Applications Being Accepted for Leader Dog Summer Experience Camp
Summer Experience Camp is a week of fun, friendship, and skill building. The program combines activities like ziplining and tandem biking with independence building exercises and things exclusively Leader Dog—GPS training and spending time with future Leader Dogs. The combination helps increase independent travel skills, interpersonal skills, and leadership skills. The free program is for boys and girls ages 16 and 17 who are legally blind. Leader Dog covers all costs including airfare to Michigan—and everyone receives a free HumanWare Victor Reader Trek GPS device. The 2020 camp dates are June 24–July 1. Applications are due by April 1, 2020. More information is available on the Summer Experience Camp website..
Braille Overlay Available for Amazon Basics Microwave and Amazon Smart Oven
Amazon will begin offering a free braille overlay sticker for both the new Amazon Smart Oven, and the AmazonBasics Microwave. This clear plastic overlay can be installed on top of the existing device keypad to mark key functions and locations for blind and customers with visual impairments. The abbreviated braille overlay will be available at no cost to existing and new customers. It's priced at $0.99 on Amazon.com, but a discount of the same amount will be applied at checkout. Additionally, customers can reach out to Amazon customer service to request a free overlay. Amazon Smart Oven Overlay; Amazon Basics Microwave Overlay..
US Department of Labor Seeks Innovative Ideas to Improve Employment Outcomes for Youth Receiving Supplemental Security Income
The US Department of Labor's Office of Disability Employment Policy (ODEP) announced a new competitive initiative to identify and evaluate potential solutions to improve employment outcomes for young adults ages 14 to 24 who apply for or receive Supplemental Security Income (SSI).
Through the initiative, ODEP is soliciting proposals from subject matter experts for innovative and evidence-based actions, including legislative, regulatory, and policy changes, that can increase labor force participation and economic success among this population. Mathematica Policy Research will administer the initiative through a $1.075 million contract with ODEP.
"Our goal is a workforce that engages all Americans," said Deputy Assistant Secretary of Labor for Disability Employment Policy Jennifer Sheehy. "This means that young people with disabilities may grow up with the expectation that they can work and have access to opportunities to gain skills and experience. We hope these proposals will increase an overall understanding about what works, and how we can ensure public policy better supports young adults on Supplemental Security Income in their effort to join the workforce and achieve self-sufficiency."
Applications must briefly describe proposed policy solutions, and are due by February 27, 2020. ODEP will announce successful applicants in April 2020, and will then select approximately 10 individuals or teams to receive stipends of up to $20,000 and technical assistance to expand their proposed ideas into detailed white papers. Chosen applicants' final white papers will be due in January 2021. ODEP will use the papers to inform the department, and share them with a broad audience of stakeholders at an upcoming conference in Washington, DC, and widely with local, state, and federal policymakers.
Applications for the San Francisco Lighthouse Holman Prize for Blind Ambition Due March 15.
Submissions are open for the 2020 Holman Prize for Blind Ambition, which awards up to $25,000 each to three blind people with a dream. Ever wonder how a Holman Prize idea goes from a 90-second YouTube pitch to being put into action? 2019 winner Mona Minkara traveled to six cities around the world and navigated the public transit independently. She’s documented it all in a video series called Planes, Trains and Canes. In the first episode, which includes audio description, watch her navigate three airports on her way from Boston to Johannesburg, South Africa.
Learn more about the Holman Prize and the application..
IrisVision and Samsung Announce Partnership to Bring Clinically Validated Vision Technologies to Over 200 Million Low Vision Patients Globally
Samsung Electronics, Co., ltd. and IrisVision today announced a strategic partnership to roll out IrisVision's technology worldwide. IrisVision's vision correction software platform utilizes the power of Samsung's Galaxy smartphones and XR devices and mobile AI platform to enable people with impaired vision to see clearly and live more independent lives. Launched in 2017, IrisVision received registration as an FDA Class I medical device that same year. Over the past two years IrisVision has run clinical trials with Johns Hopkins, Stanford and UPMC. The company continues to extend its proprietary vision correction science to address more than 16 common eye conditions, including macular degeneration, diabetic retinopathy, and retinitis pigmentosa. IrisVision already has thousands of users around the world and received a CES 2019 Innovation Award recognizing its technology and customer success. Within the partnership, IrisVision will continue to work with Samsung's R&D and alliance partnership teams to further expand the use of Samsung technologies, including 5G mobile phones, Bixby AI platform and XR headsets. Also, Samsung will help IrisVision scale connected healthcare for the visually impaired community.
"At Samsung, we aim to not only build great mobile solutions but also to give our key partners mobile technology platforms to develop and provide their own innovation. It is amazing to see what IrisVision is doing to enable the large and underserved low vision community to live more independently," remarked Edward Choi, Corporate Vice President of Global Strategic Alliances at Mobile Communications Division, Samsung Electronics. "We will help guide IrisVision on technology integration and market strategy to ultimately help every affected patient."
"Our vision science requires substantial computational power, quality optics, and a platform we can use to securely connect patients to providers and the digital world, all of which Samsung's mobile and XR devices provide today," explained IrisVision CEO and Co-founder Ammad Khan. "With this partnership, Samsung's technology and support, along with its global channels and partner network, will also enable the next generation of IrisVision products to diagnose and treat conditions remotely anywhere in the world."
