Join IAC for Tech Talk, A Live Technology Town Hall
The ACB Information Access Committee (IAC) will host a technology-focused virtual town hall on March 25, 2020, from 8 to 9:30 p.m. Eastern time. This special Tech Talk event is intended to answer questions from participants on a wide variety of technology issues. It will be both enlightening and informative, with questions submitted both in advance and during the live webinar/teleconference. Key trends and concerns in the accessible technology space will also be addressed from leading experts in the field.
To have your voice heard, you can leave a voicemail with ACB by calling 1-888-944-5358. Questions can also be emailed to [email protected]. Please include your name and hometown. To learn how you can join the live Zoom meeting, visit www.acb.org/techtalk.
Multicultural Affairs Committee Discussion of ‘Black Klansman’
MCAC will hold a book discussion of the book “Black Klansman” by Ron Stallworth. The book is the memoir of an African-American police officer from Colorado Springs who infiltrated the Ku Klux Klan in the late 1970s. The book is available in audio format, DB 91906, as well as on BARD.
The focus call is scheduled for March 30th at 7:30 p.m. Central time. The conference number is (712) 770-8012 and the code is 297164. We look forward to you joining us and sharing your thoughts on this book!
Apply for the $1,500 Friends-In-Art Annual Scholarship
Friends-in-Art (FIA), a nonprofit organization with the mission of advancing accessibility and opportunity for artists and audience members who are visually impaired, offers an annual $1,500 scholarship to college students who are legally blind and live in North America.
If you are a high school senior or a college student, and are planning to major, or are currently majoring, in the fields of music, art, drama, or creative writing, and are blind or visually impaired, we encourage you to apply!
Note: Legal blindness is defined as an individual who has a visual acuity of 20/200 or less in the corrected eye and/or 20 degrees or less visual field in the corrected eye. Only individuals who are legally blind in BOTH eyes are eligible to receive this scholarship.
To apply, please go to www.friendsinart.com and complete the application and upload/mail the required materials, including documentation of visual impairment from a medical professional, per the directions on the form, by May 15, 2020.
Please direct any questions to Peter Altschul, FIA’s scholarship chair, via email at [email protected].
Ozarks Chapter of Arkansas Scholarship Available
The Ozarks Chapter of the Arkansas Council of the Blind offers a $500 to $1,000 scholarship to students seeking post-secondary education at a college, university, or vocational training school. This scholarship is available to both undergraduate and graduate students. The award amount is at the discretion of the scholarship committee.
Recipients are strongly encouraged to attend our annual state convention, and if time allows, give a short, informal speech about themselves and their goals during our Saturday lunch banquet. The Ozarks Chapter covers the banquet meal cost for the recipient and two family members/guests but does not cover any registration fees, hotel/accommodations, or other meals or incidental costs.
To get a copy of the scholarship application, send an email message to Rita Reese-Whiting at [email protected].
Support for Children Raised Around the Blind (CRAB)!
Hi, I’m DJ. I am the oldest of four children. My dad is sighted, and my mom is blind. CRAB is something I never realized was needed until I moved away to college. Growing up I knew my life was different from my sighted friends, but I didn’t really notice it. My mom was blind and she did things differently, but we were still washed, dressed, and fed like all the other children.
However, when I went to college, I began to realize that I really did see the world in a different light compared to my roommates. I used my hands and touch to do most jobs. I could get dressed for my day without ever turning on the lights. I ironed my clothes and made sure there were no wrinkles by running my hands over the fabric instead of inspecting it with my eyes. I would cook in the school cafeteria by smell more than timers and visual inspection. And I always looked for braille signage in every building!
I began looking for a support group for children raised around the blind. I couldn’t find anything. I also learned in college that children of deaf adults have their own support group. Through my searching, I found groups for parents of blind children, but I never saw anything for the siblings of blind people or the kids of blind adults. So CRAB was created! Children Raised Around the Blind is to include children whose parents have been blind/visually impaired their whole lives, or even if your parent lost sight later in life. We all still need to have a place to talk. We need other people who understand the struggles that we have. And ways that we have learned to deal with sighted people and their interest in the blind – and sometimes the really frustrating questions. Please join our Facebook page for monthly discussions. And feel free to send us questions that you have.
Let’s learn how to enjoy our lives even with our family members’ visually impairments. We are united in our experiences. We are our family members’ best advocates, and their loudest cheerleaders! Learn more at www.childrenraisedaroundtheblind.net.