Message from the President

Dear Friends:

Nothing is sweeter than the sound of hundreds of canes tapping at a national meeting of the National Federation of the Blind. Five hundred members of the Federation recently gathered in Washington, DC to discuss the enforcement of existing laws and changes needed in the policies impacting blind people. In the process of those discussions, we are reminded of the critical role our organization plays as a unified voice on behalf of blind people across the country—thousands of individual efforts, collectively focused.

In our seventy-fifth year, I am reminded that our organization came together in 1940 partly because of the adoption of new federal programs that impacted the blind. The need for a strong nationwide organization with local roots has certainly not gone away. Every day in communities across this nation we work to raise expectations for the blind because we recognize that low expectations create obstacles between blind people and our dreams.

As we work on national issues, the individual victories are most often the ones that bind us together. Whether it is a dad fighting for custody of his daughter, a blind student struggling to get equal access to materials in college, a newly blind person attempting to get access to the best adjustment to blindness training from the rehabilitation agency, or a blind couple denied access to a bus because there were no more “designated” seats for the disabled available, our nationwide network continues to be the driving force for raising the status of the blind in this great nation. During this past month, I was proud to have members of Congress, as well as the legislature in the state of Maryland, recognize the Federation for our work to protect the rights of blind individuals as the voice of the nation’s blind.

With Valentine’s Day approaching, please take this opportunity to share the love with others. Let them know about the important work of the National Federation of the Blind and invite them to be part of this large family we call our organization.

Warmest regards,

Mark A. Riccobono, President
National Federation of the Blind