Launching a New Parents' Chapter

Launching a New Parents' Chapter

Future Reflections Convention Issue 2014 PARENT POWER
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Launching a New Parents' Chapter
by Jennifer Duffell-Hoffman
From the Editor: Jennifer Duffell-Hoffman is president of the newly established South Carolina Parents of Blind Children (SCPBC). This article is an updated version of the presentation she gave at the NOPBC division meeting.
Carol Castellano asked me to talk about how I became involved with the NFB of South Carolina, about my relationship with the South Carolina state president, and about my hopes for the emerging South Carolina Parents of Blind Children. Before I became involved with the South Carolina affiliate of the NFB, I was a parent participant at the NFB Jernigan Institute. In April 2011, Michael, my now fifteen-year-old, and I attended the NFB Legislative Advocacy in Washington (LAW) program. In 2012 my now thirteen-year-old son, Matthew, and I attended the NFB STEM program at the Jernigan Institute. Following that experience, Matthew insisted we attend the national convention, and our family of five attended last summer.
Several times I had heard about Parnell Diggs, president of the NFB of South Carolina. Mr. Diggs and I spoke by phone for the first time early in 2013. One year ago, in July, I met Mr. Diggs here in Orlando during the general session of the national convention. I told him that I wanted to see a South Carolina Parents of Blind Children chapter and a Braille Enrichment for Literacy and Learning (BELL) program in the state. I indicated that I was willing to work to establish both.
Since then I have received support from the NFB of South Carolina to attend training as the state coordinator of South Carolina's NFB BELL program and to attend the Parent Leadership Program at the Washington Seminar. The training for and objectives of these two programs support one another, and the work of each brings me into contact with blind children and their parents. I prioritized NFB BELL in South Carolina ahead of creating an active South Carolina parents' chapter. As state coordinator for NFB BELL, my name, phone number, and email address were provided to parents of blind children throughout the state. My contact information also became available on the NOPBC website.
I received many inquiries from parents and teachers of blind children. When they called to inquire about NFB BELL, I seized the opportunity to explain that I was starting a South Carolina Parents of Blind Children (SCPBC). I then asked for contact information so I could reach them later on.
The NFB of South Carolina has been very supportive of my efforts. Parnell Diggs is an attorney and a father. He is on the national board of the NFB, and he is running for political office in the state of South Carolina. All of the leaders within the NFB and NOPBC are very, very busy individuals! Nevertheless, they are generous with their time in responding to questions and providing advice. However, as state coordinator of the NFB BELL program and as president of SCPBC, I must be the one to do the actual work. It is my job to move beyond the training I have received. I must enlist the aid of other parents and of blind individuals in South Carolina to build the programs and the network we need.
During the second week in August, I attended my first state convention, which was held in Columbia. The convention started on the very day our NFB BELL program ended. Parnell requested that the co-coordinator and I prepare a lunchtime presentation about NFB BELL. He also emailed me and said, "If you concur, I believe we should hold an organizing meeting for parents of blind children at this year's state convention. We are definitely moving in a positive direction, and your work is the reason why. Thanks for what you're doing." I am thrilled to say that the South Carolina Parents of Blind Children was officially launched at our 2014 state convention.

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