Mar 3 2023
NFB of PA March Digest
In this episode of White Canes Connect, David talks about the events coming up in March within the NFB of PA and outside of the affiliate that may be of interest to blind Pennsylvanians. The script for this episode was taken word-for-word from Stacie’s email. Literally. If you’re not on the list serv of your chapter or division, go to https://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo. Thanks again to Stacie for compiling the monthly digest. Welcome to our March 2023 monthly Digest: a monthly newsletter of the National Federation of the Blind of Pennsylvania! During the first few days of the month, we will start sending out our calendar of events. These events will be within the National Federation of the Blind of Pennsylvania as well as any pertinent information from the National Federation of the Blind and the Pennsylvania blind community. If you or anyone you know have any upcoming events or information that can pertain to the blind community in Pennsylvania, please send them to Stacie Leap at stacie.leap@gmail.com by the 29th of the month so it can be added to our calendar for the following month. For those using screen readers, you can use your heading navigations to skip around the email. A Message from our Affiliate President March 1st, 2023 Hello Everyone, Happy March, Spring will be here soon and we will all feel better about getting out and about! There are several Outreaches and Conferences coming up in the next few months and I hope to see many of you there. Please visit our Calendar of Events for more information. - Lynn Heitz, NFB of PA State Affiliate President Membership Dues for 2023 We are still collecting dues for 2023! Please contact your chapter and divisions for membership dues as each chapter and division has different amounts. Google Calendar Links The National Federation of the Blind of Pennsylvania also has a Google Calendar that can be viewed either through the web or subscribed to your calendar apps. You can view the calendar without subscribing to it and view it on your web browser by clicking the following link: https://calendar.google.com/calendar/embed?src=7jgal0nrodbmg61a8aar0o3i2g%40group.calendar.google.com&ctz=America%2FNew_York However, if you wish to subscribe to the calendar and get the events on your calendar apps, please click the following link and go through the steps to subscribe: https://calendar.google.com/calendar/ical/7jgal0nrodbmg61a8aar0o3i2g%40group.calendar.google.com/public/basic.ics Member Spotlight” Denice Brown Each month, we will highlight someone within our affiliate. The goal is to allow other members to learn about other members within the affiliate. We hope you enjoy this little spotlight! Denice Brown serves within the National Federation of the Blind in many capacities. She serves as the President of the Greater Philadelphia Chapter going on 20 years this year. She also is one of the Board Directors for our amazing affiliate. She was recently elected to the role of Treasurer of the National Association of Blind Black Leaders and has been on the Scholarship Committee for several years. She volunteers her time teaching iPhone skills at Liberty Resources and is a proud sister of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated. She does so much more than we might not even be aware of. While her schedule might be tight, she finds time to attend jazz concerts, travel across the country, and hang out with her mother. If you ever get a chance to meet her in person, do not hesitate to say “Hi”. Calendar of Events The following events are also on our Google calendar with the Zoom information. If anyone within a chapter, division, or group see any errors or misinformation, please contact Stacie Leap at stacie.leap@gmail.com or text her at 215-776-6741. The below information is correct as of the first week of the month. The information is most up-to-date on the Google Calendar so please check back periodically to ensure the right information. Jigsaw Chapter monthly Meeting a monthly meeting for those does not have a local chapter in their geographical area. This is our at-large chapter. Saturday, March 3, 2023 at 10AM Pennsylvania Association of Blind Merchants (PABM) Monthly Meeting a monthly meeting for those who are or wish to be involved with the Business Enterprise Program, entrepreneurship and their supporters. Wednesday, March 8, 2023 at 6PM Greater Berks Chapter Monthly Meeting A monthly meeting for those who live in the Greater Bucks County of Pennsylvania Friday, March 10, 2023 at 10AM Leadership Seminar 2023 Selected individuals will meet in State College, PA for the annual Leadership Seminar. For more information, please contact our State Affiliate President at president@nfbofpa.org Friday, March 10, 2023 – Sunday, March 12, 2023 in State College, PA State Board Meeting This meeting is held quarterly. The PA State Affiliate Board convenes to discuss matters relating to the National Federation of the Blind of Pennsylvania. Typically, this meeting is held virtually but for this month, we will convene in-person at the Leadership Seminar. Saturday, March 11, 2023 at 1:45PM at State College, PA Keystone Chapter Monthly Meeting a monthly meeting for those who live in the Greater Philadelphia area. This is one of two local chapters in the Greater Philadelphia area. The other chapter is the Greater Philadelphia Chapter. There will be no March 2023 meeting due to the Leadership Seminar that is happening at the same time. The Chapter will reconvene in April 2023. Deaf Blind Division Monthly Meeting a monthly meeting for those who consider themselves to be Deaf Blind and their supporters. Monday, March 13, 2023 at 6PM Pennsylvania Organization of Parents of Blind Children (PAOPBC) Monthly Meeting a monthly meeting for parents of blind children and their supporters Tuesday, March 14, 2023 at 11AM Pittsburgh Chapter Monthly Meeting A monthly meeting for those who live in the Greater Pittsburgh area. Wednesday, March 15, 2023 at 6PM Clusive Workshop We have invited the team at Clusive to come and talk about their program and services. Thursday, March 16, 2023 at 11AM Capital Area Chapter Monthly Meeting a monthly meeting for those who live in the Greater Harrisburg area. Saturday, March 18, 2023 at 10AM Erie County Chapter Meeting a monthly meeting for those who live in Erie County Pennsylvania. Saturday, March 18, 2023 at 2PM Blind Parents Group Monthly Meeting a monthly meeting for blind parents, grandparents, and their supporters Saturday, March 18, 2023 at 7PM Blind Seniors Group a monthly meeting for those who are seniors or almost seniors as well as their supporters. Wednesday, March 22, 2023 at 7:30PM Brandywine Valley Chapter Monthly Meeting a monthly meeting for those who live in the Brandywine Valley. Saturday, March 25, 2023 at 10AM Greater Philadelphia Chapter Monthly Meeting a monthly meeting for those who live in the Greater Philadelphia area. This is one of two local chapters in the Greater Philadelphia area. The other chapter is the Keystone Chapter. Saturday, March 25, 2023 at 10AM Pennsylvania Association of Guide Dog Users (PAGDU) a monthly meeting for those who have or are considering getting a guide dog as well as their supporters. Saturday, March 25, 2023 at 4pm Pennsylvania Association of Blind Students (PABS) Monthly Meeting a monthly meeting for blind students of all ages and their supporters. Monday, March 27, 2023 at 7PM White Canes Connect Podcast Did you know that the National Federation of the Blind of Pennsylvania has a podcast? It is hosted by members David Goldstein and Lisa Bryant. It features interviews with our PA members as well as interviews and resources for the blind community. You can listen to it wherever you listen to podcasts. Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, IHeartRadio, and on Twitter @PABlindPodcast. Contact White Canes Connect at whitecanesconnect@gmail.com if you have any show ideas or wish to be on the podcast. National Convention 2023 Registration is now open for the 2023 National Convention. Tickets are $25 and banquet tickets are $70. The convention will take place in Houston, Texas from July 1-6, 2023. Hotel information and registration links are at www.nfb.org/convention Special Shout-Outs! Birthday Wishes The National Federation of the Blind of Pennsylvania would like to wish all those who were born in March a very happy birthday! Congratulations to Dexter Cooper on his award! Congratulations to Greater Philadelphia's member Dexter Cooper for his upcoming award sponsored by the Men of Jericho within his Masonic organization. He will be presented with his award on Saturday, March 11th at 12PM During a luncheon. Here is the information, if you are able to attend. The tickets are $50. It will occur at: Saint Nicholas Banquet Hall 817 N. 7th Street Philadelphia., Pa 19123 There are also opportunities to place an ad in the booklet. The prices are $20 for a half page, and $30 for a full page. For ads you can contact Kelly R. Myers at 610-714-1103, or krmpublishing@yahoo.com Payments can be sent through Cash App at: $ernball For further information and to congratulate Dexter, you can call him at: 267-584-3714 Congratulations to Stacie Leap on Anvaya Feats’ featured video! Stacie Leap was featured by Anvaya Feats for her work in accessibility testing and advocacy for the organization. Please check out the YouTube video at the following link: https://youtu.be/v0FWX4D27ms Our Condolences to Emily Gindlesperger and Angelina Angelcyk We regret to inform our Affiliate family that Emily Gindlesperger lost her mother earlier this week. Please keep Emily and her daughter, Angelina Angelcyk, in your thoughts and prayers. You may contact Emily at vp2@nfbp.org Fundraisers Community Service Division Double Good Popcorn Fundraiser Members of the Community Service Division has opened up Double Good popcorn stores throughout the country to raise fund for the division. Previous funds raised were used to host service projects at the NFB National Convention, provide financial assistance to first-time national convention attendees, and many more! Please consider buying this delicious popcorn in a variety of flavors! It comes in a variety of flavors and shipped directly to your house! From flavors like: Butter Believe It, Sergeant Salt & Pepper, Caramel DM, Sweety You Salty, and much more, you definitely cannot go wrong! It is only for four days so please do not wait but order yours starting March 3, 2023! It will be over on March 6, 2023 at 12PM ET! You can purchase the popcorn with Stacie Leap’s popcorn store link which is https://popup.doublegood.com/s/qm57o5h1 NFB of PA April Raffle The NFB of PA is selling $5 tickets for their April 2023 Raffle. Participants will choose a 3-digit number to play during the entire month of April 2023. Each day, a winner is chosen to receive a monetary prize. If your number is selected from Sunday to Friday, you will receive $50. If your number is selected on a Saturday, you will receive $100. Once a winner is selected for the day, their number is thrown back into the pot so a person has 30 chances to win during the entire month of April! Please send all payments to NFB of PA State Treasurer Brian Mackey by March 27, 2023. Each chapter treasurer has some raffle tickets in their possession to sell so please contact your chapter treasurer for more details. If you are not a part of a chapter, such as a family member, friend, co-worker, acquaintance, or supporter of any kind and wish to purchase tickets, please contact Jim Antonacci at jjantonacci@verizon.net PAOPBC Chocolate Fundraiser The Pennsylvania Organization of Parents of Blind Children is participating once again with Sarris Chocolate to do some fundraising! 25% of all sales goes back into the division. This is to allow for scholarships and financial assistance that we can give back to the parents who have blind or visually impaired children. Please consider buying some chocolate for loved ones during Valentine's Day! Give someone the gift of chocolate for St. Patrick's Day! Buy some to show appreciation to family and friends during Easter, all occasions and holidays in between! This is the Spring collection and will run from now until April 2, 2023 This is to ensure that your chocolate gets to you by Easter if you wish to eat it then but you can always buy some now and more later. :) This is the perfect gift for yourself or someone in your life! Our Group code is 10-0316. You can also access the following link to get to the website and support our division: https://www.sarriscandiesfundraising.com/Group.aspx?id=10-0316 Blind Parents Group T-Shirts Fundraiser The Blind Parents Group still have some t-shirts left over from our fundraising efforts at the state convention. The t-shirts come in either black with white letterings or white with black letterings. Both shirts say “I Support #BlindParents” with the NFB of PA Logo and “Blind Parents Group” at the bottom. Funds raised will start a scholarship funds to assist blind or visually impaired parents and their family through financial life hardships. To purchase a t-shirt, please contact Stacie Leap at stacie.leap@gmail.com SABE THE DATE: Greater Philadelphia Double Good Popcorn Fundraiser Pop, pop, pop it up! The Greater Philadelphia Chapter will be having their Double Good popcorn fundraiser in April 2023. Look out in future emails on how to support! Other External Events These events are not hosted or sponsored by the NFB or the NFB of PA. However, we think these might be good resources for those living in Pennsylvania. If you have any events that you wish to be in our monthly digest, please email Stacie Leap at stacie.leap@gmail.com OVR State Board of Vocational Rehabilitation Quarterly Meeting Thursday, March 2, 2023 Start time: 10 a.m. End time: 3 p.m. Break: noon – 1 p.m. This meeting will be hybrid, with the in-person portion held at the Best Western Premier in Harrisburg (800 E. Park Dr., Harrisburg, Pa), and the virtual portion held via Zoom. The public is invited to attend in person or connect to this meeting using the following information: You are invited to a Zoom webinar. When: March 2, 2023, 10 a.m. Eastern Time (US and Canada) Topic: PA State Board of Vocational Rehabilitation Quarterly Meeting Please click the following link to join the webinar: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85656724729?pwd=SktvQnZvaEJPcnBBMTZFWE81cy9TZz09#success Passcode: 210559 Or One tap mobile: US: +19292056099,,85656724729#,,,,*210559# or +13017158592,,85656724729#,,,,*210559# Or Telephone: Dial (for higher quality, dial a number based on your current location): US: 1-929-205-6099 or 1-301-715-8592 or 1-305-224-1968 or 1-309-205-3325 or 1-312-626-6799 or 1-646-931-3860 or 1-669-444-9171 or 1-669-900-6833 or 1-689-278-1000 or 1-719-359-4580 or 1-253-205-0468 or 1-253-215-8782 or 1-346-248-7799 or 1-360-209-5623 or 1-386-347-5053 or 1-507-473-4847 or 1-564-217-2000 Webinar ID: 856 5672 4729 Passcode: 210559 For more information, please visit their website at https://www.dli.pa.gov/Individuals/Disability-Services/Board-and-Committee-Info/Pages/PA-State-Board-of-Vocational-Rehabilitation.aspx SEPTA Advisory Council Meeting Postponed The Southeastern Pennsylvania Transit Authority typically holds monthly advisory council meetings to the public; however, meetings are postponed until further noticed. Please see the letter sent to the Advisory Council and public: Good afternoon, SAC members and general public, I regret to inform you that the February 9, 2023, SAC meeting is canceled. SEPTA must complete an internal investigation regarding the conduction of SAC meetings. SAC meetings will resume upon SAC chairs and SEPTA coming to a resolution on their internal issues. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause. Sincerely, The SAC chairs Liberty Resources’ Blind/Low Vision Support Group Our members Karen Rose and Simone Cooper partner up with Liberty Resources to hold weekly virtual support group at Liberty Resources. The aim is to share resources and provide support to those experiencing blindness or low vision. Meetings are weekly on Tuesdays from 1pm to 2pm ET via Zoom. You do not need to live in Philadelphia to attend these meetings, this is open to all in Pennsylvania! For more information or to sign-up, please email Latoya Maddox at LatoyaMaddox@libertyresources.org Vision Thru Art Vision Thru Art is a weekly sculpture class for blind and visually-impaired artists that has been running at Allens Lane Art Center for more than 30 years. Our dedicated faculty, staff and volunteers help the students express their inner vision through a variety of media including clay, wood, mosaic, stone and other mixed materials. The students are encouraged to work at their own pace while enjoying the easy-going social atmosphere of the class. In 2014, Allens Lane Art Center made the class completely free for all the students including free art supplies each year. Location: The Fluhr Studio - (downstairs back studio accessible by rear entrance). Many of the students use Para-transit to get to the class. Service dogs are of course welcome. Day/Time: Wednesday, 10:30 am – 12:30pm and Friday 10:30 am – 12:30pm. Fees: There are no fees for this class. Registration: Contact by phone (215-248-0546) or by https://allenslane.org/vision-thru-art/ Eye See You I love U Eye See You I love U is hosting numerous fundraisers coming up. You can view their events and get more information on their website at https://eyeseeyouiloveu.org/ On February 20th they will be hosting their family fun night at Chuck E Cheese that is open to parents and children of all abilities. They will also be holding their first Walk A thon in June. On June 10th from 9 AM to 4 PM, individuals can come to Hempfield Park and participate in our Eye Will Walk With You Walk A Thon to raise awareness for Optic Nerve Hypoplasia and children with no vision and low vision. The registration link is below. You can use code EYESEEYOU until April 20th for 15% off of registration. https://www.eventbrite.com/e/eye-will-walk-with-you-2023-tickets 499094815027?aff=ebdsoporgprofile Women Healed For A Purpose 2023 Conference! Our member Lyvette Byrd is hosting her 2nd Annual Women Healed For a Purpose Conference under her business, For The Byrds Consulting, LLC. The mission of the conference is to equip and restore the community through a faith-based initiative that we hope will strengthen women holistically; mind, body, and spirit. We are women Living Interdependently in support of Family, Friends, and our Fellow neighbors to Educate and Empower our community. The event will be on Saturday, October 28, 2023. More details about the event will come at a later date! NFB Pledge I pledge to participate actively in the effort of the National Federation of the Blind; to achieve equality, opportunity, and security for the blind; to support the policies and programs of the Federation; and to abide by its constitution. NFB Message The National Federation of the Blind knows that blindness is not the characteristic that defines you or your future. Every day we raise the expectations of blind people, because low expectations create obstacles between blind people and our dreams.
