by Melanie Brunson
It seems like every time I sit down at my desk to write something, the telephone starts ringing like crazy. It never fails! This day is no exception. I had just written the title of this article on the page when my phone rang. In fact, there were three consecutive callers. One of these was a gentleman who had been discriminated against by the wait staff of a restaurant. One was a teacher who was concerned about losing his job because he had requested an accommodation. Another was a man who is rapidly losing his vision and wanted to know where he could get help to buy glasses and pay his bills since he can no longer work. I also have calls waiting in the wings from someone with questions about electronic voting machines, and another person who is deeply involved in transportation advocacy issues. I don’t have the opportunity to take as many of these calls now as I used to, but each time I do, I am amazed at how often 10, 20, or 30 minutes of my time can have such a significant impact on the life of another person. By giving a little of my time and energy, I can help someone find answers to their questions, information to meet a need, or hope to replace discouragement. Many of you have worked with me in this effort, because the first place I always refer callers to is our affiliate in the place where the caller lives. Affiliates have responded. They have referred callers to individual members who could assist them, and those individuals have responded.
This is nothing new. ACB is about making a difference. This organization’s core goals are focused on making the world a more accessible and livable place for people who have visual impairments. It is also no surprise to any of you who have been around ACB for any amount of time for me to say that big victories are frequently the result of lots of small ones. Great accomplishments generally grow out of many seemingly small actions — the letters written by concerned citizens, the phone calls, the visits. These are all necessary to achieve our goals.
So what’s my point? It is simply this: ACB has many items on its advocacy and legislative agenda. We also have goals for leadership development within our organization. We could use the help of individuals and affiliates in raising the funds that are necessary to meet these goals, and you can help us, even if you can only make a small contribution. Those small contributions add up and can work together to take ACB a long way down the road that will lead to greater accessibility for all of us.
You may remember that ACB already has a Monthly Monetary Support (MMS) program which enables individuals to designate a specific amount of money to be withdrawn from a bank account, or charged to a credit card, each month. There is no limit to how much, or how little, one can designate. The important thing is that anyone can contribute to the work of ACB and do it in a manner that is convenient for them. If you haven’t signed up to participate in this program yet, I hope you will consider doing so right away. You can call the ACB financial office at 1-800-866-3242 and have a form sent to you.
Those contributions, no matter their amount, can be combined to help us accomplish great things for people who are blind. Just as 10 minutes spent talking to someone on the telephone may be the key to his or her successful future, so your $10 a month could be just what is needed to ensure the success of many an advocacy project that could impact blind people nationwide.
If you have questions about the nature of these projects, feel free to contact me at the ACB national office, or any of ACB’s officers. In the meantime, I hope you will sign up to participate in the MMS program and be a part of the success of your organization, the American Council of the Blind.