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The New Jersey Council of the Blind
CHRONICLE
 
July, 2017

The New Jersey Council of the Blind’s mission is to strive for the betterment of the blind and visually impaired community. The purpose of this publication is to provide a forum for the free exchange of ideas, opinions and information that concern blind and visually impaired people.

The NJCB Chronicle is also available on Newsline. If you do not have a Newsline subscription, contact Reader Services at the New Jersey Talking Book and Braille Center at (800) 792-8322 to get signed up for a Newsline subscription. Four quarterly newsletters are sent to members free of charge by E-mail. You may obtain the current and back issues of the Chronicle and other information from our web site http://www.njcounciloftheblind.org. Feel free to write us at njcounciloftheblind@gmail.com.

The New Jersey Council of the Blind (NJCB) is a 501 (c) 3 corporation. Much appreciated tax deductible donations may be sent to the Treasurer of NJCB.

The NJCB officers are: President, Lauren Casey (609) 912-0657 ; 1st Vice President Frank Schack (973) 595-0116; 2nd Vice President, Joyce Sowa (732) 596-9675; Secretary Joyce Schack (973) 595-0116; Treasurer, Bernie Zuckerman of 32 Judson Street, Unit 7B, Edison, NJ 08837, and (732) 221-5362

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President’s Message by Lauren Casey

Hello Everyone,

We are so excited to announce two winners for the NJCB Scholarship for 2017! Andrew Chin of Morristown and Bryan Woolbert of Egg Harbor Township are this year's winners. Bryan will attend our July meeting and Andrew our October meeting. Additional information to follow.

Carly Fredericks of The College of New Jersey, Outreach coordinator, was scheduled to join our April quarterly meeting. However she was not able to attend but willingly accepted our invitation to attend our July Quarterly Meeting. Please plan to attend our July 29, 2017 Meeting at Camp Happiness and see what updates Carly can share with us along with other information. Camp Happiness will provide us with a picnic lunch at 12:00 pm. Please plan to attend.

See you all soon.

Lauren Casey, President

2017 Scholarship Winners

NJCB Announced 2017 Scholarship Winners

Lauren Casey and Bernie Zuckerman interviewed two students and both were selected as our 2017 Scholarship Winners.

Andrew Chin of Morristown, NJ will be attending the University of Sciences in Philadelphia, PA in the fall. He will study Occupational Therapy. At his high school, he was selected among 150 applicants for one of 75 slots for the Selective Peer Leadership program. Andrew likes working with his fellow students in acclimating in their new school environment. He led a project at school to install Braille signs around the school. He shows true leadership ability and community mindedness.

Brian Woolbert of Egg harbor Township will be attending Cairn University of Langhorne, PA where he will double major in music and computer science. He graduated in June from CharterTech High School for the Performing Arts in Somers Point, NJ. Bryan has won awards such as Student Art Excellence Award, 35th Annual Governor’s Award in Arts Education and was a member of the National Honors Society. Bryan was selected as a delegate to represent CharterTech in the State of NJ for outstanding academic achievement, leadership potential and determination to serve humanity in the field of science and technology. He is a very talented musician and performs regularly.

Congratulations to both winners. We are excited to meet you both.

Sounding board article

Hello to residents of Middlesex County who are blind and legally blind: The MCAB Middlesex County Association for the Blind has been in existence for more than 50 years. We are a community group of volunteers with visual impairments, providing a resource list and social activities for the visually impaired and blind residents of this county. We recently received 501 (c) 3 status from the Internal Revenue Service. We are expanding our membership. If you are looking for an organization who likes to have fun, promotes friendships and participate in group activities, this organization is for you. If you would like to join us or know of individuals who may wish to join, please tell them about us. You can become a member of our Board of Directors or just attend our activities. You can become a board member or just to sign up for activities. Everyone on our membership list will be notified about meetings and activities. No dues are required to participate in this group and a small charge may be required to attend an event. You will be informed of the charge when notified of the event type, date, and location. If you wish to join our board of directors and provide input to the direction this organization may take in the future you are welcome. Sometimes we hold an activity at our board meetings and all members of the organization will be notified when this will take place so they can attend the meeting. Please let President William Wright know if you would like to join the board, just be a member and participate in activities or both.

If you know of any groups that may assist us with volunteer services please share this information with them. The events we hold will be provided at a reduced cost to you so we can cover the expenses of our volunteers. None of these outings can be accomplished without your participation and a solid group of volunteers. Some of our current events include: An annual picnic, Thanksgiving celebration and a holiday party. We are expanding events for the future that may include: a trip to a Trenton Thunder or Somerset baseball game or other sporting events;
outings to Atlantic City for a walk on the boardwalk and visit to a casino; trips to Point Pleasant boardwalk; a trip to museums designed so you can touch and experience the exhibits; trips to plays at Roosevelt Park. There are free local concerts or ones for a very low cost.

If you have suggestions for events you would like to have added to the list that interest you. You can indicate them to Mr. Wright when you contact him. We are always looking for input from our members and value their ideas.

We are looking forward to welcoming you in to our family of caring, supportive, fun loving individuals and providing the opportunity for creating new friendships and memories. For more information, e-mail: mcabnj@gmail.com

Call: 609-662-7885

With warm regards,

President: William Wright

Chapter News

New Jersey Blind Citizens Association (NJBCA)
Welcome to Summer! New Jersey Blind Citizens Association (NJBCA) has been busy. We have attended 3 free concerts at the PNC Bank arts center (Michael Amante, The Osmand Brothers and the Army Field Band and Chorus), and we have had two visits from an ASPCA Therapy dog- Parker, the German Shepard.

Our 12th annual gift auction was held May 19th- a great time was had by all.

V.I.S.E- this stands for Visual Impairment Support and Education and is the name of our support group for individuals who are experiencing deteriorating vision, vision impairment or blindness as well as their families. Meetings are held the 3rd Monday of the month at our facility in Leonardo. We are considering having an evening support group meeting once in a while, as this will afford more persons and their family members to take part. If you or anyone you know would like to participate, please have them give us a call at the office- 732-291-0878.

Our Ladies Auxiliary had a very successful Spaghetti dinner fundraiser in April, and another is being planned for October.

Looking forward to seeing everyone at the picnic On Saturday, July 29.

Report from MCAB (Mercer County)
MCAB hosted the NJCB quarterly meeting on Saturday, April 29 at Trinity United Methodist church. Turnout was good and everyone enjoyed a Pizza lunch prior to the meeting. MCAB hopes to host future NJCB meetings.

MCAB chapter has had guests attend our chapter meetings and a few new members have joined. We purchased a block of tickets for the Trenton Thunder baseball game sponsored by CVBI to be held on Thursday, July 20. This year’s Annual MCAB Picnic at the Trenton Elks will be on September 9. This year it will be inside the facility. It will also include celebrating the summer birthdays. One of our members also arranged to have a DJ for music and entertainment. We are making transportation arrangement for several of the chapter members to attend the NJCB quarterly meeting at Camp Happiness on Saturday, July 29.

Meeting Notice

The next quarterly meeting of NJCB will be hosted by The New Jersey Blind Citizens' Association (BCA) at Camp Happiness at 18 Burlington Ave., Leonardo, NJ 07737 on Saturday, July, 29, 2017. A picnic lunch will be served at 12 Noon for a cost of $5.00; the meeting will begin at 1 PM and will be over at about 4 PM. In order for them to prepare enough food call the BCA office at (732) 291-0878 by July 20th to let them know that you are coming. One person from each organization can call with a group count. We are looking forward to seeing you there.

Directions:

Take Route 36 to Leonardo, New Jersey in northern Monmouth County.
Turn toward the shore onto Leonard Avenue in Leonardo, NJ. Turn right onto Burlington Avenue. The meeting will be on the right starting at the picnic grounds at Camp Happiness.

Save the Date

Saturday October 14th – Fall Festival at Grounds for Sculpture, Hamilton, NJ

Saturday October 29th 12 Noon to 4PM – NJDV Quarterly Meeting Location TBD

Saturday January 27th 2018 12Noon to 4PM – Quarterly Meeting Location TBD

NOTE: Disclaimer. The views and opinions expressed in this newsletter are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the opinions and views of the New Jersey Council of the Blind officers and/or members. The editor reserves the right to edit articles submitted for both space and content.


 

New Jersey Council of the Blind
An affiliate of
American Council of the Blind
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Make check payable to NJCB and send to:
Treasurer- Bernie Zuckerman
32 Judson St. Unit 7-B
Edison, NJ 08837
(732) 221-5362

President- Lauren Casey
lrcasey1@verizon.net