Month: May 2014

BPI Announces 1st Convention scholarship Winner

It is with great pleasure that the Blind LGBT Pride International scholarship committee announces the winner of the first ever BPI convention scholarship!

 

After reviewing all applications, and conducting subsequent phone interviews, we are excited to announce that Tiffany Taylor of Farmington Hills Michigan is the recipient of this first ever award!

 

Tiffany currently serves as Legislative and Advocacy Co—Chair. She also volunteers as a proofreader, speaker and fundraiser for Seedlings Braille Books. She has also served as President of the Disabilities Awareness Group on the Campus of Adrian College. Tiffany holds a Bachellor’s degree in Theater. In the past, she has worked with blind and visually impaired youth in various capacities. It is Tiffany’s hope to empower and educate both blind and LGBT individuals and help bring them to their fullest potential. In doing so, she hopes to bring down stereotypes facing both Blind and LGBT individuals.

 

As a recipient of this award, Tiffany will receive round trip airfare to and from Las Vegas, lodging at the Riviera Hotel and Casino, BPI’s convention package, which includes tickets to all BPI sponsored activities, workshops, and a ticket to the ACB banquet. The scholarship committee extends their congratulations and best wishes to Tiffany in her future endeavors.

The committee thanks those who applied and encourages those applicants to apply next year.

 

With Pride,

 

2014 Scholarship Committee

 

Andrea Damitio, Chair

Leah Gardner

Geno Stone

Gabriel Lopez

Guillermo Robles, President

Blind Pride Walks in Las Vegas…Say What?!

BPI is walking in Las Vegas to raise money for the American Council of the Blind (ACB) and BPI!  Yes, we’re taking advantage of this year’s innovation to the ACB Walk fundraising, and donating half of our donations to Blind LGBT Pride International!  Both of these organizations are doing great work, and could very well use more funds to do even more great work!

 

Recently, at the national level, we’ve finally gotten the Treasury to make the next generation of paper currency tactilely identifiable for us, we’ve made some kind of noise mandatory so we all can hear a “quiet car” coming, and we’ve got the government working on medication labels that will allow us to know what and when a prescription drug should be taken.  Things we are still working on:  getting Medicare to pay for some of the expensive equipment we need to be able to live independently such as “reading machines”, making sure multi disabled kids are getting the skills needed to be educated and prepared for living and working independently to the extent possible, and working to reduce the 70 percent unemployment rate among blind and visually impaired people.  Believe it or not, there’s still a lot to do.

 

Here’s how you can participate:

1.  Sign up with the Blind Pride team, walk in Las Vegas or “virtually” anywhere on July 13, and raise money from your friends and family.  (Go to acb.org and follow the link to the Brenda Dillon Memorial Walk to register under the Blind Pride team.

or

2.  Donate to ACB and BPI by credit card online by going to https://walk.acb.org/donation#main-content, or by sending a check payable to ACB to :

American Council of the Blind

6300 Shingle Creek Parkway, Suite 195

Brooklyn Center, MN 55430

(please be sure to indicate that the check is for the Walk, and that President Guillermo Robles is the solicitor on the Blind Pride team)

 

For further questions, please visit our contact page at http://blindlgbtpride.org/contact and choose to write the President.