October 2008: Meet the Blind Month
Meet the Blind Month is a nationwide campaign to increase awareness of and support for the National Federation of the Blind. During the month of October, chapters throughout the country will conduct activities that spread our message to their local communities.
Affiliate conventions are an important part of our nationwide movement and generally feature information about issues, programs, and services affecting the blind at the state level; the election of state officers; deliberations on state and local policy matters; special exhibits of interest to members; opportunities to develop friendships and mentoring relationships; and more. Fall convention season is approaching, so here is a list of some of the upcoming scheduled conventions. For more information about state conventions, contact your affiliate.
Date(s) Affiliate City
September 5-7: West Virginia, Morgantown
September 12-14: Montana, Bozeman
September 12-14: Arizona, Phoenix
September 19-21: Iowa, Des Moines
September 19-21: North Carolina, Charlotte
September 26-28: Kentucky, Louisville
September 26-27: Arkansas, Jonesboro
September 27: New Hampshire, Concord
In the latest episode, Mark Riccobono sits down with Fred Schroeder to discuss the National Federation of the Blind's historic Braille literacy campaign. For further information, please visit www.Braille.org.
The most recent amendments to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) include provisions intended to ensure that blind elementary and high school students receive their textbooks at the same time as other students. These provisions are now fully in place, but there are indications that problems exist in putting instructional materials into the hands of blind children on time. Learn what the National Federation of the Blind is doing to make sure that the law is followed and that all blind children have their textbooks on time by visiting our Textbooks on Time page.
On August 27, the National Federation of the Blind (NFB) and Target announced that they have settled a class action lawsuit regarding access to the Target.com Web site by blind people. As part of the settlement, Target will establish a $6 million fund from which members of the California settlement class can make claims. In addition, the NFB will certify the Target Web site through its Nonvisual Accessibility Web Certification program once agreed upon improvements are completed in early 2009. For more information about the terms of the settlement, please visit http://www.nfbtargetlawsuit.com, read the official press release, or read the Associated Press article.