National Federation of the Blind of Florida

Join the Florida Statewide Chapter this Sunday August 18th, from 8-9pm eastern for our monthly meeting. At this meeting we will be discussing all things state convention! We also will have a guess speaker from Tactile Training, Brandon Piane.

Background on Brandon :

With over a decade of experience working with individuals with disabilities, Brandon holds a Bachelor of Science in Exercise Science from the University of Delaware. Currently based in Philadelphia, PA, he began working with the blind and visually impaired (BVI) community about five years ago.

During the pandemic, Brandon gained firsthand insight into the unique challenges and limited resources faced by the BVI community. Motivated to address these gaps, he launched "Tactile Training," an email newsletter dedicated to providing described audio fitness content and covering all aspects of health and wellness tailored for the BVI community.

At the meeting, Brandon will discuss Tactile Training and is eager to learn from the community about where resources are most needed.

We can’t wait to see you there on zoom at the link below:

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The National Federation of the Blind of Florida is now accepting student scholarship applications for 2024 in recognition of their achievements and professional aspirations. Recipients will receive their scholarships at the 2024 Annual State convention scheduled for the weekend of Friday, October 11 through Sunday, October 13 in Jacksonville, Florida. Recipients of the scholarship will have their expenses covered by the Florida Affiliate to attend the State Convention: including travel to and from the convention, hotel room, a daily stipend, registration and banquet.



Qualified high school seniors and college students must complete the scholarship application form in MS word format, write a 500-word essay, provide two letters of recommendation, and submit their academic transcripts.



All documentation must be return to:

Denise Valkema, Chair

2nd Vice President

National Federation of the Blind of Florida

NFBF Scholarship Committee

Email: [email protected]

Telephone: (305) 972-8529



The National Federation of the Blind of Florida will be awarding three scholarships, each in the amount of $1,500 at the National Federation of the Blind of Florida annual convention banquet on Sunday evening, October 13, 2024.

Completed applications are due no later than September 13, 2024, at 11:59 p.m.



You can download the scholarship application, scholarship guideline, and scholarship checklist using the link below:

https://nfbflorida.org/scholarship-programs



Good luck!

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New link to the town hall

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Greetings Florida Federationistts,

We will be having our town hall meeting this evening at 7:00PM via Zoom.

Our 2024 State Convention in Jacksonville, Florida is just two months away and I decided to bring our membership together tonight so the affiliate board can provide necessary information as we finalize our arrangements for our convention.

The calling information is below and I urge all chapters and divisions board members present, members, Kenneth Jernigan scholarship winners, recipients of the Florida sponsorships, and perspective members to the blind movement to be present in order to obtain very important information regarding our convention.

Please ensure that this correspondence is widely distributed within the chapters and divisions membership. I would like to see a large contingency of our members together so they are actively participating in our affiliate as we experience during our national convention. Let’s keep the enthusiasm that we all shared during our national convention so we can make our 2024 state convention memorable.

Just a few topics that will be covers are as follows:

Online registration
National representative
Auction
Rooms for chapters / divisions .
Pledges from chapters / divisions
Student scholarships
Affiliate sponsorship for first timers only
2025 state convention
Washington Seminar


As mentioned, we will be having online registration on our NFB of Florida website and the affiliate board had the opportunity to test and register themselves. There will be other minor tweaks to ensure the registration process is efficient and seamlessly. I am expected to have the registration form online by mid-week when all bugs are worked out.

Like I stated above, the zoom calling information follows below for your convenience.

house rules:

All participants will be muted upon entry.
Each participant will be given the opportunity to ask one question.
Please raise your hand, once the floor is open, if you wish to ask a question (phone: press *6 to raise your hand; computer: Windows users press Alt plus Y and Mac users press Option plus Y; app: press the 'raise hand" button at the bottom of your screen or by selecting it on the screen after you have selected your name in the participants list)
The host or co-hosts will ask you to unmute before you can unmute yourself.
Note: Zoom has made some changes to our Zoom account in recent months. At this time, we have a waiting room enabled for all Zoom rooms. Please be patient while the host and co-hosts admit you to the Zoom room.

NFBFL President Hernandez is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.

Topic: NFBF Town Hall-2024 State Convention

Time: Sunday, Aug 11, 7 P.M. EDT

Join Zoom Meeting

https://nfb-org.zoom.us/j/97915017212

Meeting ID: 979 1501 7212

One tap mobile
+13052241968,,97915017212 # US
+16468769923,,97915017212 # US (New York)

Thanking you in advance for your participation.

Sincerely,

Jorge Hernandez, President

National Federation of the Blind of Florida
Board of Directors
www.nfbflorida.org
[email protected]

Homepage | National Federation of the Blind of Florida 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. You can live the life you want; blindness is not wh...

President Riccobono announced during board meeting that the 2025 convention will be in New Orleans, 2026 & 2027 conventions will be in Austin. TX. 2028 & 2029 in Chicago. IL.

Camille Tate, First Vice President and state legislative director, is speaking on a panel with two others at the legislative meeting during .

President Hernandez welcomes members at the membership committee meeting @ . First Vice President Camille Tate and Treasurer Sylvia Young share how their chapters grow and involve menbers.

President Hernandez welcomes first timers to Florida at Rookie Roundup @ .

This is a picture of student vice president Yassier Bohorquez, at Fort McHenry in Baltimore for the National Association of Blind Students leadership seminar. This is where Francis Scott Key witnessed a battle during the war of 1812, and where he found the inspiration to write the star spangled banner after seeing the US flag at the top of the fort after the conclusion of a battle against the british. During this battle, he was held captive by the british.
He is wearing a green Buc-ee's saint patric shirt with sweat pants and messy hair. He is standing at the top of a seawall. The Baltimore harbor is in the background.

Hey there, students and non-students!
Just a friendly reminder that the Florida Association of Blind Students  info session for their RS games and QC game night is this Friday at 7 PM on zoom!
At this session they will go over logistics for the big game day, and will have volunteers to assist in creating accounts.
Be there or be squared!

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Hey there, gaming enthusiasts!

Got that Friday night fever? Wishing for a crew to spice up your gaming
sessions? Well, buckle up because the Florida Association of Blind Students
(FABS) has got the ultimate game night planned just for you!

Mark your calendars for Friday, April 19th, 2024, at 8:00 PM EST, as we're
bringing the party straight to your screens via Zoom! Get ready to dive into
a whirlwind of fun with RS Games and QC Games. And guess what? EVERYONE is
invited, no student status required!

So, what's on the agenda? Get set for some adrenaline-pumping rounds of Uno
and Cards Against Humanity on RS Games, and brace yourselves for the
excitement of Uno and Farkle on QC Games. And hey, if you've got a game in
mind that you're itching to play, shout it out! We're all ears for new
suggestions.

Joining the fun is as easy as pie! Just pitch in $6.00 per person. Register
via the Google form , and
send your payment to our FABS treasurer, Meliora Hatcher, via PayPal
by Thursday,
April 18th, 2024. Plus, every cent goes towards sponsoring Florida students'
attendance at the NFB national convention in Orlando this July.

Not familiar with RS Games and QC Games? No sweat! Swing by our free info
session on Friday, April 12th, 2024, at 7:00 PM EST, where we'll guide you
through the ins and outs of these platforms. And for an extra helping hand,
check out the attached fact sheets for a crash course. Here is the zoom link
for this info session.

And hold onto your hats, because there's more excitement in store! Winners
will strut away with awesome prizes - it's not just about the glory, folks!

Got questions or just wanna shoot the breeze? Drop a line to our FABS
secretary, Elijah Grant, at [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]).

We're counting down the seconds to game night, and we can't wait to see your
competitive spirits light up the scream!
Game on!

Join our Cloud HD Video Meeting Zoom is the leader in modern enterprise video communications, with an easy, reliable cloud platform for video and audio conferencing, chat, and webinars across mobile, desktop, and room systems. Zoom Rooms is the original software-based conference room solution used around the world in board, confer...

Check out the Blind can Film festival this Friday, April 5th in Tallahassee:
BlindCAN Film with the BEST (youtube.com)

Menus4ALL Accessible Restaurant Menus - Home Wherever you are and whenever you want The Menus4ALL iPhone app is the largest network of restaurant menus in one place and all of the menus are fully accessible.

Sharing our lived experiences with members of Congress is powerful. National Federation of the Blind of Florida members from the Northeast Florida area appreciated the opportunity to meet with Congressman Aaron Bean last month during Washington Seminar.

Photo description: Five members of the National Federation of the Blind of Florida affiliate stand with Congressman Aaron Bean. From left to right: Kaye Baker, Russ Davis, Denise Valkema, Congressman Bean, Adriann Keve, Sheila King.

This week, I met with the National Federation of the Blind Florida Chapter and learned what Congress can do to support equal opportunities for those who are visually impaired.

Photo 1: Kate, Sheila, Russ, Congressman John Rutherford, Kaye, and Adriann standing outside Congressman Rutherford’s office
Photo 2: Kate, Adriann, Sheila, Russ, Kate, and Katriona Rafferty posing outside the office of Congressman Waltz
Photo 3: Kate, Adriann, Sheila, Russ, Kate, and Katriona Rafferty posing outside the office of Congressman Waltz
Photo 3: Kate and Sheila petting Thor, the dog that belongs to the chief of staff for Congressman Michael Waltz
Photo 4: North team posing with Congressman Darren Soto outside his office. Pictured left to right: Kate, Camille, Congressman Soto, Russ, Sheila, Adriann

Photo 1: Selfie-style photo of the North and West teams. Pictured left to right: Kate, Doug, Russ, Stacey, Jose, and Z’Leah, with Adriann in the foreground taking the selfie
Photo 2: Candid shot of Russ, Jose, Z’Leah, and Doug hard at work in the halls of Rayburn

FloridaTeachers of Tomorrow Kate and Stacey

during the reception!
Photo 1:
Congressman John Rutherford speaking at the reception and President Riccobono is reading Braille off to the side.
Photo 2: Congresswoman Kat Cammack speaking at the reception
Photo 3: Representative Kat Cammack and Russ Davis talking at the reception.

North and West team and
others at Washington seminar 2024.
Photo 1: Jose with the Capitol building visible in the background
Photo 2: Duug,Jose and Z'Leah at Casters office
Photo 3: Group photo with the Capitol building in the background. Pictured left to right: Sheila, Denise, Jose, Russ, Z’Leah, Kaye
Photo 4: Group photo with Congressman Aaron Bean. Pictures left to right are Kaye, Russ, Constiuent Denise, Congressman Aaron Bean, Constiuent Adriann, Sheila
Photo 5: Photo in Representative Kat Cammack’s office. From left to right: Kaye, Jose, Russ, Representative Cammack, Adriann, Denise, and Sheila. In this photo, Rep. Cammack is turned toward Jose and he is laughing.
Photo 6: Tekesha standing outside Rep, Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick’s office
Photo 7: The capital at night.

Florida East team 2024 Washington seminar.
Photo 1: Picture with Congressman Frost: Camille, Karolyn, Tashara, and Frost.
Photo 2: Photo with Congressman Webster: Camile, Karolyn, Webster, Tashara, and Jeff.
Photo 3: Talking with Congressman Posey about the NFB Priorities: Karolyn, Camille, Posey, and Tashara.
Photo 4: Picture with Congressman Posey: Camile, Posey, Tashara, and Karolyn

Happy Holidays!!!
May your days be happy and bright💙

From our Florida fam to yours,
Happy Thanksgiving!!!!
We hope your day is filled with love and lots of food!!!🦃🦃🦃

Our NFBF Greater Jacksonville chapter shares about white cane awareness and abilities of individuals who are blind.

White Cane Awareness: A way to help blind individuals who use the tool for safe movement and ind... Mayor Donna Deegan was at City Hall Thursday to help bring awareness to White Cane Awareness Day, which is typically celebrated on Oct. 15 and is designed to...

Congratulations to our student division on their new board!
Z'Leah Liburd- President
Jose Yassir Bohorquez- Vice President
Elijah Grant- Secretary
Meli Hatcher- Treasurer
Thomas Dukeman- Board number 1
PD. The picture shows five people posing for a group photo in a room with a carpeted floor and a wallpapered wall. There is a painting on the wall behind them and a ceiling with lights and speakers. From left to right:

1. A woman with long brown hair, wearing glasses, a floral top, and a beige cardigan. She is smiling.

2. A man with short black hair, wearing a navy blue t-shirt. He is smiling.

3. A man with curly black hair and a beard, wearing a navy blue t-shirt with the text "LEGALLY BLIND" in white. He is smiling.

4. A woman with long braided hair, wearing a coral-colored top and black pants. She is smiling.

5. A man with short black hair and glasses, wearing a red t-shirt with white text and graphics, and blue jeans. He is holding a white cane and is smiling.

Members of the NFBfF Greater Jacksonville Chapter met at city hall to hear Mayor Donna Deegan read a white cane proclamation and others shared what the white cane means to them.

Kai Edu and Valerie Nunez, NFBF student Scholarship recipients at .