Vol. 37, No. 4
December 2007

NEWS YOU MAY USE

The California School for the Blind in Fremont, CA is again selling Braille fortune cookies for the holidays  The Lucky Touch Braille Fortune Cookie Company, a student operated business, offers a variety of fortune cookies with the ‘fortune’ written in Braille or large print.  Orders can be customized for special occasions upon request.  You can find ordering information at http://www.csb-cde.ca.gov/, or call 510-794-3800.

Prevent Blindness America/Arizona Division and Prevent Blindness America are hosting the third annual Eyes on Capitol Hill event February 13-14, 2008 in Washington, D.C.  The event provides vision advocates an opportunity to meet with Congressional leaders and policymakers who are often unaware of how much can be done for the many Americans who have, or are at risk for, vision loss.  There are a limited number of scholarships available for individuals with the most compelling stories.  Apply on-line or download a large print application at www.preventblindness.net/EOCH.

The Large Print Ministry is offering two CD’s that can help  blind and visually impaired individuals.  Prayers & Psalms for Today includes a variety of prayers and the entire Book of Psalms from the Episcopal Book of Common Prayer.  The large-print Book of Common Prayer CD includes the entire Book of Common Prayer of the Episcopal Church, USA.  It is mainly in 18-point type.  To order one CD send a self-addressed, stamped 6x9 envelope with four 41 cent stamps attached to Ann Dahlen, 1900 6th Ave. Apt. 513, Rock Island, IL 61201. Please indicate which CD you would like.  Additional postage will be needed when ordering more than one CD.  A donation to help cover costs would be appreciated. Make checks payable to Ann Dahlen.

The National Federation of the Blind will give 30 college scholarships to the nation's top blind students in its 2008 NFB Scholarship Program during their annual convention next year.  These awards include the $12,000 Kenneth Jernigan Scholarship; 1 Scholarship for $10,000; 2 Scholarships for $7,000 each; 4 Scholarships for $5,000 each; and 22 Scholarships for $3,000 each.  Each winner will be brought to the NFB annual convention next July at Federation expense and will receive other useful gifts.  If you are an eligible student, please go to http://www.nfb.org/scholarships for more information and the online application form.

Federal Student Aid, an office of the U. S. Department of Education, is offering Funding Education Beyond High School: Audio Highlights to blind and visually impaired students enrolling in or currently enrolled in education beyond high school.  Audio Highlights provides information about federal and nonfederal sources of aid for those seeking post-secondary education.  You can listen to Audio Highlights on-line at www.FederalStudentAid.ed.gov/audio or order it on compact disc by calling 1-800-433-3243.

EnjoyReading is an online reading discussion group for the blind and visually impaired.  The group discusses reading experiences with other blind and visually impaired users and shares new sources for accessible materials.  To join the group, send email to EnjoyReadingsubscribe@yahoogroups.com.

Did you know that you can list your upcoming disability event at www.azdisabilitypost.org?

Thanks to a $32 million grant from the U. S. Department of Education, Bookshare.org is making their collection of accessible electronic textbooks, educational materials, and software for reading the books available free to schools and students with qualifying print disabilities.  They plan to add 100,000 new educational books and materials to their existing collection of over 34,000 titles.  To learn more about Bookshare, visit www.bookshare.org.

New parent-child activity materials are now available for downloading from the Washington Learning Systems website.  These materials include twenty home and community activities for adults and children from birth to three years that encourage early language and literacy development.  They are appropriate for children with disabilities as well as children who are developing typically. To download the learning materials go to www.walearning.com.