[Arizona-students] Meet the Blind Month

Thu Sep 22 02:58:26 CDT 2005

Dear Students,
    As many of you know, October is "Meet the Blind Month". Our NFBA affiliate and local chapters are planning activities to educate the local community about blindness during the month of October. We as a student division have nothing formal planned yet, but as you will see below, there is a lot that we can do, and it is not too late to do something! These suggestions were submitted by Joe Orozco, the membership chairman of NABS and the president of the Texas Association of Blind Students. I add the following notes before pasting his message:

    Our East Valley chapter is working on Item 1 (talking to elementary schools), and we are welcome to collaborate with them. If you know of a teacher in elementary school that you think might remember you, or if you'd like to return to your old school for a presentation, please contact your teacher/school and find out if there are classes which would be willing to include a blindness presentation. I have a feeling that we may have an advantage if we attended school recently enough for teachers to remember us.

    About Item 4: Two years ago, a few of our members prepared a meal for the Ronald McDonald House (hence the allusion to Arizona). I am open to doing that or something similar again if others are interested. We can also brainstorm other service activities, such as an event to support the Katrina relief effort.

    I will be working in the next few weeks both to get AABS registered on ASU's campus (I need to confirm our membership there first) and also to write an article for our campus newspaper about blindness, the NFB, and the AABS. I may be calling upon some of you for interviews and/or other assistance. Of course, volunteers in this area are greatly appreciated.

    So now, here are Joe's ideas. They are all wonderful, but we must decide as an organization which ideas to pursue, if any, and how. So, I urge you as members of the AABS (especially the board) to reply to this message and discuss these ideas with your fellow students on the list.

Arielle Silverman
President, Arizona Association of Blind Students

Student Division Suggestions for Meet the Blind Month

1. Contact local area elementary schools to conduct discussions on blindness skills. Bring Braille alphabet cards and hit on popular questions common to
the public. Maybe allow students to hold the cane and do a very miniature travel lesson with a few interested students.

2. If Delta Gamma is truly interested in working with the blind, this would be a good opportunity to introduce yourself to the local campus chapter. Inform
them of the group they would be working with, be clear on our philosophy and explore ways both your division and their sorority can work cooperatively
to bring public awareness and maybe even a fundraiser.

3. Conduct a public travel instruction for blind children and their families. Make a day session with discussions for one half and practical work for the
other. Your state affiliate can request Joe Cutler to administer such an activity if the proposal is submitted in time.

4. Take Arizona's approach and prepare a meal for a homeless shelter. Nothing extravagant, but a full meal with fellow blind students to cook, serve and
clean up.

5. Join forces with another campus organization to raise funds or related donations for the hurricane relief effort.

6. Register your division with the student organization counsel on your campus. Use your official status to recieve financial assistance from the school
as well as the opportunity to conduct your own fundraisers in high traffic areas. Make sure the bulk of activities are conducted by you and not your advisors.

7. October also celebrates White Cane Day. If your chapter has requested a proclamation from your mayor, consider submitting an article to your school newspapers,
or even better, to your local paper to provide a personal account of what the proclamation means to you.

8. Provide beverages or other refreshments during home coming activities. May require student organization registration, but then, you should attempt to
have this anyway if you have the necessary membership. Giving out things for free seems financially mad, but you might be surprised at the positive attention
these volunteers recieve for their generocity. Besides, it shows the blind are not always on the recieving end.

9. Host a walk-athon with proceeds benefiting a charity of your membership's choice. Tap into that charity's resources to see about having them providing
support in publicizing such an event.

10. Hold a bowling tournament to generate friendly competition and maybe even some donations. David Evans wrote an excellent post on the topic. See me off
list if interested in the details.

    Anyway, just a few suggestions on things to do with your fellow students.  Of course, you are welcomed to fix some of these or share some of your own.

     Regards,

     Joe Orozco, Membership Chair

"The best executive is the one who has sense enough to pick good men to do what he wants done, and self-restraint enough to keep from meddling with them
while they do it."--Theodore Roosevelt
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-------------- next part --------------
Dear Students,
    As many of you know, October is "Meet the Blind Month". Our NFBA affiliate and local chapters are planning activities to educate the local community about blindness during the month of October. We as a student division have nothing formal planned yet, but as you will see below, there is a lot that we can do, and it is not too late to do something! These suggestions were submitted by Joe Orozco, the membership chairman of NABS and the president of the Texas Association of Blind Students. I add the following notes before pasting his message:

    Our East Valley chapter is working on Item 1 (talking to elementary schools), and we are welcome to collaborate with them. If you know of a teacher in elementary school that you think might remember you, or if you'd like to return to your old school for a presentation, please contact your teacher/school and find out if there are classes which would be willing to include a blindness presentation. I have a feeling that we may have an advantage if we attended school recently enough for teachers to remember us.

    About Item 4: Two years ago, a few of our members prepared a meal for the Ronald McDonald House (hence the allusion to Arizona). I am open to doing that or something similar again if others are interested. We can also brainstorm other service activities, such as an event to support the Katrina relief effort.

    I will be working in the next few weeks both to get AABS registered on ASU's campus (I need to confirm our membership there first) and also to write an article for our campus newspaper about blindness, the NFB, and the AABS. I may be calling upon some of you for interviews and/or other assistance. Of course, volunteers in this area are greatly appreciated.

    So now, here are Joe's ideas. They are all wonderful, but we must decide as an organization which ideas to pursue, if any, and how. So, I urge you as members of the AABS (especially the board) to reply to this message and discuss these ideas with your fellow students on the list.

Arielle Silverman
President, Arizona Association of Blind Students

Student Division Suggestions for Meet the Blind Month