American Action Fund for Blind Children and Adults
Future Reflections Winter 2023 WHAT'S HAPPENING?
"My Action Fund calendar has been one of the most valuable tools on my desk for work for the last ten years. For six years, I worked as a PBX Operator, Reservationist, and assistant to the Sales Teams in hotels. I used my calendar daily to check reservation dates, help schedule events, and track holidays. Print calendars hung on the walls for quick reference for my sighted colleagues, and my Braille calendar was one of the first things I set out when I made my work desk my own.
"Now that I work as an Unemployment Claims Adjudicator for the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment, I use my calendar to track weeks appropriately for disqualifications, count quarters for benefits verifications, and schedule meetings and events. Having the correct dates at my fingertips means that claimants get their benefits calculated correctly and, when necessary, serve their disqualifications within the appropriate timeframes.
"Thank you for continuing to provide the Braille calendars that make me more efficient, effective, and empowered at work and home. They are tools beyond compare." — Maryann
When you read testimonials like this one, please remember that the American Action Fund has an impact on the lives of blind and deafblind people every day.
You know that the Action Fund for Blind Children and Adults publishes this magazine, and that Future Reflections provides inspiration and information to you and to parents and teachers across the country.
The work we do to encourage independent travel, excellence in education, and Braille literacy nationwide must be done. These programs are made possible through your support. If you are in a position to do so, you can make a difference by making a contribution. Please help by giving a tax-deductible gift to the American Action Fund.
You can give online by visiting our homepage at https://actionfund.org, over the phone by calling 410-659-9315, or by sending a check made out to "American Action Fund" to 1800 Johnson Street, Baltimore, MD 21230.
There is another way you can help the Action Fund. Often the simplest and most significant way to make a charitable contribution is to plan a legacy gift. It is easier than you may think. You can plan to give all or part of a bank account, insurance proceeds, investment assets, real estate, or a retirement account. You can even give a required minimum distribution from your IRA directly to charity and avoid taxes on the distribution. You can bequeath a specific dollar amount or percentage of your estate, after taking care of your loved ones, to an organization whose mission is important to you. Your bequest carries with it the values and ideals that have been important to you throughout your lifetime and supports an organization whose mission you hold dear. In addition, planning for a legacy gift may reduce the total amount of your taxable estate, which can positively impact any funds you have designated for your heirs.
The American Action Fund for Blind Children and Adults Legacy Society honors and recognizes the generosity of special friends. These supporters have chosen to leave a legacy through a will or other planned giving option.
If you wish to give part or all of an account, simply fill out a P.O.D. (payable on death) or T.O.D. (transfer on death) form. For pensions and insurance assets, you can designate a charity as a beneficiary. If you would like to leave a legacy to the Action Fund in your will, please include the following language:
"I give, devise, and bequeath unto the American Action Fund for Blind Children and Adults, 1800 Johnson Street, Suite 100, Baltimore, Maryland 21230, a Maryland nonprofit corporation, the sum of $______________ (or) _________ percent of my net estate" or "the following stocks and bonds: ____________________, to be used for its worthy purposes on behalf of blind persons."
If you have questions or would like more information, please reach out to Patti Chang at 410-659-9315. If you have included the American Action Fund for Blind Children and Adults in your will, or if you have made some other provision for a future gift to us and would like to tell us about it, please contact Patti so we can recognize you as a member of our Legacy Society.
Legacy gifts provide for generations of blind children and adults. Please consider the American Action Fund in your future plans!