Models with Disabilities Pose for Charity Calendar
At first glance it looks just like any other sexy calendar. All the models are stunning and confident as they pose for the cameras. But that's where the similarity ends. Just a small clue in each picture, such as a glimpse of a wheelchair or white cane reveals these models are disabled.
The idea is the brainchild of disabled TV presenter and model Lara Masters, who teamed up with web site youreable.com to produce the 2002 calendar. All profits go to The Red Cross Afghanistan Relief Fund. Lara says: "This has never been done before and we hope it will challenge people's perceptions. People shouldn't be surprised that disabled women can be sexy."
Of the six models with disabilities who posed for the calendar, Kate Crofts is featured in March. She is blind, 26 years old, and works as a senior research officer in local government. Kate is married and expecting her first child. She has cone rod dystrophy.
Kate says, "There is an impression that disability is ugly and, before they even meet you, people conjure up an unattractive image. They think disability is all medical and that you are going to be fragile and not like other women. Even people who think they are politically correct would draw the line at sleeping with someone disabled. They might have disabled friends, but wouldn't be sexually attracted to someone who was disabled. I started to lose my sight when I was seven and, at 19, I was diagnosed with cone rod dystrophy, meaning my sight is deteriorating and the prognosis is that I will lose it altogether."
The 2002 Youreable calendars cost $20, including postage. Visit the web site at www.youreable.com. You may send a postal order for $20 to Youreable Ltd., First Floor, 148 Curtain Road, London, EC2A 3AT, UK.
ACB Local Chapter Fund Raiser
Do you know where to find those blindness-friendly files? Do you need a certain utility or game that works well with speech? Do you want to avoid the hassle of finding files and downloading them off the Internet?
Here is the first edition of the blind computer user's survival pack on one CD-Rom with more than 100 speech-accessible utilities, games, home management and accounting tools and much more. With a donation of $12.95 to the California Council of the Blind "Capitol Chapter," you will receive this CD-Rom. All shareware/freeware programs have been collected and organized by the operators of the former Global Blind Exchange (GBX). Along with the programs and utilities mentioned above, you will receive braille translation software and the talking checkbook program.
For more information about the CD, contact Dan Kysor at [email protected], or phone (916) 372-9869. To order, send check or money order to: CCB Capitol Chapter, 2884 Wiese Way, Sacramento, CA 95833. Sorry, we are not set up for credit card orders.
Financial Aid Information by Email
For a comprehensive guide to financial aid for higher education, send a blank e-mail message to [email protected] or [email protected].
Audio Yellow Pages
This service is for people who cannot read Yellow Pages in a phone book. ACB members have a passcode for this free service. To access the Yellow Pages anywhere in the U.S., call toll-free (888) 654-1236, and use ACB's passcode which is 1222, or 1ACB. Interactive Voice Technology provides voice prompts for using the service.
For more information, call the toll-free number and say "demonstration." You will hear a complete description of the Audio Yellow Pages service. To speak with a person, call toll-free (800) 214-4842.
Talking ATMs
First Union Bank and Fleet Boston Financial Corporation now have talking ATMs in New Jersey. Check the locations below.
First Union
Ewing: College of New Jersey, Cn550 Hillwood Lakes
Fords: Fords Financial Center, 875 King Georges Rd.
Hamilton Square: Hamilton Square Financial Center, 1177 Route 33
Kendall Park: South Brunswick Financial Center, 3510 Rte 27
Lawrenceville: Lawrence Shopping Center, 2495 Brunswick Pike; Franklin Corner Road Financial Center, 130 Franklin Corner Rd.
Long Branch: Monmouth Medical Center, 300 Second Ave.; Ocean Boulevard Financial Center, 555 Ocean Blvd.
New Brunswick: Rutgers Cook Campus Center, 59 Biel Road
Newark: Bloomfield Avenue Financial Center, 420 Bloomfield Ave.; Branch Brook Financial Center, 164 Bloomfield Avenue; Broad Street Financial Center, 765 Broad Street; South Newark Financial Center, 380 Lyons Ave.
North Plainfield: North Plainfield Financial Center, 274 Somerset St.
Oakhurst: Oakhurst Financial Center, 221 Monmouth Rd.
Oceanport: St. Barnabas Health Care, 2 Crescent Place
Riverside: Riverside Financial Center, 39 Scott Street
Robbinsville: Robbinsville Financial Center, 12 N. Main St.
Sewell: Washington Township Financial Center, 505 Hurfville Crosskeys
Toms River: Community Medical Center, 20 Hospital Drive
Trenton: Chambersburg Financial Center, 1121 S. Broad St.; Villa Park Financial Center, 1300 Hamilton Ave.; Brunswick Avenue Financial Center, 891 Brunswick Ave.; Hamilton Ave. Financial Center, 534 Hamilton Ave.; Ewing Financial Center, 1488 Pennington Rd. & Olden Ave.
Warren: Warren Financial Center, 112 Mountain Blvd.
Wenonah: Wenonah Financial Center, Mantua Ave. & Woodbury
West Long Branch: Monmouth University, 400 Cedar Avenue; West Long Financial Center, 167 Locust Ave.
West Trenton: Scotch Road, 370 Scotch Rd.
Fleet Boston
Atlantic City: Atlantic City Medical Center, Michigan & Pacific Avenues
Cape May: Victorian Shopping Center
Fort Lee: Linwood Plaza, 154-156 Linwood Plaza
Hackensack: Riverside Square Mall, 1 Riverside Square
Hamilton Square: Shoprite - Hamilton, 1225 Route 33
Hoboken: 2nd & Hudson
Jersey City: Bankers' Trust Harborside #2, 34 Exchange Pl.
Trenton: North Hermitage, 222 N. Hermitage Ave.
New Brunswick: Saint Peters Hospital, 245 Easton Ave.; 410 George Street
Newark: Penn Station, 2 Penn Plaza #2
Pennington: Shoprite - Pennington, 2555 Pennington Road
Princeton: Princeton Marketfair, 3535 U.S. Route 1
Braille or Large Print Keyboards and Labels
Hooleon Corporation sells large print and braille computer keyboards and self-adhesive labels in braille or large print. Self-adhesive labels in braille or large print cost $19.95 per set. There is a color choice for the large print labels of black letters on ivory, white letters on black, or black letters on yellow. Already adapted large keyboards are $119.95 and braille ready keyboards are $64.95. For more information or a free sample pack, call toll-free (800) 937-1337, or write to Hooleon Corporation, 417A South 6th St., Cottonwood, AZ 86326, phone (928) 634-7515, fax (928) 634-4620, e-mail [email protected].
Travel Service for People Who Are Blind
Mark Twain said, "Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry and narrow-mindedness." This appears to be the motto for the Campanian Society, Inc., a travel service that specializes in travel programs for people who are blind or visually impaired. Travel programs are designed to meet the unique needs of travelers with low vision or no vision. The Campanian Society strives to provide a rich educational experience unavailable on most vision-oriented trips. Each travel program offers opportunities for tactile experiences and hands-on encounters. On-site lectures, readings and audio-description combine with music to enhance the total sensory and intellectual enjoyment. Tours for 2002 are as follows:
- Tactile Washington - April 6-11, 2002
- Discovering Eastern Long Island - May 6-9, 2002
- Minneapolis & St. Paul - May 28-June 4, 2002
- Champlain Canal Cruise - July 5-8, 2002
- Philadelphia & Hershey - July 27-August 4, 2002
- Hawaii - October 8-16, 2002
- Hawaii Extension - October 16 - 21, 2002
- Boston - Tentatively scheduled for September 2002
For more information, contact Robert M. Wilhelm, The Campanian Society, Inc., Box 167, Oxford, OH 45056, phone (513) 524-4846, fax (513) 523-0276, e-mail [email protected], web site campanian.org.
Free Internet Advertising
ACB Radio provides free announcement advertising for non-profit organizations. To have your announcement advertised, send an e-mail message with your brief message to [email protected].