Fun for You and $5 for AFB VisionAware!
Enjoy today's bestsellers in easier-to-read large print by subscribing to Reader's Digest Select Editions Large Type and Reader's Digest Partners for Sight Foundation will donate $5 to AFB in support of VisionAware, a free, easy-to-use informational website for adults with vision loss, their families, caregivers, healthcare providers, and social service professionals.
For the low price of only $20.00, get a whole year of exciting reading, five volumes in all. Each volume features up to two edited best-selling books.
Order Select Editions Large Type today, and remember, large print books make great gifts for your family and friends!
Time is Running Out! Register Now For the AFB Leadership Conference
Registration is now open for the 2013 AFB Leadership Conference and Illinois AER Annual Meeting. Visit the conference website to register, read the meeting agenda, and reserve your hotel room at the special group rate. Join experts and colleagues for intensive pre-conference sessions on April 18 and full-conference sessions on April 19 and 20.
Topics include:
- Leadership
- Technology
- Education
- Rehabilitation
- Research
American Foundation for the Blind (AFB) Scholarship Program 2013
AFB administers seven post-secondary education scholarships for up to 11 deserving students who are legally blind. The following is a list of scholarships offered:
Delta Gamma Memorial Scholarship: One scholarship of $1,000
- Undergraduate or graduate studying in the field of rehabilitation and/or education of persons who are blind or visually impaired
Ferdinand Torres Scholarship: One scholarship of $3,500
- Undergraduate or graduate studying in any full-time program in any field
Gladys C. Anderson Memorial Scholarship: One scholarship of $1,000
- Undergraduate or graduate studying in the field of classical or religious music
- Applicant must be female
Karen D. Carsel Memorial Scholarship: One scholarship of $500
- Graduate studying in any full-time program in any field
Paul W. Ruckes Scholarship: One scholarship of $1,000
- Undergraduate or graduate studying in field of engineering or in computer, physical, or life sciences
R. L. Gillette Scholarship: Two scholarships of $1,000 each
- Undergraduate studying in the field of literature or music
- Applicant must be female
Rudolph Dillman Memorial Scholarship: Four scholarships of $2,500 each
- Undergraduate or graduate studying in the field of rehabilitation and/or education of persons who are blind or visually impaired
Visit the AFB 2013 Scholarships Application page for further information and to fill out the application form.
Contact: Tara Annis
Phone: (800) 232-5152
E-mail: tannis@afb.net
Service Dogs to Receive Free Sight-Saving Eye Exams Throughout the US, Canada, and Puerto Rico
WHO: American College of Veterinary Ophthalmologists (ACVO)
WHAT: The 6th Annual ACVO/Merial National Service Dog Eye Exam Event provides free eye exams to thousands of service animals from board-certified veterinary ophthalmologists.
WHEN: Register online between April 1 and April 30, 2013. Exams occur throughout the month of May 2013.
WHERE: Participating veterinary ophthalmologists throughout the US, Canada, and Puerto Rico.
WHY: Guide dogs, handicapped assistance dogs, detection dogs, and other service animals, (including horses), serve the public. So, the American College of Veterinary Ophthalmologists (ACVO) is launching the 6th annual ACVO/Merial National Service Dog Eye Exam Event. More than 250 board-certified veterinary ophthalmologists throughout the U.S., as well as Canada and Puerto Rico will provide free sight-saving eye exams to thousands of service animals. Since the program launched in 2008, nearly 16,000 service animals have been examined.
QUALIFICATIONS: To qualify, service animals must be active "working animals" that were certified by a formal training program or organization or currently enrolled in a formal training program. Additional registration details can be found.on the ACVO website.
Owners/agents for the animal(s) must FIRSTregister the animal via an online registration formbeginning April 1. Registration ends April 30. Once registered online, the owner/agent will receive a registration number and can then contact a participating veterinary ophthalmologist directly to schedule an appointment during the month of May. Appointment dates and times are filled on a first-come, first-served basis.
Perkins School for the Blind, Helen Keller National Center, and FableVision will Lead the iCanConnect Campaign
Many thousands of Americans who have combined loss of hearing and vision may soon connect with family, friends, and community thanks to the National Deaf-Blind Equipment Distribution Program. Mandated by the 21st Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act (CVAA), the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) established this new program to provide support for the local distribution of a wide array of accessible communications technology.
The FCC is also funding a national outreach campaign to educate the public about this new program. The iCanConnect campaign will be conducted jointly by Perkins School for the Blind in Watertown, MA, the Helen Keller National Center in New York City, NY, and FableVision of Boston, MA. iCanConnect will seek to ensure that everyone knows about the free communications technology and training that is now available to low-income individuals with combined hearing and vision loss. From screen enlargement software and video phones to off-the-shelf products that are accessible or adaptable, this technology can vastly improve quality of life for this population.
iCanConnect seeks to increase awareness about the availability of communications technology for this underserved population, so people who are deaf-blind and have limited income can remain safe and healthy, hold jobs, manage their households, and contribute to the economy and the community.
Information about the new equipment distribution program is available online at the iCanConnect website or by phone at 800-825-4595. Additional information is available through the online FCC Encyclopedia.
"With the right technology, people with disabilities can link to information and ideas, be productive, and move ahead," said Steven Rothstein, President of Perkins. "Perkins' most famous student, Helen Keller, exemplified the potential of a person who is deaf-blind. We are proud to have a role in this transformational program."
The CVAA, championed in Washington, D.C. by Congressman Edward J. Markey of Massachusetts and Senator Mark Pryor of Arkansas, acknowledges that advances in technology can revolutionize lives. Nearly one million people in the United States have some combination of vision and hearing loss. People with combined loss of vision and hearing as defined by the Helen Keller National Center Act whose income does not exceed 400 percent of the Federal Poverty Guidelines are eligible to participate in the new program.
"The mission of the Helen Keller National Center is to enable each person who is deaf-blind to live and work in his or her community of choice," explains Executive Director Joe McNulty, adding, "This critical technology access program accelerates those efforts but only if people know about the resources. iCanConnect is poised to get the word out, coast to coast."
"FableVision's mission is to help ALL learners reach their full potential," said Paul Reynolds, CEO of FableVision Studios. "With this program we advance that mission, helping spread the word about equal access to tools that offer those with hearing and vision loss the transformational power of technology." Reynolds adds, "Now everyone is invited to the technology promise powering the human network."
