Shop Online and Raise Dollars for NJFFB

Here’s a great idea if you like to shop online. Register as a member at http://www.iGive.com/NJFFB (it’s free) and select NJ Foundation for the Blind as your “Cause.” Then, every time you shop online at any one of 680 popular sites, like Overstock.com, QVC, Staples, Ebay and Home Depot, up to 26% of your purchase will be donated to NJFFB. Shopping this way will never cost you more; in fact, you may actually save using special igive coupon codes. Anyone can participate, so join today and shop to benefit NJFFB!

Program Department News

Spring Session 2008

Spring certainly has sprung! Along with April's warm weather came 42 students who excitedly perused their schedules of classes over coffee and tea. Returning students welcomed each other back and enthusiastically greeted incoming students, talking to them about what they could expect from this new experience. New and returning students alike were about to embark on a journey toward independence, and their shared desire to begin was obvious. During the 10-week program at NJFFB, they will acquire skills, learn about devices and obtain support needed to adjust to vision loss. The successes of our students will be celebrated and shared with friends and family members on June 19th and 20th.

We are currently accepting registration forms for our intensive summer session. During the summer, we will offer a six-week session that will run three days a week: Tuesday, Wednesdays and Thursdays. Classes will begin on Tuesday, July 7th and will end on Thursday, August 14th. For more information regarding re-registration and classes, please contact our student services coordinator by phone at 973-627-0055 ext 312 or by email at registration@njffb.org . If you have not attended our program in the last year and have an interest in attending, please contact our social worker at 973-627-0055 ext 315 or via email at socialwork@njffb.org.

NJFFB Continues to Offer Courses through Dorot

In July, 2008, NJFFB will offer a low vision course via Dorot's University Without Walls, a telephone conference call program. No special equipment is necessary; a regular phone is all you need to participate. NJFFB's program director will deliver a three-session series called, Adjusting to Low Vision. This series will review several strategies, adaptive products, and resources that can help individuals adjust to low vision. Strategies for using lighting, contrast, and magnification, as well as low-tech adaptive aids will be explored. Participants will also learn about high-tech solutions for tasks such as reading, e-mailing, and using the Internet. The series will run on the following dates: 7/14, 7/21, and 7/28 from 3:00 p.m. to 3:50 p.m. If you are interested in registering for this course, please contact the University Without Walls at 877-819-9147.

In October, 2008, our Social Work Supervisor will once again offer a Family Support phone group through Dorot's Caregiver Connection. Heather's four-session series, Understanding and Adapting to Vision Loss, is for caregivers and persons who are visually impaired who wish to learn more about ways to increase independence. Some topics included are: the 4 major eye conditions, adapting your home to increase safety and independence, adjustment to vision loss, and resources available and how to access them. Time will be allotted for discussion and asking questions. This series will run on the following dates: 10/16, 10/23, 10/30, and 11/6 at 7:00 p.m. To register for this course by phone, please call 877-819-9147.

New Jersey Lions come to NJFFB

On Saturday, April 5th, members from 15 different New Jersey Lions Clubs attended a breakfast at NJFFB. Strong supporters of education and rehabilitation for individuals who are blind or visually impaired, the Lions came out in full force to learn more about our latest endeavor: the SMART Center. An acronym for Student Media and Resource Technology Center, The SMART Center currently offers students the ability to listen to audio books, research visual impairments, play adapted games, and read printed materials via CCTVs and scanning software. However, we wanted to share with the Lions our vision of what the Center will look like one year from now, which entails the acquisition of a variety of cutting-edge technologies, both adapted and mainstream, that will enable persons who are visually impaired to gain exposure to technological solutions, compare similar technologies, view objective product demonstrations, and gain hands-on access to these devices. The idea of empowering individuals who are visually impaired to become well-informed and to maintain or regain their independence was met with great enthusiasm, and we look forward to working with the New Jersey Lions on this important mission.

Save the Date

here is a preview of some of the tentative dates on our 2008 Calendar:

5/26 Memorial Day (Mon.) NJFFB Closed
5/31 Founder’s Day Event
6/13 Deadline for registration for summer session
6/27 Spring session ends
7/4 Independence Day (Fri.) NJFFB Closed
7/7 Summer intensive session begins
8/13 Deadline for registration for fall session
8/14 Summer intensive session ends
9/1 Labor Day (Mon.) NJFFB Closed
9/8 Fall session begins
10/13 Columbus Day (Mon.) NJFFB Closed
10/25 Community Halloween Event
11/12 Registration deadline for Holidays at the Lodge
11/14 Fall session ends
11/27 Thanksgiving Day (Thurs.) NJFFB Closed
11/28 Day after Thanksgiving (Fri.) NJFFB Closed
12/1 Holidays at the Lodge runs for two weeks
12/25 Christmas Day (Thurs.) NJFFB Closed

Other News of Interest

Cell Phone Software Reads to the Blind

K-NFB Reading Technology's text-to-speech program will be available starting on the Nokia N82 handset.

K-NFB Reading Technology, a developer of assistive technologies, introduced what it claims to be the first mobile phone software that reads to the blind and the disabled.

K-NFB, a joint venture between Kurzweil Technologies and the National Federation of the Blind, is making its reading software available on the Nokia N82 mobile phone. It will be the smallest text-to-speech reading device to date, the company said.

The software is part of a new product line called Reader Mobile that includes the knfbReader and the kReader, which allow a person to take pictures using the N82's built-in camera and read printed materials. This is enabled through image processing software developed by Kurzweil.

"So many people already carry cell phones. This innovation is exciting because it puts all of the functions that users need into one product, eliminating the need to carry multiple devices. The Reader's simple user interface makes it ideal for the growing number of blind seniors," said James Gashel, VP of business development at K-NFB, in a statement.

The software reads text out loud to the blind. Persons with disabilities can use the software to enlarge, track, and highlight content in documents directly on their mobile phone. Documents stored in a phone can also be transferred to and from Braille desktop programs.

Reader Mobile can understand most printed documents from letters, memos and pages in a book, to as address labels and packaging instructions. It can also recognize U.S. currency and display sentences visually, highlighting each word to simplify the reading process. The reading speed can be adjusted depending on a person's preference.

Additionally, the Reader Mobile makes various functions of a mobile phone accessible to the blind, such as video and music playback, GPS, wireless communications, photography, e-mail, text messaging, calendars, and tasks, according to K-NFB. Editor’s Note: This product is now available for purchase through the following website: www.knfbreader.com/purchase.php

IBM Helps Blind "See" Video

Technology giant IBM is soon to launch a multimedia browser to make audio and video content accessible to people with vision impairments. Codenamed the Accessibility Browser - or A-Browser - the software was created by a blind employee in Japan. The A-Browser will give blind and partially-sighted people the same control over multimedia content that sighted people have using a mouse. Read the full story at the link below:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/technology/6507189.stm