Vol. 40, No. 1
Summer 2010

A CALL FOR VOLUNTEERS

Approximately 1,500 blind and visually impaired people from all over the United States and some foreign countries will be attending the 49th Annual American Council of the Blind Conference and Convention which will be held at the Sheraton Phoenix Downtown Hotel from Thursday, July 8 through Sunday, July 18.

Sally Benjamin, the ACB Volunteer Coordinator, has estimated that we will need 20 to 25 volunteers every hour starting from seven in the morning to ten at night. That literally adds up to thousands of volunteers. Besides a fantastic exhibit area, there are over 350 meetings, workshops, seminars, tours, and social events scheduled for the conference.

Here are some of the things that you, your family, friends, and groups can do:

• Welcome people to Phoenix at the airport
• Act as ushers in general sessions
• Help people locate booths in the exhibit hall
• Read and complete forms
• Act as guides between meeting rooms
• Help with child care and youth activities

For more information or to register as an ACB Volunteer visit the website at www.acb.org, or contact Sally Benjamin at volunteer@acb.org or call her at 877-268-3664.

Thank you in advance for helping to accomplish this immense task.

... AND MORE VOLUNTEERS

In addition to airport, tour, and hotel volunteers, separate volunteers are needed for two other events.

Walk-A-Thon - This event is being held on Saturday, July 10. A bus will be leaving the hotel at 7:00 in the morning to arrive at Arizona Mills for the 8:00 walk. Volunteers are needed to walk and to guide the walkers, who are raising funds from sponsors. Volunteers are not required to donate money, just time. For more information, please contact Dan Dillon, Walk-A-Thon Chair at 615-874-1223.

Auction - Volunteers are also needed for the auction which will take place on Wednesday, July 14. These volunteers are needed to help carry items to the display room during the day, and to help monitor bidding during the evening at the actual auction, which starts at 7:00 p. m. and hopefully will end by midnight. This committee is seeking donation items that are new with a minimum worth of $25.00. Of course, collectibles, such as dolls, do not have to be new. Please contact: Brenda Dillon, ACB Auction Chair at 615-874-1223.

Of course all are welcome to attend the 49th Annual American Council of the Blind National conference and Convention. Registration will begin in mid-May. You can check out the website at www.acb.org.