by Susan Glass
Do these names sound familiar to you: David Jackson, Peter Pardini, Linda Porelle, Vita Zavoli, Frank Welte, Sandra Fancher, Jennifer Holloway? Chances
are you recognize all or most of them. All are members of the San Francisco CCB chapter which, to quote its president Frank Welte, "is an organization
that has a strong sense of its history as an active local advocacy group, one that has also made significant contributions to the California Council of
the Blind." By no means is this an overstatement. Think of how many of these named
individuals have served on the CCB Board, the Board of Publications, and other crucial CCB committees.
So what makes the San Francisco chapter outstanding? “Service," answers Frank. It grounds a chapter to have a service project; it takes people out of themselves.
The San Francisco chapter's service project is its Alice Chavez Pardini Education Advancement Grant, which provides up to $2,500 annually to a legally
blind student who demonstrates a need for assistance in improving his or her access to education. According to chapter member and Vice Chair of the Funding
Committee Jennifer Holloway, this year's grant winner wants to be a technical writer for Apple Computing, and work with them on product accessibility. The grant provides access technology equipment to young people between the ages of 8 and 18, says Holloway, and providing educational help to young people
plants the seeds for the next generation of CCB members. [See related article in this issue for an in-depth description of the project.]
Like all of us in CCB, the San Francisco chapter is interested in growing its membership. According to Jennifer Holloway, the chapter's monthly meetings featuring excellent program speakers go a long way toward doing this. Program speakers have addressed such issues as mapping and accessible transportation, and accessible Script Talk. But Jennifer has additional exciting ideas for attracting new members, several of which focus on promoting braille literacy. Jennifer works at the San Francisco Light House as its Braille Project Coordinator. She'd like to see the chapter sponsor a week-long braille training program bearing the campaign slogan Braille Rocks. One featured activity could be a UEB crossword puzzle where participants are challenged to find "what's not written in UEB." She'd like to see her chapter sponsor a braille literacy writing contest, the winner of which would be awarded $200 to underwrite his-her attendance at the annual CCB convention.
Fellowship outside of chapter meetings goes a long way toward strengthening bonds between members. San Francisco chapter members hold bingo pizza fund-raisers and they also meet informally for picnics.
According to long-time chapter member Frank Welte, attracting new members starts with simple encounters: You meet a blind or visually impaired individual while you're out and about in your community, perhaps riding the bus or perhaps waiting in a doctor's office. He-she is unfamiliar with CCB, so you share your knowledge. Then (and this is the most important part) you follow up on your first contact. Make sure before leaving your first encounter, that you exchange phone numbers or email addresses. Invite the person to your next chapter meeting, and remind them about it a few days before it actually happens. You don't need to be a pest; just take those first few initial steps.
“Any chapter that wants to make growth a priority can do it," says Frank. "People in non urban centers may feel there aren't other blind people around. But when you look at the numbers even in a small town, you're not the only blind person there.”
Like the other CCB chapters profiled in the Blind Californian, the San Francisco chapter has an aging membership. "We need to bring in new people," says Frank. "We haven't yet cracked the code on that.”
But Jennifer Holloway thinks that her chapter and CCB are on the right track, and democracy, she says, is what the organization has going for it. A former member of NFB, Jennifer was attracted to ACB and CCB because of its open philosophy, "the idea that there are many ways of living life as a blind person, and that it's ok to have multiple opinions about issues, and it's ok to ask for help when you need it." She appreciates the fact that CCB encourages members wishing to run for offices to share their views in writing with all members.
Service, fellowship, education and democracy appear to be four key concepts crucial for building strong, dynamic CCB chapters. Hats off to all CCB members who turn these concepts into active, lived reality.
