From Governor Glendening's Mail Basket

From Governor Glendening's Mail Basket

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The Braille Monitor – October 2000 Edition

From Governor Glendening's Mail Basket
From the Editor: One of the projects many of us participated in during the
National Convention last summer was the postcard-writing campaign aimed at Maryland
Governor Parris Glendening. We hoped to make the case that people all over the
country urged him and the legislature to earmark $6,000,000 in the next budget
toward completion of the National Research and Training Institute for the Blind
on the grounds of the National Center for the Blind in south Baltimore. A flood
of postcards certainly went to the governor's office, but in the weeks since
the convention lots of folks have also written letters to him. The letters provide
a bit more scope for sharing our vision of the impact the Institute will have
on the lives and futures of America's blind citizens. Here, almost at random,
is a sample of these letters. We can only hope that Mr. Glendening or someone
on his staff pays attention to the opportunity they have at their finger tips
to make a significant difference in the lives of blind people everywhere. This
is what people said:

Kevan Worley

August 2, 2000

Kevan Worley
Denver, Colorado
Parris N. Glendening
Governor State of Maryland
Annapolis, Maryland

Dear Governor Glendening:

Many times over the past fifteen years I have had the opportunity to visit your

state. I have had the good fortune to visit the National Center for the Blind

in Baltimore, Maryland, seeking counsel, instruction, and support. When I learned

that the National Federation of the Blind was planning to build a national research

and training institute devoted to changing the way people look at blindness,

I pledged my time, energy, and effort to help make the new center a reality.

This new research and training institute will, of course, expand economic opportunity

for the citizens of Maryland, but it will also be the focal point for programs

and services for blind people all over this country. As a blind businessman

from Colorado who has achieved some success, in large part due to the programs

and philosophy that already emanate from the NFB National Headquarters in Baltimore,

I can assure you that lending any support to help build this cutting-edge facility

now will be of great benefit to society.

As a blind American from

Colorado I have taken great pleasure to pledge $35,000 of my own money to see

that research that will affect generations of blind people will continue. Of

course that kind of pledge is a great sacrifice for my family and me, but, if

it will mean greater services to blind children and the increasing number of

blind seniors, it will be worth it. I know that the National Federation of the

Blind has called upon you to assist in making several millions of dollars available

for this project. I just wanted you to know that many of us, not only in Maryland,

but all across the country, will benefit if you are able to help us.

Because of the vision of

our blind leaders we chose to relocate our National Headquarters to Baltimore

back in 1978. The National Federation of the Blind has grown and expanded, becoming

a vital part of the Baltimore economy. Of course this new national research

and training institute will help us continue our efforts to change what it means

to be blind, but it will also continue our support, expansion, and interdependence

with the Maryland economy.

Thank you very sincerely

for considering my comments.

Very truly yours,

Kevan Worley

President National Association

of Blind Merchants

August 16, 2000

Judy Sanders
Minneapolis, Minnesota

Judy Sanders

Dear Governor Glendening:

I am writing to express

my appreciation for the possibility that Maryland and, in particular, you can

be a real hero to blind Americans.

Many blind people are subject

to the charity of others. Well-meaning people try to find a way to make our

lives better. I remember my parents meeting with sighted professionals who told

them what would be best for me. Then, when I was a young adult, other sighted

people took over and tried to shape my life.

It was, therefore, a revelation

to me when I discovered that blind people could have a say in their own future

through the National Federation of the Blind. Because of the Federation I have

had the chance to work as a teacher of sighted children, a travel agent, a rehabilitation

specialist with blind seniors, and Director of the District office for Minnesota

Congressman Gerry Sikorski.

And now the Federation

is embarking on an exciting new venture. Our National Research and Training

Institute will provide a bright future for all blind citizens. Parents can take

comfort in the knowledge that much work is being done to ensure their blind

children will be well educated and qualified for productive employment. Newly

blind senior citizens will not end up in nursing homes because they have lost

their sight.

Your support of this initiative

is a win-win situation for the blind and the taxpayers of Maryland. Not only

will this project provide employment for many Marylanders, but blind people

from throughout the country and the world will come and spend their money in

your state. I thank you for making this possible.

Sincerely,

Judy Sanders

September 8, 2000

Barbara Pierce
Oberlin, Ohio

Dear Governor Glendening:

I write to you on behalf

of blind people and those who will become blind in the years ahead in the state

of Ohio. As you know, the National Federation of the Blind is working to build

the National Research and Training Institute in Baltimore. The benefits to the

city of this project are obvious: quality jobs, increased property value in

a marginal part of the city, and increased prestige for the community in which

cutting-edge research and instruction will be taking place.

All these advantages and

therefore arguments for substantial budget support from the state have undoubtedly

been made before and with greater specificity and persuasiveness. But I want

to assure you of the nationwide benefit the Institute will provide. At a time

when the numbers of those losing sight in their later years is growing significantly

and the number of effective teachers of blindness skills at every age level

is falling further and further behind the demand, we must find new and innovative

ways of meeting the need and training people to do the work with dedication

and skill. Someone must tackle the challenge of finding these new ways and tapping

new resources if we are to keep blind citizens living in and contributing to

their communities.

Every day I deal with

individual people losing sight or members of their families. These are mostly

older people, and I have to tell them how little help is out there for them.

I send the material developed by the NFB, and I send them to the overworked

and undertrained agencies charged with providing services. I conduct inservices

for the staff members of those agencies who know to come to the National Federation

of the Blind for help. I make a difference, and I make people feel better and

more hopeful, but I also know how inadequate my help is. We need more and better

materials. We need to develop coordinated programs of staff training and to

find effective methods for teaching people who have seen all their lives to

dare to set foot into the new and scary world of accomplishing things without

vision.

All this is part of what

the Institute will tackle. Blind people are in an excellent position to be effective

researchers and teachers. We know what works, and we carry conviction to those

we teach. Tomorrow's blind population needs what we can do as soon as the Research

and Training Institute begins its work. Maryland can have an impact on the lives

of people across the nation and around the world because NFB members work together

to compound the advances any of us make. We also pass along our discoveries

to people fighting these problems around the world. Please give us a chance

to make a significant difference.

I have talked about the

needs of seniors. I could have talked as easily about blind children. I was

not taught Braille as a young child, and I have paid the price for that neglect

all my life. Teachers still refuse to teach Braille to blind students with a

bit of sight, so the same sacrifices are being made by blind children today.

We know what should be done and how to do it. We can help parents insist on

Braille instruction and help teachers of the visually impaired learn to teach

it effectively.

Whether or not the NFB

gets the chance to make these differences may well rest with you and the Maryland

legislature. Please do what you can to change the course of the lives of all

America's blind citizens.

Cordially,

Barbara Pierce

September 10, 2000

Al Maneki

Dr. Alfred Maneki
Columbia, Maryland

Dear Governor Glendening,

The National Federation

of the Blind requested a $6 million appropriation in the 2002 budget. Please

give this request favorable consideration. Throughout your career you have demonstrated

a keen interest in all areas of education. As governor you have made substantial

improvements in elementary, secondary, and higher education throughout the state.

Since the National Federation of the Blind plans to provide training and research

in the fields of education and literacy for blind persons in this new facility,

you have another opportunity to advance your education legacy.

I am a blind mathematician.

I look forward to research on better methods of teaching mathematics to blind

students. There is also a great need for research in better methods to provide

mathematical materials in accessible formats to blind persons. Your assistance

in this project will lead to endless opportunities for blind people. I hope

you will advance the quality of life for blind people of today and of the future.

Thank you.

Sincerely,

Al Maneki

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