Writer, Aggregator Kevan Worley
Contributors Dan Burke & Erin Daley
Here is what you need to know-
This
Is Bound to Put a Smile on Your Face
From the aggregator: Nothing puts a smile on our faces like
the ability to provide services and support for those we serve. During this
pandemic, we have not been in retreat. In fact, we have been offering more
opportunities for members to serve members as well as the organization to serve
Colorado’s blind citizens of all ages, from our favorite two-year-old to our
very special seniors. We put smiles on faces.
During this pandemic, almost all of us have been shopping
more online than ever before. In order to keep the smiles coming, Affiliate
Treasurer Cody Bair reminds us we must continue to raise dollars. The Amazon
Smile program is for you! Will you take some time to share this at your next
chapter meeting or division meeting? Whether or not you are a member or ally of
the Federation, we warmly invite you to join this quick and easy Amazon Smile
effort. Seriously – every little bit helps! Please help us keep the smiles
coming. This is what Cody has to say:
Want to give back to NFBCO as
a part of your everyday shopping activities? As the COVID-19 pandemic forces
many of us to do a significant amount of our shopping online and many of us
already do a significant amount of business with Amazon, the National
Federation of the Blind of Colorado is enrolled in the Amazon Smile Program. What
this means is that you can select for a small percentage of every purchase you
make to be donated back to NFBCO. In order to enroll your Amazon account in
Amazon Smile so a percentage of your purchases are donated, you can follow the
instructions provided below.
1. Go to AmazonSmile:
You shop. Amazon gives.
2. Click
the get started button
3. Type
“National Federation of the Blind of Colorado” in the search box.
4. Click
the select button and select the checkbox that represents your understanding
that you must always start at “smile.amazon.com”
5. The
next time you go to purchase something use smile.amazon.com instead of
amazon.com
Setting this up only takes a
matter of seconds and will be of great benefit to NFBCO considering the volume
of purchases some of us make on Amazon. If you have any questions or issues
getting Amazon Smile set up, please feel free to contact Cody Bair at
(970)673-6998 or codyjbair@yahoo.com
Know Your Rights
From the aggregator: Wednesday, February 3 Mountain Time at
5 presents the first in a series of Zoom programs entitled “Know Your Rights.”
Each month, our Mountain Time at 5 cast of usual suspects will be joined by
experts who can explain the rights and responsibilities blind Coloradans have.
This Wednesday’s program will feature Blindness and Low Vision Services. Future
programs will consider the rights of guide dog handlers, students, housing,
voting, transportation, and other subjects. If you have ideas for upcoming
programs, please contact us at assistance@nfbco.org.
Mountain Time at 5 Wednesday, February 3 will feature a
panel of true experts.
·
Curtis Chong has worked in the area of
technology for both private and public sector organizations. Curtis is a
teacher, a developer, an activist, an advocate, and a mentor.
·
Julia Zanon will also be joining us. Julia was
a highly successful rehabilitation counselor. She was also a supervisor for a
number of years for the Division of Vocational Rehabilitation. Ms. Zanon
launched and managed the Blindness and Low Vision Services unit within DVR,
which she directed until her retirement in 2019. Julia brings her kind and
generous spirit to everything she does.
·
Jodi Witthaus will be joining us, as well. Jodi
is one of our Federation leaders and a counselor for the Division of Vocational
Rehabilitation.
·
Scott LaBarre, President of NFBCO, will also be
on the call. Scott is a blind attorney who has often been engaged to represent
VR clients in Colorado and elsewhere in the U.S.
·
Julie Deden has directed the Colorado Center
for the Blind for more than two decades. In this role, she works with both
students who are receiving rehab services in addition to rehab counselors.
Prior to directing our Center, Julie was always regarded by her clients as one
of the most effective counselors.
This Mountain Time at 5 is meant for anyone, of any age,
who would like to know more about possibilities, rights, and responsibilities
available to consumers of Colorado’s Blind and Low Vision Services programs,
whether you are in transition to college or work, a current client, work with
potential DVR clients, a Colorado Center for the Blind student, or a parent or
teacher of a teenager or young adult. If you want to know more about what the
system and you can do together, THIS is the Mountain Time at 5 call for
you. For further information, please e-mail assistance@nfbco.org. We
will be giving away two $25 Amazon gift cards to bring a smile to your face. Closed
captioning will be available.
Join
Zoom Meeting
https://zoom.us/j/97417562247
Meeting ID: 974 1756 2247
One tap mobile
+13462487799,,97417562247#
Dial by your location
+1 346 248 7799
Meeting ID: 974 1756 2247
The
Blind Go to Washington February 8th-11th. Members and
Friends, Join Us for a Powerful, Virtual Visit with Our Colorado Congressional
Delegation and/or Congressional Aides
You may have attended our highly successful virtual
convention last July. Perhaps you have traveled to Washington to meet members
of congress with us before. Whether or not you have enjoyed these powerful
events with us before, we encourage you to join us for Washington Seminar 2021.
We are seeking Federationists and friends who want to take the journey with us
in order to share with congress the aspirations and initiatives important to
the blind of Colorado.
We will be offering legislative and logistics training on
Saturday the 6th and Sunday the 7th of February over Zoom
prior to the seminar. Many Federationists consider Washington Seminar one of their
favorite activities of the year. It also tends to be one of our most expensive
events of the year. This year offers even more members the opportunity to
participate as expense will not be a barrier. Some of us will miss meeting for
a beverage at the 21st Amendment or eating at a fine Washington D.C.
restaurant, but all of us will miss the camaraderie and the experiences that a
trip to our nation’s capital offers. But nobody does Zoom like we do Zoom, so
please join us this year in Washington and let’s change the world.
Please check this blog space, our Colorado listserv, and
Facebook for further details of our affiliate’s ambitious participation. Read
up on all of this year’s important legislative initiatives.
At our Washington Seminar, members of the National
Federation of the Blind convene to learn about and advocate for legislative
initiatives that will improve the lives of blind Americans.
Approximately three legislative initiatives are chosen for
priority attention each year. These initiatives, which form the Washington
Seminar priorities, are based on the official
positions of the NFB adopted at the national convention and
can address concerns related to civil rights, educational programs and
services, rehabilitation of the blind for competitive employment, the operation
of vending facilities by blind persons on public property, specialized library
services for the blind, the organization and funding of federal programs,
Social Security Disability and Supplemental Security Income programs,
and other timely topics.
The first Washington Seminar took place in 1973. Today,
more than five hundred people from the fifty states, the District of Columbia,
and Puerto Rico typically attend.
Join us! It will make you smile!
Note: Washington Seminar legislative factsheets are
available for your listening pleasure are available on NFB-NEWSLINE®. Not a
subscriber to NFB-NEWSLINE®? Register for NFB-NEWSLINE® today. Email assistance@nfbco.org.
Attend the February Presidential
Release on February 1—Captioning and Spanish Available
The February Presidential
Release of the National Federation of the Blind will be delivered on Monday, February
1 at 8:00 P.M. Eastern. After the remarks, there is an opportunity for
questions. Submit questions in advance to cdanielsen@nfb.org and put PR502 in the subject line, or call
410-659-9314, extension 2473. Closed captions and Spanish interpretation will
be available.
Learn about the many ways
to participate.
A Recipe to Make You Smile, Shared by Colorado
Sports and Recreation Division
It can be difficult to find snacks that are quick to eat,
delicious to eat, and good for you! These banana bread energy balls promise to
do all three. The original recipe, nutrition information, and notes can be
found on Downshiftology with Lisa Bryan, but see below for the full recipe. Energy
balls are meant to be bite-sized, so feel free to customize them to the size
that is perfect for you. Once you try them, feel free to email any comments to daleyem@gmail.com.
Banana Bread Energy Balls
Makes 16 servings, each
serving 106 kcal
Ingredients:
2 cups old fashioned rolled
oats
Half cup mashed banana from
one medium banana
Half cup almonds
Half cup pecans
Third cup maple syrup
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Quarter teaspoon vanilla
extract
Quarter teaspoon salt
Instructions:
Add all the ingredients to a
food processor and pulse the mixture for 10 seconds. Scrape down the sides,
then blend again until the mixture is fairly smooth, with a slight bit of
texture. The dough will likely start to roll around the food processor when
it's blended enough.
Scoop a ball using a medium
cookie scoop and roll it in between your hands. Then place it on a parchment
lined plate or baking tray. Continue this process until you've used up all the
dough.
Chill the balls for 30 minutes
to firm up, then enjoy!
Notes:
If the balls don't hold
together, it's likely the texture is too big. Just put it back in the food
processor and pulse for a finer texture.
The balls will be a little
soft when you first roll them, but they'll firm up as the oats absorb the maple
syrup.
Colorado
Center for the Blind Loses a Star but David Nietfeld Is Not Going Far
From the aggregator: One of the finest gentlemen I know has
been teaching, mentoring, and encouraging Colorado Center for the Blind students
for more than a decade. Persistence, patience, and perseverance are the
personal attributes of one of the most incredible
teachers we have ever had at our Colorado Center for the Blind, and we have had
some good ones! Mr. Nietfeld is a colleague in the National Federation of the
Blind. He leads like he teaches, with expertise and graciousness. David will be
accepting a new position working for the State of Colorado, but as he says
below, “I’m not going anywhere.” Here is what he says:
This isn’t goodbye.
It’s hard to believe that I started working at
the Center in July 2008 as the residential manager. I then went on to teach
cane travel for a decade, obtained my ONMC, and for the last 2+ years I have
been the home maintenance and woodworking instructor. I have valued my time at
the Center, and I am grateful for all the opportunity that I was provided. I’m
excited to announce that my new position is with the Colorado Department of
Labor and Employment as the assistive technology analyst.
I am also extremely grateful that, through
these years in Colorado, I also met my wife of nine years now, and we are proud
parents of two-year-old Logan. I say that this isn’t goodbye because though I
won’t be teaching at the Center anymore, I am an active member of the National
Federation of the Blind and currently serve on the board for the Blind Parents’
division, among other various tasks that Maureen often has for me.
A very special thank you to
Julie Deden for being the most amazing boss, mentor, and friend. Thank you to
all of the staff that I have worked with throughout the years at the Center,
and a big, big thank you to all of the students that I have had the honor of
teaching. Instead of goodbye I will say forward, always forward.
That’s It for This Edition of the Blind
Coloradan.
Forward,
always Forward!
