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.
What: An opportunity for interested students to experience the NFB Washington Seminar
When: January 30-February 3, 2012.
Who: Any blind student enrolled in school, college, or rehabilitation program
The NfB of Austin extends an invite to any blind student who is interested in changing what it means to be blind through the legislative process. Each year the NFB holds Washington Seminar, offering the membership the chance to take their issues to the people who influence governmental affairs and laws for the country. Together we march on Capitol Hill providing the necessary information to our representatives that help us in solitifying security, equality, and opportunity for the blind of America. The NfB of Austin chapter is offering financial assistance to a blind person who is
currently enrolled in school or a rehabilitation program. One must submit an essay not to exceed 300 words answering the following question: “What are the three main priorities of the blind, and why?”
Submissions should be e-mailed to: Austin@nfb-texas.org
We are eager to evaluate your ideas, and send the deserving individual to Washington to help us voice the priorities of the blind to our elected legislature.
Sincerely,
The NFB of Austin Chapter
Our representatives here in Austin are Lloyd Doggett (democrat), Michael T. McCaul (republican), John R. Carter (republican), and Lamar Smith (republican).
The following call to action comes from Anil Louis.
We need to mobilize and gain quick cosponsor support. Call and/or schedule meetings with your Member of Congress immediately and express your support for H.R. 3086, the Fair Wages for People with Disabilities Act of 2011. Our success is dependent on our efforts to respectfully educate all Members of Congress so that they understand the true employment capacity of people with disabilities. Many of our talking points are listed in the Findings section of the Fair Wages for People with Disabilities bill. The text of the bill can be found at thomas.loc.gov. If you secure an opportunity to speak with the Member or the appropriate staffer, begin the education by sharing the following three points with them:
- The Tools Exist for Competitive Employment of People with Disabilities. Most people still believe that people with disabilities cannot be competitively employed at or above the federal minimum wage. Rehabilitation services, employment strategies, and adaptive technologies make it possible for people with even the most significant disabilities to obtain employment at the federal minimum wage or higher.
- It is Illogical for Doubters to Provide Training and/or Employment. For years, those entities that have doubted the capacity of people with disabilities to be competitively employed have been responsible for providing employment at subminimum wages. This is extremely backward logic. Employers that cannot provide the proper training and support for people with disabilities to obtain competitive employment at competitive wages should not be providing training or employment for people with disabilities.
- Removing the Misconception of Incapacity Provides More Employment Opportunities. Employment of people with disabilities at subminimum wages supports the misperception that people with disabilities are not productive enough to earn competitive wages. This misperception is the largest barrier to the real employment of people with disabilities. By eliminating the legal contention that people with disabilities lack capacity for competitive employment, it is affirmed that when given the proper training, support, and opportunities, people with disabilities can be competitively employed in a variety of vocational environments at competitive wages.
We need you to schedule visits in your local districts immediately and to make your calls to the Member’s local and D.C. offices right now. If they are willing to cosponsor, refer them to the following staffers:
- Office of Representative Cliff Stearns (Republican, Sponsor)
- James Thomas, Legislative Director/O&I Policy Coordinator
Phone: (202) 225-5744- Office of Representative Tim Bishop (Democrat, Lead Cosponsor)
- Joanna Sara, Senior Legislative Assistant
Phone: (202) 225-3826After you have had your visit or made your call, please provide Mr. Louis with the following information:
Which Member of Congress?
Which State?
Who did you speak to?
Ask the question, “Will the Member cosponsor the Fair Wages for People with Disabilities legislation?” What was their response?
( ) I was only able to express my support.
( ) The Member would like to co-sponsor
( ) The Member needs to research the issue.
( ) The Member can not support this legislation.
( ) Other: Explain________________________________
Please contact Anil Louis if you have any questions. Also, feel free to refer the staffers directly to him (his contact information is at the end of this article).
We have been working toward this goal since the founding of our organization. The time is now for us to fight for Fair Wages for People with Disabilities, H.R. 3086.
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.
Friends,
First, thanks for your willingness to step up and attend the hearing.
I’ve just received word that the public hearing has been canceled for tomorrow; there is no need for us to travel to the Capitol after all. The sense is
that Dr. Shelton has no immediate plans to place the bill on another committee agenda at this time.
This is a fluid session so there are certainly no guarantees that we have seen the last of this bill. I think it is safe to say that our advocacy efforts
were effective, and Dr. Shelton was less than sure of broad support for his legislation.
As always, I’ll send pertinent information when I receive it, and I sincerely appreciate knowing I can count on you should this issue rear it’s ugly head
again before this session is put to rest.
Best,
Kimberly
I would like to apologize in advance if the web site is broken in any way. It was time to renew the nfbaustin.org domain name and instead of using the free wordpress.com site I have moved us over to a real web host. The new site should make it easier to add all the custom forms and pages for which President Flores has been clamoring. There will probably be some growing pains as I try to make the new site have all of the features of the old one. In the interest of continuity here is a link to the old site.
Pleas let me know if you have any problems or suggestions for the site. Thanks for reading.
Sincerely, your hardly working NFB Austin Webmaster/Secretary/Gofer.
The chapter meeting for November has been moved to November 20 at the NFB of Texas office. The address for the office is as follows.
314 E. Highland Mall Blvd.This meeting will be for chapter building with activities, discussions, and free lunch! I hope to see you all there!
On behalf of the Texas Association of Blind Students I'm posting the following message.
The Texas Association of Blind Students is pleased to announce the return of Southern Strums! Southern Strums is TABS’ biggest fundraiser of the year and our biggest event second only to our Spring Conference. Southern Strums provides a showcase for blind musicians to play for convention goers from all over the United States. The event will be held on Monday July 5,2010 from 7:00pm to 11:00pm. at 'Uptown Bar' & 'Grill'
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Hurray! I just got off the phone with our president and now I have his approval to get the NFBAustin.org site address. Now that we’re legit hopefully we will be able to have the current minutes, resolutions, and special events information here. Thanks for visiting and please come back soon for more!