« ACB Maine Newsletter September 2024

Welcome to the Newsletter for ACB Maine for September 2024

President's Message

Hello to all of you, hope you are enjoying your summer with all this wonderful weather. The summer is flying by and fall is fastly approaching. Please take note of some events coming up, the scholarship application is open for submissions. If you or someone you know is legally blind and enrolled in college, please visit our website to complete the scholarship application. The White Cane Walk is on October 12 hosted by Iris Net Work. The ACB Maine conference will be November 2 and details are below.

Please feel free to join us in our next meeting October 5, 2024.

Look below for resources, upcoming event details, and delicious recipes included in this newsletter.

White Cane Walk

Save the date!  The White Cane Walk is scheduled to Saturday, October 12, 2024.

"As an essential initiative of The Iris Network, the White Cane Walk raises awareness by promoting a safer environment for individuals with blindness or vision impairment who use a white cane or guide dog for travel and celebrates the capabilities of persons with vision impairment or blindness. Thank you for walking with The Iris Network, and joining a powerful movement of individuals, businesses, and community groups who share the vision of a world where no one is limited by blindness or vision impairment. This year’s walk will be on Saturday, October 12, 2024; registration begins at 9:00 a.m. and the walk begins at 10:00 a.m. at our beautiful campus, 189 Park Avenue in Portland."

Click this link to learn more - Iris Network

ACB Maine Convention

Everyone is invited! Let’s have a smashing turn out this year! The ACB Maine convention will be in person at the Budget Inn located in Waterville Maine. We have discounted motel rooms available while they last, wonderful fun giveaways, several guest speakers who will discuss employment, transportation, technology and community concerns. A light. breakfast and lunch will be available. 

If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact Linda Porelle at 207-591-0116 or by email - lmporelle@gmail.com

When: Saturday, November 2, 2024.

                Time: 9 AM to 4 PM.

Where: Best Western Hotel, Waterville, Maine (in person) or

        Virtually on Zoom with help from ACB Media.

We have reserved a block of rooms for Friday and Saturday night for anyone wishing to arrive early and visit with friends before and after the convention program.

More information and registration information will be sent as it becomes available.

Good News

From Dan Day

 
To those with AMD and inherited retinal disease who still have significant remaining vision:
 
I think you’ll find the latest installment of FFB’s Eye on the Cure podcast quite interesting.  They are about to start a trial of a drug that has been used to treat alcoholism (Antabuse/Disulfiram), to determine if it can improve the vision of those who still have quite a bit of remaining vision.  Given that the drug is already FDA approved for human use, the trial should not require a long period of testing, and it will certainly be exciting if an off-label use of an existing drug can help with AMD and IRD’s.  Here’s the podcast URL:
 

You can listen to the podcast by going to this link

Eye on the Cure

Scam Alert

from Mona Ervin (AREA Teachers)

• Write more convincing and natural-sounding phishing emails and text messages.
• Create deepfakes of celebrities to trick victims into thinking they're investing in a good company or project.
• Impersonate the victim's friend or relative and ask for money as part of a grandparent scam.
• Impersonate an employer and ask for personal information.

• Robocalls: Robocalls have people's phones ringing nonstop with increasingly natural-sounding recorded voices. They may offer everything from auto warranties to vacations, or issue a threat to try and get your attention. Some robocalls can even respond to your questions.
• Impersonators: Scammers impersonate IRS personnel, police, survey takers, relatives, delivery people and well-known companies to threaten you or gain your trust. They use scare tactics related to your Social Security number, criminal record or account before asking for your personal, account or credit card information.
• Apps: Scammers may try to get you to install a malicious app to steal your information. Or, they might create a nearly identical copy of an existing app and then make money from in-app purchases.
• QR codes:  These convenient codes have gained popularity as a touchless option to do things like read a restaurant menu or make a payment. However, scammers place their QR codes in inconspicuous spots, and scanning the code could prompt you to make a small purchase or enter your credentials on a look-alike website.

• Be skeptical when someone contacts you. Scammers can spoof calls and emails to make it look like they are coming from different sources, including government agencies, charities, banks and large companies. Don't share personal information, usernames, passwords or one-time codes that others can use to access your accounts or steal your identity.
• Don't click unknown links. Whether the link arrives in your email, a text or a direct message, never click on it unless you're certain the sender has good intentions. If the message says it's from a company or government agency, call the company using a number that you look up on your own to confirm its legitimacy.
• Be careful with your phone. Similarly, if you suspect a spam call, don't respond or press a button. The safest option is to hang up or ignore the call entirely. You can always look up the organization and initiate a call yourself if you're worried there may actually be an issue.
• Enable multifactor authentication. Add this feature to any accounts that offer it as an option, and try to use a non-SMS version to protect yourself from SIM swapping.
• Research companies before taking any actions. Before you make a purchase or donation, take a few minutes to review the company. Do a web search for its name plus "scam" or "reviews" and research charities on Charity Navigator and CharityWatch.
• Don't refund or forward overpayments. Be careful whenever a company or person asks you to refund or forward part of a payment. Often, the original payment will be fraudulent and taken back later.
• Look for suspicious payment requirements. Scammers often ask for payments via wire transfer, money order, cryptocurrency or gift cards. These payments can be harder to track and cancel than other forms of payment, which can leave you stuck without recourse.
• 
  

Resource - The Blind Kitchen

From Amanda Frost

Before introducing our recipe of the month, here is a link to a great resource for cooking.

The Blind Kitchen is a web site designed for blind and visually impaired people who also like to cook.

Click this link to learn more about this great resource - The Blind Kitchen

Reflection

from Courtney Tabor

Disability Community and the Power of Friendship

Growing up as a blind child in a tiny town, I didn’t know many others with vision loss. Adults tried to engage me in activities for blind youth, but I insisted that I had no need for blind friends.

As I progressed through young adulthood and later into motherhood, I found that blindness can be powerfully isolating. Navigating one new challenge after another, I often felt quite alone. How do I get to my college class when the sidewalks aren’t cleared of snow? How do I frost cupcakes and not make them look awful? Why is it so hard to just take my kids to the playground? It was easy to believe a narrative of my own incompetence when none of my sighted peers had the same struggles.

I have dramatically strengthened my confidence since then, and one of the great gifts of that growth is the connections I’ve built to others with vision loss.

Nowadays, when I spend hours of frustration on inaccessible forms just to file my taxes, my blind friends can relate. When I am distractedly rushing down the sidewalk and face plant into a thornbush, I offer a sheepish grin to passersby and then text my blind friends so they can laugh along with me.

This week, during a quiet minute in an otherwise packed workday, a dear friend and colleague shared with me a proud moment from her own life with vision loss. We do this sometimes, two blind women catching quick opportunities to hold each other’s joy or heartache, then going on with our days feeling lighter and more loved. Our deep mutual empathy nurtures belonging and trust. This is the beauty of disability community. Friendships like these remind me of our common strength and worth, and inspire me to live with authenticity and joy.

Recipes

From Amanda Frost

A GREAT CHILI

Ingredients
1 pound ground beef
One jar, thick and chunky pace salsa.

I prefer medium heat, but choose what you desire, mild, medium or hot
One jar, spaghetti sauce

16 ounce can kidney bean one

16 ounce can black bean or if you prefer you can do both the same type of bean

Cooking instructions:
Fry beef until Brown
Combine the rest of the ingredients, sauce, salsa, beans, and let simmer for half hour

Note for larger families, you can double the ingredients
Note, add desired toppings such as sour cream or shredded cheese

With the leftovers, make this tasty snack for the next day
Ingredients
Leftover chili
Small block of cream cheese
Shredded cheese
Sour cream
Corn chips

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 375°
2. Layer bottom of 9 x 9 cake pan with cream cheese
3. Scoop desired amount of chili over the cream cheese.
4. Sprinkle a good amount of shredded cheese over the top of the chili
5. Bake on 375 for 15 to 20 minutes until cheese has melted and chili is heated
6. Spread sour cream on top of melted cheese and digg in with a corn chips.

Note - scoop corn chips work really well as you get more chili dip on each chip
If you want to get fancy, you can also add chopped up tomato, onion, or fresh jalapeño pepper on top.

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