(Alexandria, VA) Oct. 15 – Today, in honor of White Cane Day, the American Council of the Blind (ACB) and Walmart have teamed up to raise awareness of the importance of physical activity and routine eye exams for the visually impaired.

The national Get Up & Get Moving campaign is designed to encourage the visually impaired communities to take charge of their independence and overall health.

For Immediate Release – October 12, 2021 – Alexandria, VA

The American Council of the Blind is proud to announce the details of its inaugural event, the 2021 Audio Description Awards Gala, to be held online November 18th, 2021, at 7:30 p.m. ET.

Sugar Star Films is hosting a casting call for a series of videos about Accessibility Features on Facebook.

Casting Details:

The Multicultural Affairs Committee (MCAC) invites you to join their first bilingual Spanish and English Focus Call via Zoom on Tuesday, November 23, 2021 at 8:30pm ET/7:30pm CT/5:30pm PT. The members of MCAC chose this memoir of our first female Hispanic Supreme Court Justice because it tells a story that seems familiar but yet is unique to the life and experiences of Sonia Sotomayor. They also chose this book because it's available in audio, braille, English and Spanish. MCAC invites you to read the book, join them and have a great conversation.

Apple Siri Actions

Apple is working to reinstate some Siri Email and Phone actions, which were temporarily removed as part of updates to improve Siri. You will be able to ask Siri to write, send and check unread emails in the coming weeks. Reinstating Siri actions to check call history and voicemail will take a bit more time, and they will bring back this functionality in an upcoming iOS software update. 

ACB supports the Medicare Vision Act and urges congress to include it in the upcoming budget reconciliation package. We encourage all our members and friends to contact both their Senators and Representative in support of including H.R. 4187 in the budget reconciliation package.

Important Information

Currently, Congress is debating a large legislative vehicle that provides an opportunity to go well beyond creating a pilot program to providing vision coverage through Medicare.

September 29, 2021 – White Plains, NY – People who are blind and use screen readers will now have independent access to life-saving information offered by “NY-Alert,” New York State’s Mass Notification System. Under a 

Hampton, N.H. (September 21, 2021)—Planet Fitness, Inc. (NYSE: PLNT), one of the largest and fastest-growing global franchisors and operators of fitness centers with more members than any other fitness brand, and the Paralyzed Veterans of America, National Council on Independent Living, and American Council of the Blind (collectively “Coalition for Inclusive Fitness” or the “Coalition”) today announced a commitment to expand access to accessible exercise equipment.

Discord & ACB Announce Digital Accessibility Initiative

Discord, working with the American Council of the Blind, announced a comprehensive initiative to enhance Discord’s voice, video and text communication app to make it more accessible for Discord users who are blind or have other vision impairments. Learn more by visiting: https://acb.org/discord-accessibility.