edited by Cynthia G. Hawkins
The announcement of products and services in this column does not represent an endorsement by the American Council of the Blind, its officers, or staff. Listings are free of charge for the benefit of our readers. “The ACB Braille Forum” cannot be held responsible for the reliability of the products and services mentioned.
To submit items for this column, send a message to [email protected], or phone the national office at 1-800-424-8666, and leave a message in Sharon Lovering’s mailbox. Information must be received at least two months ahead of publication date.
New York School Reunion
The Alumni Association of the New York State School for the Blind, Inc. will hold its annual reunion from Thursday, June 9 through Sunday, June 12 at the Batavia Downs Gaming and Hotel, 8315 Park Rd., Batavia, NY 14020. On-campus activities will include a pizza party with students and staff, our opening ceremony, our annual business meeting and a picnic. Our technology demonstration, Jeopardy game, banquet, brunch and memorial service will happen at the hotel. Where possible, we hope to hold some of these activities on Zoom as well.
For further information, check this spring’s Alumni Bulletin, subscribe to the NYSSB Alumni Association Facebook page, or contact our treasurer, Chet Smalley, at (814) 566-6332, or email him, [email protected].
ChessAbilities, Inc. — Check It Out!
Kevin McConnell, past VP of the Colorado State Chess Association and ChessAbilities, Inc. have begun a chess tournament specifically for children with disabilities. The purpose of this tournament is to provide a unique and safe environment for youth with disabilities under the age of 21, to compete in an over-the-board chess competition.
The 1st annual North American Chess Cup for Children with Disabilities will be held June 21st through June 26th, 2022, at the Embassy Suites Hotel in Denver, CO. If you have any questions or to sign-up, please contact Kevin McConnell at (303) 501-0974 or email at [email protected].
Free Courses by CRAB
Children Raised Around the Blind (CRAB) is proud to announce its new online courses. All courses will be FREE for 2022! “How to Interact with a Visually Impaired Person” has already launched. This course covers the basics with definitions to commonly used terms, most common eye diseases, and basic ways to help and include a person with visual impairments. If you are interested, go to www.childrenraisedaroundtheblind.net/lp-profile/.
National Braille Press Launches Pilot Program
National Braille Press recently announced a pilot program to provide educational resources for teachers of the visually impaired (TVIs) to help them teach students who are blind and have low vision. NBP has begun to ship the free “TVI Braille Ignition Kits” to TVIs. There are four different kits available and include materials to support braille literacy: Braille Resources Kit; Assistive Technology Kit; Math & Science Kit; and Tactile Graphics Kit. The kits also include coupons for teachers to obtain free braille copies of various titles from NBP’s bookstore.
All TVIs or paraprofessionals working in the blindness field in the U.S. are eligible for a free kit and may apply online at www.nbp.org.
Benetech Unveils Bookshare Reader Suite
Benetech, the parent company of Bookshare, recently introduced a suite of free reading apps: Bookshare Reader for Web, iOS, Android, and Alexa. This suite of free tools, available summer 2022, gives Bookshare users a free, standard set of reading tools that they can customize and use across devices to read over a million titles – including novels, textbooks, nonfiction, academic journals, newspapers, and magazines – in ways that work for them. For more information, visit https://blog.bookshare.org/2022/03/benetech-unveils-bookshare-reader-suite/.