Washington, DC (February 3, 2025): Hundreds of blind Americans are organizing at the nation’s capital to meet with their representatives in Congress to emphasize the need for legislators to uphold and defend the rights of blind people to live in the world. 

This annual event organized by the National Federation of the Blind, known as its Washington Seminar, is to advance key priorities that will help the blind. Throughout the Capitol complex all week, blind Americans using white canes or guide dogs will be at scheduled meetings including the Congressional Reception, a networking event between Federationists and Legislators at the Russell Senate Office Building on Tuesday, February 4, at 5:30 p.m.

“Blindness continues to be one of the most feared things among Americans today but we know that it does not prevent us from living the lives we want,” said Mark Riccobono, President of the National Federation of the Blind. “But most people do not have experience with blindness and this includes policy-makers. We come together in Washington to educate and assist our elected leaders in protecting and supporting the laws and federal funding that facilitates blind people contributing fully to the American economy. We march on the Capitol each year to tell our stories to the people who have been elected to represent us.”