New Senior Care Provider

Athens is one of the best cities to retire in, and it just got a little better. 

At Home Senior Care is a new business opening in Athens next month, with an emphasis on providing excellent in-home medical care.  Brian Carrigan and his associates will provide specialized care teams including nurses, social workers, chaplains, and volunteers designed to keep clients in their homes and out of a nursing home.  They will offer different levels of care depending on the client's need.

To learn more about At Home Senior Care, contact them at (706) 254-2000 or visit http://www.remainathomeseniorcare.com/.  To read the Athens Banner-Herald article about this new business, please visit http://onlineathens.com/business/2012-04-21/senior-care-provider-focuses-quality-life.

BARD Accounts

BARD (Braille and Audio Reading Download) is about to merge with Web Braille, and undergo a major upgrade. In preparation for this, NLS is removing closed and inactive BARD accounts. If you have a BARD account but have not used it in the last year, you risk having your account closed.

If you have a BARD account and want to make sure it remains active, please log in and download a book. This will keep your account open and active. 

ESP Skydive

Extra Special People, an organization for people with disabilities and their families, has a big fundraiser planned for this weekend.  Thirty-three people are scheduled to skydive from the Monroe-Walton Co. Airport during their "Jump, Fly, Be Different" event as a way to raise money for their annual summer camp.

There will be other activities such as hot-air balloon rides.

To read the Athens Banner-Herald article, please visit http://onlineathens.com/local-news/2012-04-22/esp-supporters-skydive-kids  and read more about ESP at http://www.extraspecialpeople.com/.

World Book Night in Athens

World Book Night, which began in the U.K. last year as a way to bring books to the public, is being celebrated in Athens today.  Avid Bookshop and Barnes & Noble each have a team of "givers" who are volunteers taking to the streets today to hand out books.  The stores plan to give away over 800 books today. 

So if you see someone handing out books on the street, take a part of World Book Night and try a new read!  And if you have extra paperbacks sitting around your house, today is a good day to pay it forward to a new reader.

http://onlineathens.com/local-news/2012-04-22/locals-celebrate-world-book-night-secret-giveaway

More Digital Titles in TBT

Talking Book Topics, the bi-monthly catalog from NLS, will soon have more digital titles announced each month. Up to 500 titles will be in each issue, beginning with the July-August 2012 edition. Because of the increased number of titles, the annotations will be shorter. This will continue until the backlog of unannounced titles is depleted.

To order books, you may complete the order form in the back of the catalog and mail it in, or call or email your requests to the Talking Book Center.

Prison Inmates Transcribe Braille for Students

Central State Prison, in Macon, has a unique work program for about 25 of its current inmates - Braille transcribers. The men spend hours each day working to transcribe textbooks for local visually-impaired students to use in school.

Not only is the program succeeding at providing materials for students, but the inmates learn valuable computer skills and get a sense of pride from providing a necessary commodity.

Since 2006, none of the Braille transcriber inmates who have been released have returned to prison.

The news clip from 41NBC: http://blip.tv/41nbc-news-on-demand/braille-program-6023782.

Upcoming TBC Events

There are a couple of events in the next few weeks that TBC will be attending. Come visit us and check out all the great information available!


Gwinnett Council for Seniors
Lifestyle Showcase

Saturday, April 21
10:00am - 1:30pm

Bethesda Senior Center
225 Bethesda Church Rd
Lawrenceville

Contact: 770-822-5147




To Health - Sing, Dance, and Relax

Health Fair featuring Line Dancing, Health Screenings, Cooking Demonstrations, Mammogram Van


Friday, April 27
9:00am - 12:30pm

George Pierce Community Center
55 Buford Highway
Suwanee

Contact: 770-614-2537


Hope to see you there!

Braille Instruction Decreasing

Two articles were recently published discussing the lack of Braille instruction in the United States. As smartphones and mobile technology increase, less schools are teaching visually impaired students to read Braille. Braille advocates argue that this leaves the visually impaired virtually illiterate.

Read these articles on NPR and MSNBC:

http://www.npr.org/blogs/alltechconsidered/2012/02/13/146812288/braille-under-siege-as-blind-turn-to-smartphones

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/29882719/ns/us_news-life/t/fewer-blind-americans-learning-use-braille/#.T1opO4Fn-PQ.

11 Musicians Who Overcame Disabilities

MentalFloss.com has compiled yet another interesting list of celebrities who have overcome disabilities, this time featuring some famous musicians. If you read through the comments, there are suggestions for many more who could have made the list as well.

Read the MentalFloss.com article here: http://www.mentalfloss.com/blogs/archives/122704.

Celebrate Wellness Event

The Samaritan Counseling Center of Northeast Georgia will offer Celebrate Wellness, a day-long wellness event in downtown Athens. Participants can take classes such as yoga, Tai Chi, Zumba, and Guided Meditation or tour booths from local businesses to get information and demonstrations on a variety of health topics.

All of the classes and booths are free and open to the public.

To get more information, please read the Athens Banner-Herald article or visit www.celebratewellnessathens.org.

Little Free Libraries

USA Today recently ran an article about Little Free Libraries, a movement of dollhouse-sized libraries that operate on the "take a book, leave a book" principle. There are an estimated 300-400 nationwide.

The website littlefreelibrary.org provides templates for building a library box and also tracks locations of existing libraries.

To read the USA Today article, please visit: http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/story/2012-02-21/little-libraries-lawn-boxes-books/53260328/1.

NFB Bell Program Expands

An email from the National Federation of the Blind:

The National Federation of the Blind Braille Enrichment for Literacy and Learning (BELL) Program has expanded exponentially this year. Modeled after a successful summer program created by the Maryland affiliate in 2008, the BELL Program has grown to 19 programs in 10 states. The NFB Bell Program is designed to provide children ages 4-12 with two weeks of intense Braille instruction through fun, hands-on learning and activities. The program targets children who may not be receiving adequate Braille instruction during their school day. In addition to Braille, children will also make crafts, play games, and engage in other projects. Children may also have the opportunity to attend field trips related to the NFB BELL curriculum.

~Get involved! The easiest way is to send your kids to the BELL Program for two weeks of Braille fun. However, if you don't have or know of any children to encourage to attend, there are still many ways to help with the NFB BELL Program! There is a job for everyone! If you like to cook, you could help plan meals. If you like to network and meet people, you could find donations or plan field trips. If you don't have a task in mind but want to help anyway, we always need help preparing materials for crafts projects. The NFB BELL Program is an important program that changes the lives of both the children who attend and the adults who volunteer. You have an exciting chance to be a part of that!

The 2012 NFB BELL States are:

Colorado
Colorado Springs: Diane McGeorge at rmcgeorge@comcast.net or 303-321-4268
Metro Denver: Diane McGeorge at rmcgeorge@comcast.net or 303-321-4268

Georgia
Atlanta: Shelby Ball at sball@nfbga.org or 678-814-3372
Savannah: Denise Howard at dhoward@lifecil.com or 912-925-3860
Valdosta: Shaquantaey Mack at taey06@gmail.com or 478-232-3971

Idaho
Contact Ramona Walhof at ramona.walhof@gmail.com or 208-338-1595

Maryland
Baltimore: Melissa Riccobono at president@nfbmd.org or 410-235-3073
Glendale: Melissa Riccobono at president@nfbmd.org or 410-235-3073

Massachusetts
Contact Kristina Constant at kristinaconstant66@gmail.com or 413-532-5654

Nebraska
Contact Kim Adams at kmadams@nntc.net or 402-666-5505

North Carolina
Contact Gary Ray at ghray@charter.net or 828-505-0299

Texas
Abilene: Sylvia Eckdahl at spedsyl@aol.com or 325-823-4060
Austin: Richie Flores at flores.richie@gmail.com or 512-796-9638
Beaumont: Richie Flores at flores.richie@gmail.com or 512-796-9638
Houston: Louis Maher at ljmaher@swbell.net or 713-444-7838

Utah
Contact Wendy Bybee at wendy@thebybees.net or 801 965-1113

Virginia
Arlington: Sandy Halverson at sandyh50@verizon.net or 703-379-1141
Richmond: CJ Fish at cjwfish@yahoo.com or 252-916-4655
Virginia Beach: Theresa Willis at theresa_willis@hotmail.com or 757-286-9407

The NFB BELL homepage is available at www.nfb.org/BELL . Apply Online!!


For general BELL questions, or how you can become an NFB BELL state next year, please contact:

Emily Gibbs M.Ed NCLB
Education Program Specialist
Jernigan Institute
NATIONAL FEDERATION OF THE BLIND
200 East Wells Street
at Jernigan Place
Baltimore, MD 21230
Phone: (410) 659-9314 ext. 2407
Fax: (410) 659-5129
Email: EGibbs@nfb.org
Web: www.nfb.org/education

AFB Webpage Redesigned

Here is an email we received from the American Foundation for the Blind:

The American Foundation for the Blind (AFB), the national nonprofit that expands possibilities for people with vision loss, has launched a redesign of its main website, www.afb.org. The new site offers a more interactive, engaging experience, making it easier for visitors to locate information on the topics that interest them.

Like the former AFB website, the new afb.org is fully accessible to people with vision loss. Visitors can change colors, font, and font size to increase content readability.

On the new site, visitors will find:

• A new information architecture that improves navigability via a cleaner design
  
• Slideshows that highlight news, events, and resources on living with vision loss
  
• New and enhanced ways to engage with AFB through public policy campaigns and social networking channels
  
• The ability to easily share content by e-mail, Facebook, or Twitter
  
• In-depth descriptions of more than 1,600 agencies and organizations that offer services to people with vision loss, available for free for the first time through AFB’s Directory of Services online