Thank you for your interest in joining the National Federation of the Blind Dream Builders Capital Campaign. As you know, we have several important projects on the horizon. We want to share details of this project with you personally.
Program Focus
Graduates of the National Federation of the Blind training centers.
What’s at Stake
The National Federation of the Blind training centers provide students with unparalleled blindness training that equips them with the skills they need to become productive employees while preparing them to lead full independent lives. Unfortunately, graduates of NFB training centers are still subject to the implicit biases that limit the employment opportunities of all blind people. These barriers often prevent graduates from establishing an employment history and gaining experiences with which to build their resumes. Some graduates need leadership experiences that can play a pivotal role in future opportunities for advancement.
How Each One Teach One Will Help
- Each One Teach One will give graduates of NFB training centers the opportunity to establish an employment history while developing professional skills that will serve them as they establish a career.
- The program will increase the number of blind people who are gainfully employed.
Building the Program
The Each One Teach One program will offer blind adults who are seeking employment after completing their adjustment to blindness training at an NFB training center fellowships.
The program will plug each participant into a fellowship or other work experience that will allow them to strengthen their professional skills, while simultaneously providing them with leadership opportunities through work with our affiliates and local chapters.
- Recruitment: Our team will recruit, train, and deploy blind individuals throughout the country.
- Identification of Projects: Specific projects and work programs will be identified by the President of the NFB and the CEO staff. They will be chosen based on career interest, the opportunities we are able to secure, available housing, etc.
- Placement: Our team will work to identify the best placement for each individual candidate while they are completing their fellowship.
- Duration: After graduation, program participants will work for a period of twelve to twenty-four months at their assigned project. The specific time commitment will be dependent on the requirements of individual projects.
- Financial Support: Participants will be given a stipend or paid directly by the employer to offset their cost of living. We also anticipate offering reasonable transportation and/or maintenance costs associated with employment.
Evaluating the Program
- Program success can be evaluated by tracking participants employment outcomes.
Resources and Personnel Needed
- Program Manager (likely the director of the CEO)
- Stipends and Travel Expenses
- Materials
- Technology
Why the National Federation of the Blind
The structured discovery method of training and rehabilitation is unique to the National Federation of the Blind. This method focuses on the acquisition of skills that a trainee can use throughout their life, regardless of the amount of vision they have. Students also learn that blindness is not the characteristic that defines them and that it doesn’t prevent them from reaching their goals. In other words, our training, philosophy, and access to blind mentors sets high expectations and provides each program participant with the support needed to be successful.