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Dots and Dashes: August 9, 2021

60 for 60 Campaign

We are incredibly thankful to Vispero for providing the first corporate contributions of our year-long ACB 60 for 60 campaign, and for launching a matching challenge to our ACB members and our partners. Vispero will double every contribution made to the 60 for 60 campaign up to $10,000 over the month. Their matching challenge began on July 26th in honor of the ADA's 31st Anniversary and will extend until August 31st 2021. To join the challenge, donate to our 60 for 60 campaign by visiting www.acb.org/donate.

2021 Convention Survey

Thank you to all who participated or engaged in this year’s 2021 ACB 60th Anniversary Conference and Convention. It was truly a packed event with over 166 breakout sessions and multiple ways to participate which included: Zoom, ACB Media Network, YouTube, Facebook, Clubhouse, and our community events. We would like to hear your feedback on our 2021 convention. If you attended, please take a moment to answer the ACB Convention Survey. Click here to get started: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/2021ACBconvention. We're so excited to host our 2022 conference and Convention in Omaha, Nebraska. And we hope you can join us then!

Absentee and Vote by Mail Barriers for Voters with Disabilities

EAC Commissioner Ben Hovland was joined by American Council of the Blind Director of Advocacy and Governmental Affairs Clark Rachfal, Office of the Ohio Secretary of State ADA Coordinator Brett Harbage, California Assistant Secretary of State, Help America Vote Act State Director, and Counsel for the Secretary of State Susan Lapsley, California Voting Accessibility Advisory Committee Coordinator Reina Miller, and Washington Secretary of State Kim Wyman to discuss absentee and vote by mail barriers as a part of the Serving Voters with Disabilities series. To view the presentation, visit: https://youtu.be/BezFBfrkubk.

ACB’s Olympic Pre-Show

ACB’s Olympic Pre-Show took place on Friday, July 23, 2021. During this presentation we highlight the games, athletes, teams, and the live audio description brought to you by NBC Olympics and Comcast just ahead of the 2021 Olympic Opening Ceremonies live from Tokyo! Hosted by Paralympian Clark Rachfal and ACB’s Kim Charlson, and featuring Olympian Marla Runyan & Paralympian Lex Gillette, United States Association of Blind Athletes & the National Goalball Teams with Descriptive Video Works, NBC and Comcast. Watch the recording of the Olympic Pre-Show by visiting https://youtu.be/eyHEByUE_tQ. To access the full length videos that were featured during the Olympic Pre-Show, visit the links below:

Social Security Administration Notices

ACB, along with the National Disability Rights Network (NDRN), Justice in Aging and other disability advocacy organizations, sent a letter to the general counsel of the Social Security Administration to express concerns with a new policy that will make it more difficult for SSA clients to receive documents in an accessible format. Beginning August 14, SSA clients who receive communications from SSA via their My SSA online account will stop receiving communications in their requested alternative format unless the client takes affirmative steps to continue receiving their preferred alternative format. ACB will share more information from SSA when available.       

ACB Convention Tour Podcasts

All eligible 2021 Convention Virtual Tours are now available by Podcast! Visit www.ACBmedia.org and select Podcasts under the Media tab to access this year’s tours and subscribe. New convention podcast tracks will be released each week throughout the month of August.

2021 ACB Awards

ACB’s annual awards recognizes individuals, organizations, and affiliates who have contributed to the blindness community. To see the full list of 2021 ACB award winners, visit: https://acb.org/2021-acb-awards.   

Audio Description and Streaming Services Panel Podcast

On a two part series of the ACB Advocacy Update, we featured an audio description panel discussion from the ACB Conference and Convention. Carl Richardson, co-Chair of ACB’s Audio Description Project speaks with representatives from major streaming services to discuss their product’s, programming, services, and offerings. Featured guests include: Melanie Goodman, HULU; Martha Heller, Viacom CBS, Paramount+; Sarah Herrlinger, Apple, TV+; Daniel Kocmarek, Sr., Amazon, Prime Video; Mirka Pavlikova, Walt Disney Studios, Disney+; Allison Smith, Netflix; Andy Larkin, HBO Max; & Thomas Wlodkowski, Comcast, Peacock. To listen to part 1 of this panel discussion, visit: https://tinyurl.com/232anhe8. To listen to part 2 of this panel discussion, visit: https://tinyurl.com/y9mn8h33.

Mission: AstroAccess

AstroAccess is excited to announce the launch of Mission: AstroAccess, a program bringing a diverse group of disabled space enthusiasts on a historic ZERO-G parabolic flight! Participants will complete targeted tasks during the program’s flight to help answer basic questions about how disabled people can live and work in outer space. Mission: AstroAccess’ crew of disabled volunteers will take flight on October 17th, 2021, as the first step in a progression towards increasing diversity in space and the greater STEM field. Through this flight, AstroAccess hopes to shift perspectives on what is possible. The tasks conducted during this program will help inform accessible design to make extended space travel safer for everyone. Applications for crew members are open now through August 15! Any disabled adult living within the US can apply. Apply by visiting: https://tinyurl.com/t4f5b7nn.