via
email at atynes1@verizon.net
- POTOMAC CHAPTER - Meets the second Thursday of the
month at 7:30 PM at Saint George's Episcopal Church, 915 North Oakland
Street, Arlington, VA. For information contact President Tracy Soforenko
at PotomacNFB@verizon.net
or call 703-635-2085. The chapter serves Arlington County, the Eastern
Portion of Fairfax County and the Cities of Alexandria and Falls Church.
- RICHMOND CHAPTER – Meets the 4th Monday of
the month at the Virginia Rehabilitation Center for the Blind located at 401
Azalia Avenue; Richmond, 7:30 p.m. For Information call President, Leon
Robinson jumpsharp60@verizon.net 804-241-5010 Or 804 -241-5010
- GREATER SPRINGFIELD CHAPTER:Meets the 2nd
Tuesday of the month 7:00 to 9:00 p.m. at the Rose Hill Elementary School
located at 6301 Rose Hill Drive. Served by Fairfax Connecter #109.
- Our February chapter meeting has been canceled. The
following program will be held at a future date. Watch for the new date.
--
Do you ever wonder how other blind people
organize the food in their kitchen? Are you tired of asking your spouse whether
your tie or scarf matches your jacket?
Do you have an efficient way of labeling your CD's? Are you interested
in the new ground braking digital talking book player from the National Library
Service?
It's a 2fer! Come to the National Federation
of the Blind Greater Springfield Chapter meeting and hear Judy Dixon, author of
the new book, Label It!, and Customer Relations Director at the National
Library Service give highlights from her book and demonstrate the new digital
talking book player. There will be lots
of time for questions and discussion.
When: Date and time To Be Announced
Where:
Rosehill Elementary School
6301
Rosehill Drive
Alexandria,
VA 22310
Please
contact Joy Relton at mailto:
jrelton@verizon.net or 703-971-0745 if you need more information or
directions.
- STAUNTON CHAPTER: Meets the
first Saturday of the Month in the community room at the GYPSY HILL HOUSE
APARTMENTS located at
500 C. Street
For further information contact president Dawn
Jenkins at 540)-5257546; or dawn0713@verizon.net
- TIDEWATER CHAPTER – For information contact President,
Stewart Prost at 757-622-2797or sdprost@verizon.net
GREATER
WARRENTON ChapterMeetings held every 4th Wednesday of
the month at 1:00pm
Unless otherwise indicated, We BABBLE at every meeting! Bring a Brown Bag
Lunch Event. Dessert and Beverage Provided.
Location: The Oaks Apartments, in the Committee Room, 770 Fletcher Lane,
Warrenton, VA 20186
Contact: Amy Harwood for info @ 540-341-7084 or 703-317-7386 or email her at NFB.Warrenton@gmail.com
- GREATER WILLIAMSBURG CHAPTER - Meets the third Saturday
of each month at 1:00 -3:00 pm at the James City County Recreational
Center, 5301 Longhill Rd, Williamsburg, VA. Please contact Chapter
President Corlis Jones at 757-565-1185 or cmjones153@verizon.net or visit their
Web Page at http://sites.google.com/site/greaterwilliamsburgchapternfb/
- WINCHESTER CHAPTER - Meets the third Wednesday of every
month at 2PM at Winchester Medical Center on Amherst Street, in the Main
conference room on the main level of the WMC right next to Subway. For
information contact President Shirley Guess at: (540)-662-5011
- Visit http://www.nfb.orgfor information about our
national organization
NFB of Virginia
National whozit logo
If you have any
questions or comments or would like to make a donation, please send
correspondence to: The National Federation of the Blind of Virginia, Inc. c/o
Mark Roane, Treasurer, 702-5 Prince Edward St., Fredericksburg, VA 22401. Make
checks payable to NFB of Virginia, Inc. You can also call NFB of Virginia
President, Fredric K. Schroeder, at 703-319-9226, email: fschroeder@sks.com or NFB of Virginia
Treasurer, Mark Roane, at 540-373-3045, email: mwroane@mindspring.com
Joy Relton, Webmaster mailto: jrelton@verizon.net
