Chapter Notes for NFB of CT

Stamford Area Chapter
The Stamford Area Chapter meets from September to June On the second Saturday of the month in the library room of Stamford Hospital. About twelve to fifteen members attend our meetings. We held a luncheon at a local restaurant and we will have another this April. The chapter has two book wrapping events at Borders Books in Stamford to help with fund raising. Some of our members go to speak at the local schools about Braille.

Southern Connecticut Chapter
2008 started off with our chapter hosting the State Board Meeting of the NFB of CT. Our chapter meets the third Saturday of the month. We've had several guest speakers throughout the year. We had a gentleman from CRIS radio speak in February, and in March a representative from the One Stop Career Center was kind enough to speak to us.

In May our chapter was invited to a bowling tournament against the Central Connecticut Chapter. During the spring we had a table at Stop & Shop, and on Flag Day we were at Wal-Mart handing out literature. In July our chapter picnic was held at Osborne Dale Park in Derby. We also attended an event in Bridgeport that was focused on Education and Children to hand out more information on the NFB, and of course we attended the Milford Oyster Festival in August.

Our chapter meetings began again in September after taking the summer off. We had another fund raising event in October to talk about White Cane Safety at Stop and Shop and Wal-Mart in Milford.
We went to a great Concert at Fairfield University where we listened and met Raul Midon, who is a blind singer and guitarist.

The Southern Connecticut Chapter wrapped up our year of events with our annual Christmas party at Lassie's located in Milford. Melissa entertained us with her singing and keyboard, and Gigi added her singing voice, too.

Central Connecticut Chapter
The Central Connecticut Chapter was very busy last year. Several of us got out our green hats and clothes and joined the Hartford Chapter to march in Hartford's St. Patrick's Day Parade.

We went bowling as a chapter to warm up for a bowling challenge with the Southern Connecticut Chapter. In May we met that chapter in Wallingford for the big game! There was a huge turnout and the people running the bowling alley could not have been nicer. At the end of the day the Central Connecticut Chapter was victorious!

Many members of our chapter attended the National Convention in Dallas in July. We all marched the 5K wearing our cowboy hats. My guide dog Plaza even wore a hat while listening to President Maurer's speech. One of our members, Noreen Grice received an award for her tactile books. Noreen also had a "Star Party" on the lawn of the hotel. It was amazing! There were several extremely powerful telescopes showing the planets. We were able to view Jupiter and Saturn. Noreen had tactile sheets of the planets for those who had no vision so they could see what we saw.

We attended two audio-described plays at the Hartford Stage. We saw "The Milk Truck doesn't Stop Here Anymore" starring Olivia Dukakis and "A Christmas Carol". They were awesome!

In August the chapter attended a New Britain Rock Cat's baseball game.

Several members went to the Mystic Aquarium in September. It was a beautiful day to walk around. There was a caged area where you could walk around with a seed stick to feed parakeets, cockatoos and other domestic birds. They would land on your arm or shoulder and eat the seed. There also was a Sea Lion Show and Beluga Whales. Lots of fun!

In October we traveled to Lyman Orchards for the second year. We had planned to go through the corn maze but we did not realize it was Columbus Day Weekend so it was too crowded to get in the maze. We did enjoy eating at the picnic tables and purchasing some delicious apple cider doughnuts.

Danbury Chapter
The Danbury chapter is maintaining a hold pattern of sorts--meeting every other month without a board in place, yet people contributing where needed so we can meet and enjoy each other's company.

We generally meet at the Olive Garden on the third Saturday of every other month for lunch. The Olive Garden is nice because it has a room for about a dozen people, which makes conversations and discussions easier.

In August, we held our annual picnic at the Moose Lodge on Lake Kenosia in Danbury. A couple of members from Stamford joined us for food, music and companionship. A special thanks goes to Annie Orr, who not only purchased all the food, but recruited helpers to assist with cooking and cleaning up.

For our annual Holiday party in December, we met at Jim Barbari's Restaurant. A few newcomers came, and here's to hoping they keep coming.

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Thanks President Obama!
The economic stimulus package signed into law by President Obama on February 17th includes an additional $500,000 in funding for BESB's Title I Vocational Rehabilitation grant, and an additional $427,900 for their Older Blind Program. This is a tremendous boost to the agency and and its consumers, and will likely mitigate the need for an Order of Selection for Federal Fiscal Year 2010 in Voc Rehab. It will also open many possibilities for services to Connecticut senior citizens who are legally blind.

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In February 2009 Allan Golabek, an NFB member from Bethel, traveled to Thailand for a month to receive advanced massage therapy lessons. While there, he contacted several training centers for the blind, and was shocked at how under-funded their blind services are. "People there can't afford canes or slates or Braille materials. At one center I visited, there was only one computer equipped with speech output."

Allan would like to collect material donations to send to the center in Thailand. Please give him a call at 203-743-9238 if you have old canes, slates and styluses you no longer use, used Braille books and magazines, Braille paper, etcetera.

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Oak Hill, also known as the Connecticut Institute for the Blind, will run its fourth annual "LEEP" (Low vision/blind Education Employment Program), during the summer of 2009. This year, the "LEEP" program will run from Sunday, July 19th to Saturday, July 25, 2009.

LEEP is a week long, 24/7 fully funded program for students with low vision or blindness. There is no cost to the student, however space is limited. All applicants must be 15 to 21 years old.

During LEEP, the students will live on a college campus with Oak Hill staff. Students will have the opportunity to experience many new and exciting challenges. Some of the program's objectives are to increase knowledge via the use of assistive technology, enhance daily living skills, gain exposure to college life, participate in recreational activities, learn job interviewing techniques and increase self advocacy skills. Students will obtain skills that will enable them to make a successful transition to adulthood.
Please contact Steven Famiglietti or Karin Agritelly for further information.
860-286-3105, or 860-286-3100
famigliettis@ciboakhill.org
agritellyk@ciboakhill.org

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