by Billie Jean Keith
The announcement of new products and services in this column should not be considered an endorsement by the American Council of the Blind, its staff or elected officials. Products and services are listed free of charge for the benefit of our readers. “The Braille Forum” cannot be responsible for the reliability of products and services mentioned.
To submit an item for “Here and There," send an e-mail message to billiejean@2keiths.com. You may call the ACB toll-free number, (800) 424-8666, and leave a message at extension 26. Please bear in mind that we need information two months ahead of actual publication dates.
Women & Disability
Are you a working woman with a disability? Are you interested in sharing your employment experiences? Are you interested in developing your own career? The Institute for Community Inclusion (ICI) is conducting a national study about the career advancement of women with disabilities. The goal is to understand the challenges you encounter in the work world and the strategies that help you attain your career goals. We are very interested in learning about your successes, strategies for overcoming obstacles and opportunities developed. The lessons you have already learned could be of tremendous help to others.
We have several projects including a national survey (National Survey of Workplace Experiences) and an Eastern Massachusetts training (Career Development and Networking Program). The training program includes small group training and support for women with disabilities. We offer a small stipend for participants.
ICI is currently talking with women interested in being involved. Participants need to be women with disabilities or chronic health issues who are at least 22 years of age and who have at least 6 months work experience in the last two years. Contact the “Women and Employment” Project by phone at (888) 244-5323 (toll-free voice), (617) 355-5128 (voice), (617) 355-6956 (TTY), or by e-mail, Jennifer.bose@tch.harvard.edu.
Social Security about to Collect
Do you have an outstanding loan from the government — perhaps a student loan? Or did you get more money than you’re entitled to from a federal agency? If you answered yes to either question and you receive Social Security benefits, Uncle Sam is ready to collect. Starting in March, the Department of the Treasury will send letters to Social Security beneficiaries who owe money to the government. If you receive this letter of warning, you have two months to make arrangements to pay the debt to the agency you owe. Otherwise, come May, Treasury will start deducting a maximum of 15 percent from your monthly benefit payment until you’re all paid up. This affects only those beneficiaries who receive $750 a month or more. We’ve got the information you’ll need, so please check it out at http://www.ssa.gov/enews/debtpayment.htm, or call your local SSA office.
Wanted: A Few Good Writers
An on-line community, Enablelink.com, specifically developed for people with visual impairments, their families, friends and colleagues, is seeking writers on various topics. Writers will receive a small stipend, their name in print and the opportunity to be a part of this unique on-line community. Potential contributors interested in writing should note the following subjects: travel, sports, lifestyle, romance, advocacy/disability rights, technology and fashion. If you are interested, please let us know. Work is available immediately! Contact editor@enablelink.com, and provide your name, area of interest and phone number. Send completed articles for consideration. Submissions may be sent to Enablelink.com Corporation, 700 Godwin Ave., Suite 110, Midland Park, NJ 07432.
2001: A Technology Odyssey
Hold the dates! August 3-5, 2001, in Pittsburgh, Pa. The American Foundation for the Blind (AFB) has joined with the Association for Education and Rehabilitation of the Blind and Visually Impaired (AER) to host a conference on assistive technology for people who are blind or visually impaired. The conference location is the Westin Hotel (formerly the DoubleTree Hotel) in Pittsburgh. This meeting will explore the future of access technology through lectures, presentations, and hands-on training using the newest access software and devices. Anyone involved in the blindness or low vision services field will benefit by attending this unique conference — users who want to improve skills, trainers who need to upgrade their teaching techniques, as well as those who may not want hands-on experience, but wish to learn more about the technology that now plays a critical role in the blindness field. Keynote speakers will be Richard Chandler, chairman and president of Freedom Scientific, Inc., and John Williams, assistive technology columnist for Business Week On-line.
To receive a registration packet, contact Mark Uslan, AFB co-chair, phone (212) 502-7638, fax (212) 502-7773, e-mail muslan@afb.net or contact Barbara McCarthy, AER co-chair, phone (804) 371-3661, e-mail mccartbn@dvh.state.va.us.
Help Blind Children in Sierra Leone
We have all heard ghastly news reports about atrocities against citizens in the West African nation of Sierra Leone. A registered non-profit group based in Dayton, Ohio, the Society for the Advancement of Culture and Welfare in Sierra Leone (SACSL), is seeking assistance for the children at the Milton Margai School for the Blind in Freetown. The school is home for 80 children who are blind or visually impaired. Many are abandoned or orphaned. SACSL has built a security fence and installed an alarm system around the school to provide a safe haven for these children. They helped the children establish a vegetable garden and donated musical instruments for the school’s band.
If you have items to donate, please send them to a volunteer for SACSL (address below). When enough items have been received to fill a sea container, it will be shipped to Sierra Leone (hopefully this August). The following items were identified by the school’s headmaster as being most needed. Articles do not have to be new, but should be serviceable. They include: tape recorders (battery-operated), Perkins Braillers, portable typewriters, musical instruments, braille books for ages 5-18 (the school has many Bibles but not many other reading materials), braille paper and other writing materials, tapes of kids’ songs (nursery rhymes and books), toothbrushes and paste, towels, sheets, pillowcases, tactile toys, and over-the-counter first aid items.
Articles can be sent free matter to David Brooks, 6419 Noranda Drive, Dayton, OH 45415, phone (937) 890-3039 (morning hours please), e-mail DBr9334567@aol.com.
Listserv for Blind Diabetics
For people who are blind or visually impaired and have diabetes, this list may be of interest. Topics include information on exercise, diet and overall changes in lifestyle. The list will provide support for people having problems with being overweight, overeating and obesity. Even if you just want to lose weight and are not diabetic, you are welcome to join this list. To subscribe, send an e-mail message to blind-diabetics-subscribe@egroups.com.
Learn Personal Safety Techniques
The Hadley School for the Blind offers a free course called “Personal Safety: Self-Defense Strategies” designed specifically to help a blind person avoid becoming a victim. Through this course, students learn to implement their own safety programs and make informed choices about effective self-defense. The course teaches about specific safety issues when traveling and helps students cope with the impact of violent crime. As with all Hadley’s courses, “Personal Safety” is taught through distance education so students take the course at home, communicating with their instructors via Hadley’s toll-free number, mail or e-mail. All Hadley courses are offered completely free of charge. Course materials are provided in large print, audiocassette or in braille. For further information, phone toll-free (800) 323-4238, or visit the web site, http://www.hadley-school.org.
CNIB Seeks CEO
The Canadian National Institute for the Blind (CNIB) is looking for a candidate to lead and inspire a growing organization that’s in the business of independence for people who are blind. CNIB has 100,000 clients, and is one of Canada’s largest not-for-profit organizations. The successful candidate for President and CEO will manage an annual budget of $70 million, supervise 1,200 employees and 20,000 volunteers. This is a leadership mandate of formidable complexity and opportunity for an executive who is blind or visually impaired.
To apply confidentially for this position, please visit the Opportunities section of www.caldwell.ca, or e-mail resumes@caldwell.ca, or write to 64 Prince Arthur Avenue, Toronto, Ontario M5R 1B4, Canada, or fax (416) 922-8646. At the top of the resume, write Project 685.
Costa Rica Exchange
Mobility International USA (MIUSA) is seeking applicants from diverse cultural backgrounds, ages 18-24, to apply for an upcoming 2001 cross-disability exchange program in Costa Rica. The US/Costa Rica Cross-Cultural Perspectives on Disability Program is designed for young people who are committed to strengthening cross-cultural ties, exploring disability rights and expanding leadership skills in an international environment. For more information, log onto the web site, http://www.miusa.org, e-mail exchange@miusa.org, or phone (541) 343-1284 (voice/TTY).
Dial-Up Shell Accounts
ShellWorld, designed specifically for blind users, now provides dial-up shell and ppp accounts. Ken Scott, who is blind, is the owner of ShellWorld Internet Services, and can provide tech support from a blindness perspective. Accounts include unlimited 56K access and a 50-meg disk quota. Those who wish to have a ppp dial-up account can get a shell, accessible from the ppp account, at no extra charge. The ppp account costs $19.95 a month. To see if ShellWorld has an access number in your area, visit http://www.shellworld.net/locations.html. Numbers are available in the U.S. and Canada. For more information, send an e-mail to admin@shellworld.net.
Volunteer Braille Proofreaders Needed
Seedlings Braille Books for Children is seeking volunteer, certified braille proofreaders. For additional information, guidelines and current opportunities, please contact the company directly, toll-free (800) 777-8552, or e-mail Seedlink3@aol.com.
Tactile Maps and Drawings Available
The Princeton Braillists, long known for their excellent tactile maps, will send braille information describing their maps to interested individuals. Among the tactile maps/atlases currently available are a two-volume set of “Atlas of Western Europe,” “Atlas of North and South America,” “Atlas of the Middle East,” “Maps of the Bible Lands,” “Atlas of the British Isles” and “Basic Human Anatomy” (tactile drawings). Prices range between $10 and $50. Purchase orders from educational entities are accepted, but not credit cards. To order, or for more information, call (732) 350-3708, or write to The Princeton Braillists, 28-B Portsmouth St., Whiting, NJ 08759.
Braille Fortune Cookies
The California School for the Blind runs a student-operated business called the Lucky Touch Fortune Cookie Company. They will customize your order for a special event such as a birthday, anniversary, graduation, love notes, conventions, etc., and the message can be provided in braille or large print. Orders take two weeks after receipt of payment, but for customized orders, add an extra week. Prices range from $1 for three cookies in an in-stock message to $11 for a chocolate dipped, giant fortune cookie with a customized message. To order, call Judith Lesner, phone (510) 794-3800 extension 300, fax (510) 794-3813, or write Lucky Touch Fortune Cookie Co., 500 Walnut Ave., Fremont, CA 94536.
Web Sites for Home Research
Finding an on-line research tool is as easy as typing in the kind of resource you’re looking for — surrounded by www and com.
If you’re not sure about the definition of a word, type www.dictionary.com into your web browser. This takes you to a free dictionary site. Type a word and the site queries several on-line dictionaries and gives you the results. Instead of one definition, you may have several. A companion site to dictionary.com is www.thesaurus.com. This site searches through one thesaurus after another to provide numerous selections. Both sites have links to other word-related resources.
Want to browse an on-line encyclopedia? Just type www.encyclopedia.com and go to a free version of “The Concise Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, Third Edition.” At first glance, its 14,000 articles may seem meager in comparison to the 30,000-70,000 articles you’re likely to find on a CD-based encyclopedia. However, Encyclopedia.com has links to more than 170,000 external articles on the Internet.
Visit an on-line electronic library at your fingertips. After typing www.elibrary.com, the site allows you to search an interesting array of on-line resources. From this site, you can search for any combination of newspaper articles, magazine articles, books, pictures, maps, or TV/radio transcripts. The electronic library offers two unique, free services. The “tracker” allows the library to monitor its database for new entries of interest to you based on preferences you specify. When any new item is discovered, you’re automatically notified by e-mail. The other service is “Q&A.” The site maintains a list of thousands of self-proclaimed experts, all sorted by their area of expertise. You can search through categories and sub-categories until you find the expert needed. This is your opportunity to pose a question to the expert without charge.
On-Line Computer Training
Computer training in a variety of programs is available in your home. Learn Windows, HTML, web page design, PowerPoint, Microsoft Word, Eudora and more. For information, visit http://www.accesstechnologyinstitute.com, or call Cathy Anne Murtha at (916) 922-3794.
Harvard Business Review on Tape
Vision Community Services now offers “The Harvard Business Review” in 4-track, 15/16 ips format. One year (10 issues) costs $118. VCS produces a variety of recorded books for approximately $5 per tape. There are cookbooks, computer books, and general fiction/non-fiction works. For a list in large print or cassette, contact: Vision Community Services, 23A Elm St., Watertown, MA 02472, phone (617) 972-9117, fax (617) 926-1412, e-mail mablind@tiac.net, or visit the web site, http://www.mablind.org.
Brailler and Typewriter Repair
The Selective Doctor, Inc. is a repair service for Perkins Braillers and IBM typewriters. The brailler can be sent free matter, and should be insured when mailed. Labor costs for repairs are $50 plus the cost of parts. Send item to be repaired to The Selective Doctor, Inc., P.O. Box 28432, Baltimore, MD 21234. For more information, phone (410) 668-1143.