National Federation of the Blind

Tune into our March presidential release tonight at 8:00 p.m. Eastern. It will be streamed live on YouTube and on Zoom. Closed captions and Spanish will be provided on Zoom. This month President Riccobono will host a panel entitled “Leading with Love” with other Federation leaders to discuss the experience of being a leader in the organized blind movement. Your questions specifically about leadership within the Federation are welcome. Feel free to comment any other questions you may have.

In case you missed it, check out Donna Posont's feature on NBC Nightly News: https://buff.ly/9APSLbS Donna is the founder of an innovative program at the Environmental Interpretive Center at the University of Michigan-Dearborn that helps blind people of all ages learn about birding and explore nature. She received the Dr. Jacob Bolotin Award at our 2024 National Convention.

Tune in to NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt to watch one of our Dr. Jacob Bolotin Award winners, Donna Posont. Donna founded the Birding by Ear and Beyond program at the University of Michigan-Dearborn. This program helps blind people of all ages learn about birding and explore nature. Donna will be featured this evening on NBC Nightly News, which airs at 6:30 p.m., eastern.

"When we think about NFB Braille Enrichment for Literacy and Learning (BELL) Academy, we often think about the incredible impact it has on blind kids and their families. What is less talked about is the effect that NFB BELL has had on the blind mentors who volunteer," said Karen Anderson, our Education Programs Coordinator. "One NFB BELL volunteer told me that she didn’t know if she could really be a teacher. She enjoyed being with young kids, but she wasn’t entirely confident in her own skills to teach or to safely and effectively monitor kids nonvisually. Because of time she spent in one of our NFB BELL Academies, working with other confident blind adults, she learned how to monitor where kids were and what they were doing not only at the usual NFB BELL location but also on field trips out in the community. This newfound confidence led her to work with blind students as a paraprofessional." Read more in the March 2025 issue of the Braille Monitor: https://buff.ly/ibUoBXJ

If you are an emerging disability law attorney, student or advocate, we invite you to join the Jacobus tenBroek Disability Law Symposium, the leading disability law conference in the United States. At the National Federation of the Blind, we constantly seek to advance equal rights and equal access for all blind people, but we know that we cannot do this alone. The symposium brings nationally renowned disability rights advocates together for interactive workshops and in-depth plenary sessions about intersectional representation in the disability rights community. Register to attend in-person by this Friday, March 7: https://buff.ly/HMDHIgg

Please note that the NFB Independence Market will be closed on Monday and Tuesday, March 3-4, 2025, for our annual inventory count and restock. We will reopen on Wednesday, March 5, at 9:00 a.m. eastern time. We will maintain our normal business hours for the remainder of this week. Our hours are from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. eastern time. To place an order, please email us at?[email protected] or call 410-659-9314, extension 2216. You can review our online catalog at https://lnkd.in/exDFZbMe. We apologize for any inconvenience.

It's not too late to apply for our 2025 Midwest Student Seminar: "Beyond the Handshake: Networking in the Windy City," in Chicago from March 7 to March 9, hosted by our National Association of Blind Students division. Join us as we explore shared experiences with students from all over the region. It will be an engaging weekend packed with opportunities to challenge your perceptions and network with blind peers and mentors alike. You can expect a mix of interactive activities, thought-provoking conversations, and riveting presentations—with topics covering everything from securing accommodations to finding identity as a blind person. This journey promises to empower you to identify new ways of living the life you want. Regardless of where you are in your education, we hope you will join us for a weekend of growth and fun! Register today! The new deadline is this Friday, February 28: https://buff.ly/41lPFTE

Our NFB scholarship finalists are given the opportunity to attend our National Convention and network with other blind students, exchange information and ideas, and talk to hundreds of blind people who are successfully employed in many occupations and professions. "Our past winners often comment that the money was quickly spent, but the contacts they made and the information they gathered at the convention have continued to make their lives richer than they ever imagined." - Cayte Mendez, chairperson of the NFB scholarship committee Apply to our scholarship program today, the deadline is March 31 at midnight, eastern: https://buff.ly/3pYpCPH Read Cayte's experience as an NFB scholarship winner in the February issue of the Braille Monitor: https://buff.ly/3ETOGTl

Tune into our newest episode of the Nation’s Blind Podcast. Anil and Melissa are joined by blind chefs and instructors and a graduate of the Louisiana Center for the Blind. They discuss how they became successful in cooking and in preparing meals for over forty people: https://buff.ly/2WycxNF

Are you a teacher of blind students or are you studying to become one? Join Teachers of Tomorrow, an immersive, and free professional development program connecting teachers of blind students to the lived experiences of blind people. The program will equip the participants with knowledge of the skills and attitudes that can help blind students thrive in school and beyond. You will also have the opportunity to attend the 2026 Washington Seminar in Washington DC, and our 2026 National Convention in Austin, Texas. Register today: https://buff.ly/3TwFIiC