Our annual Holiday Party will be December 10th 6-9 PM @ El Mercado on 1702 Lavaca St Austin TX. Last year we had southern hospitality and this year we’re gonna have a fiesta! Here’s a copy of El Mercado’s menu so you can be prepared for all the fun.
Diabetes is the number one cause of blindness in adults. The National Federation of the Blind of Austin Texas wants to Keep Austin Blind But Not in the Dark by participating in the American Diabetes Association’s Step Out Walk to Stop Diabetes on November 5th 2011. The walk supports research and prevention services for diabetes. The National Federation of the Blind has supported people with diabetes for 22 years. Over the years the type of support has changed based on what members needed to help themselves achieve an independent lifestyle. The advocacy of our members to promote the development and use of accessible medical equipment has allowed many to stay in control and informed about their health. The peer based volunteers that started the support system for our new members as they learned to use alternative techniques has grown as members experienced more severe and life threatening side effects of diabetes. Publications such as; Bridging the Gap – Living with Blindness and Diabetes, Voice of the Diabetic, and periodicals on NFB Newsline allow for our members to share new information and their personal stories. We invite everyone to come and join us as we walk to fight diabetes.
What: You are all invited, to join the National Federation of the Blind of Austin and the Cris Cole Rehabilitation center consumers and recreation staff, for an afternoon at this year’s anual Austin Hot Sauce Festival!
Where: Waterloo Park, 403 E 15th St, Austin, TX 78701
When: August 28th from 2:00 pm – 4:00 pm
There will be food vendors, live music, and raffles.
Let’s join at this event and have some summer fun. We will have the opportunity to meet and mentor consumers attending the Cris Cole center. This event also raises money for the Capital Area Food Bank.
Let’s go Austin NFB and heat up Waterloo park!
The Hot Sauce Festival begins at 11am and lasts until 5:30 pm if you’d like to participate beyond the two hours. You can read the excerpt pasted below or view the full article from the Austin Chronicle by activating the link. http://www.austinchronicle.com/Market/HotSauce/
THE AUSTIN CHRONICLE CELEBRATES 21 YEARS BURNING UP WATERLOO PARK WITH OUR ANNUAL HOT SAUCE FESTIVAL ON SUNDAY, AUG. 28, 2011.
If you wanna beat the heat this summer, then you gotta eat the heat – join The Austin Chronicle and the Capital Area Food Bank of Texas for one of the largest hot sauce festivals in the world.
In the 21 years since its inception, what started as a friendly contest between Austin and San Antonio has become one of the largest annual contests in the world, The Austin Chronicle Hot Sauce Festival. Free to the public (with a donation of three healthy, nonperishable food items or a cash donation to the Capital Area Food Bank of Texas), the event draws upward of 15,000 spectators and more than 350 entries every year.
Last year’s Hot Sauce Festival raised almost $17,000 and more than 23,500 pounds of food for Central Texans in need. We challenge attendees to help us raise even more food and funds this year to meet the growing need for food assistance in our community! This one-of-a-kind event has become one of Central Texas’ biggest and best-known parties. This year’s Hot Sauce Festival promises to be even bigger and hotter than ever before.
This gallery contains 21 photos.
Austin BELL Camp was a great success, and we have pictures to prove it! Thanks again to all our volunteers who worked so hard to make BELL Camp a reality.
Last night’s Dinner in the Dark was a great success. The clubhouse was filled with fun, food, and fantastic music. We thank all of you who joined us for this exciting time, and keep your ears open for our next event. A special thank you is in order for the Dinner in the Dark team: Richie, Marcie, Jeanine, Monica, Yolanda, Nickie, Jonathan and all the rest who put their all into bringing the herd of cats together. Hopefully you guys will recover after a week of sleep. 
We succeeded in raising enough money to fully fund the BELL program this summer, and that’s really what it’s all about.
Loading ...The NFB of Austin cordially invites the community to support Youth Programs for blind students by participating in this life-changing event. It’s not just Dinner in the Dark, it’s a chance to experience the world on a whole new level. Connect with your surroundings, and community using the basic principle of working together with your friends utilizing alternative techniques. We All are invited, embrace the light or the empowering friendliness of darkness, and learn how the blind are not lead by sight alone, but by nonvisual skills that drive our independence. The intimate setting will provide great atmosphere for an great night out on the town. All proceeds are dedicated to funding a camp emphasizing Braille and fighting the literacy crisis the blind face. Help us change what it means to be blind!
For more information, and to make reservations visit: NFBAustin.org, call Richie Flores 512-796-9638, or
email Austin@nfb-texas.org
The chapter all got together for a wonderful Christmas party on December 11 at Threadgills. There were over 40 members present, and a lot of fun was had by everyone. We made a good bit of money with the auction and would like to express our heartfelt thanks to everyone who bought and sold items.
Because the Christmas party was not a chapter business meeting we didn’t have a chance to listen to December’s Presidential Release, but it is available here for your enjoyment. Thanks again to all our members for your hard work in 2010 and we look forward to a busy and fun year in 2011!
Merry Christmas and a happy new year!
The meeting for November took place one week ahead of schedule at the NFB of Texas office. You can listen to a recording of the meeting here. President Richie Flores began the meeting at 10:33 am. The chapter had a chili cook-off and a leadership seminar after lunch. Guests in attendance were Carlos Lial, Omar Diallo, Assata Diallo, Daniel Martinez, Marcus and Rosie Manning, Monica Villarreal, and Ronda Adil.
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To Our Adoring NFB of Austin Members and Fans:
What: The First Annual NFB of Austin Booster Shot Party!
Where: The NFB of Texas Office; 314 E. Highland Mall BLVD Downstairs Conference Room!!!
When: Saturday November 20, 2010, 10:30 am-5:00 pm.
Keeping the theme of “keeping it weird,” your NFB of Austin Board of Directors is extending an open invitation to Austin NFB members, supporters, and partners to attend the Austin Chapter Leadership Booster Shot Party. Before you begin to squirm or just say no, we advise you to relax, there will be no needles or small two-ounce glasses at this party. Instead there will be fellowship, Hot Sauce, and Thanksgiving cheer. Shots of Chili for all the bellies at the bar. Come one, come all, but please let us know whether to count on you. Once again, big bro identifies you as a number. How many to meet, equals how many that eat!!! The traditional meeting begins at it’s normal start time of 10:30am, we will break for the NFB Austin Chili Fest 2010 for lunch, and re-convene after the hoe-down.
Finally and most importantly we then begin the Booster Shot. We’ve got lots of members, and NFB Austin needs all of your help to change what it means to be blind. Let’s enhance our leadership, membership, and establish our role in the trenches of the federation’s daily battles. . With philosophy, participation, and personal responsibility we can accomplish the empowering and imaginative goals that we set.
Confirm yourself for the luncheon and special event by:
emailing: austin@nfb-texas.org
Calling: 512-796-9638 and leaving a message for Richie Flores.
We hope to see you all there…
The NFB of Austin Board
The meeting was called to order by President Richie Flores at 10:31 am. Guests in attendance were: Abby Salaiz, Tawnie Gill, Sharon Duffy, and Jessica Michallick. The treasurer reported an ending balance of $1824.79.
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