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The American Council of the Blind is the nation's leading membership organization of blind and visually impaired people. It was founded in 1961 and incorporated in the District of Columbia.

Members: The Council's membership numbers in the tens of thousands. The majority of its members belong to one or more of its 71 affiliated organizations. There are also members-at-large. Membership is not limited to blind or visually impaired individuals. There are many sighted members. Legal blindness is a requirement to serve on the ACB Board of Directors (with the exception of the Secretary and Treasurer positions).

Affiliates: ACB has 51 state and regional affiliates and 20 national special interest and professional affiliates. The state/regional groups meet statewide once or twice yearly and many of these organizations also have local chapters. Many of these local chapters meet monthly. The national special interest affiliates meet annually during the ACB national convention and many of these groups have state/metropolitan chapters.

Purposes: The Council strives to improve the well-being of all blind and visually impaired people by: serving as a representative national organization of blind people; elevating the social, economic and cultural levels of blind people; improving educational and rehabilitation facilities and opportunities; cooperating with the public and private institutions and organizations concerned with blind services; encouraging and assisting all blind persons to develop their abilities and conducting a public education program to promote greater understanding of blindness and the capabilities of blind people.

Publications: The Braille Forum is a free monthly national magazine with a readership of approximately 26,000. It is produced in braille, large print, cassette, and IBM-compatible computer disc and contains articles on employment, legislation, sports and leisure activities, new products and services, human interest and other information of interest to blind and visually impaired people. The Council produces a monthly half-hour radio information program, ACB Reports, for radio reading information services. It also distributes TV and radio public service announcements highlighting the capabilities of blind people.

Services: Countless numbers of blind and sighted people benefit from these and other ACB services:

• Toll-free information and referral on all aspects of blindness
• Scholarship assistance to blind/visually impaired post-secondary students
• Public education and awareness training
• Support to consumer advocates and legal assistance on matters relating to blindness
• Leadership and legislative training
• Consulting with industry regarding employment of blind and visually impaired individuals
• Governmental monitoring, consultation and advocacy including the "Washington Connection," a national legislative hotline
• Annual national convention

Issues: Some of the major issues in which the American Council of the Blind is or recently has been involved include:

• Advocating for improved education and rehabilitation services for blind children and adults
• Implementation and Enforcement of Americans with Disabilities Act of1990
• Advocating for improved health care for blind and visually impaired individuals
• Promotion of accreditation of agencies serving blind people
• Advocating for improved services to older blind Americans to enable them to live independently outside of costly institutions
• Litigation to preserve and expand employment of blind persons as fast- food service operators through the Randolph-Sheppard Act
• Encouraging the production and use of reading materials in accessible media including braille, recording and large print
• Reauthorization and expansion of the Targeted Jobs Tax Credit legislation which grants tax benefits to employers who hire persons with disabilities
• Training of airlines personnel on how to serve blind passengers, and implementation of Air Carriers Access Act

The following public service announcements are available for you to download.

Right click on the public service announcement that you want to save to download it to your computer.

Download Public Service Announcement - 30 Seconds

Download Public Service Announcement - 30 Seconds

Download Public Service Announcement - 30 Seconds

Download Public Service Announcement - 60 Seconds

Download ACB Public Service Announcement - 30 Seconds

Download ACB Public Service Announcement - 45 Seconds

Download ACB Public Service Announcement - 60 Seconds

Download Public Service Announcement 1, by Willard Scott

Download Public Service Announcement 2, by Willard Scott

Download Public Service Announcement 3, by Willard Scott

For additional information, please visit our ACB Membership Materials section, or, contact the ACB National Office at the following address: