CONSUMER
GROUPS
NATIONAL AND STATEWIDE
American
Council of the Blind (ACB)
1155
15th Street NW. Suite 720
Washington, DC 2005
(202) 467-5081 (800) 424-8666 (between 12PM and 2PM Pacific
time)
www.acb.org
The ACB is a membership organization of individuals who are
devoted to improving the independence, quality of life, level
of employment, economic well being and accessibility for persons
who are blind or visually impaired. The organization is concerned
with a huge variety of aspects related to blindness and visual
impairment, including National, State and local legislative
issues. ACB has affiliate chapters in nearly every State in
the country, and there are also over 60 special interest chapters,
such as blind students, lawyers, teachers, guide dog users,
government employees and many other concerns. The Braille
Forum is the national journal of the ACB, and there are publications
for most ACB state and special Interest chapters. There is
a week-long national convention every summer, and the state
chapters also have annual conventions that will be highly
informative for those new to vision impairment.
ACB
has National, State and local chapter memberships available,
and you can find general or chapter information on the Web
or by calling their Washington DC numbers. It is usually very
easy to become involved and find a niche in the ACB's multitude
of special interest groups for any person who has an interest
in visual impairment. Membership in any particular ACB affiliate
or chapter may be limited to that affiliate, or may include
ACB national, state, local, and special affiliate membership.
It is best to inquire with the contact affiliate, because
each ACB group is fairly autonomous and has its own guidelines.
The
2004 Oregon affiliate President Bob Johnson is very friendly
and would enjoy answering any questions; call him at (503)
361-8693 or contact the ACB of Oregon via the web at www.acboforegon.org
Association
of Blind Citizens (ABC)
P.O.
Box 246
Holbrook, MA 02343
(781) 961-1023
www.assocofblindcitizens.org
The
ABC was started in 2000 and is a new organization of the blind
and visually impaired. Their bent appears to be more recreational,
more social and slightly less political than either the ACB
or NFB. The ABC has a good website, and it appears that folks
are learning about them through the Internet and by direct
E-list mailings. Membership on the Web is free. Check out
their website offerings: scholarships, employment offerings,
Beep Ball tournaments, their newsletter, a chat room and a
list of outings for the blind and visually impaired (for those
who live along the Eastern Seaboard).
Most
of ABC's recreational activities and outings appear to be
East Coast oriented. The organization started in Massachusetts,
is young, and is not geographically representative as yet,
so the ABC's options should be investigated by those who live
outside of this area.
Blinded
Veterans Association (BVA)
477
H Street NW
Washington, DC 20001
Washington DC Office: (800) 669-7079
E-mail: vets.are.best@worldnet.att.net
or vivet@yahoo.com
The
BVA is an organization of veterans who have had vision loss.
ONLY veterans of the U.S. military are eligible to join and
utilize the services and programs. There are BVA Chapters
in each State and they also divide their memberships into
several regions that parallel the Veterans Administration's
regional divisions.
The
BVA has a National magazine, many regional publications and
an active presence on the web. Check their website or toll
free phone number for more detailed information and contact
information on local chapters.
Council
On Citizens With Low Vision International (CCLVI)
(800) 733-2258
www.cclvi.org
CCLVI
is an independent organization within ACB and concentrates
on issues concerning low vision. They are a membership group
that has a strong interest in the varied forms of low vision
disability and is open to any individual and group that likewise
has an interest in the broad spectrum of visual impairment
issues.
They
have a quarterly journal, which has many announcements of
both consumer and professionally oriented meetings on low
vision, along with countless informative articles of interest.
CCLVI has many state affiliates and meetings, scholarships
for vision impaired students, occasional national low-vision
conferences, and they generally maintain a presence in legislative
and other public domains of interest. Their National Chairperson
usually manages the toll free number, which rotates from current
Chair to Chairperson's home each year. 800 calls may be referred
to local CCLVI representatives.
National
Federation Of The Blind (NFB)
1800
Johnson Street
Baltimore, MD 21230
National Office (410) 659-9314
www.nfb.org
The
NFB, like the ACB is a nationally-known consumer group of
persons who have an interest in issues related to blind and
visually-impaired individuals. NFB is generally quite political
in their concentration and they are very structured in their
organizational fields of interest and conduct.
Like
other such consumer groups, the NFB has a National organization
with many affiliated state and local chapters. Joining NFB
means that a national membership comes with your local and
state NFB membership (dues for local and state membership
covers all NFB categories). NFB also has a week-long annual
national convention, and state chapters also have annual conventions.
The
NFB national journal, The Braille Monitor, is published
monthly, and informative state publications also come out
frequently. The NFB also has "Newsline" to offer
members, which is a phone-in contact line to have newspapers
read to listeners. For details on "Newsline, check the
NFB website or call the national
office.
Interested
persons can also call the national office number above and
be referred to related NFB offices and state chapters. You
can contact the Oregon and local NFB chapters through current
State President Karla MacQuinlan at (541) 726-6924.
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