From: Jeff Thom, President
California Council of the Blind
California Council of the Blind
Do you suffer from severe vision loss, or are you a family member or friend of someone who does? Do you struggle with the day-to-day problems that blindness or low vision can create? If so, the California Council of the Blind is for you.
I am Jeff Thom, president of the California Council of the Blind (CCB). I, along with the entire CCB board of directors, am either blind or visually impaired. The CCB is a private nonprofit organization composed primarily of persons who are blind or visually impaired, as well as family members and friends of these persons. The CCB is the largest statewide consumer organization of persons with visual impairments, having over 30 local chapters, from Eureka to San Diego, and several special interest affiliates for students, guide dog users, and more. Since 1934, the CCB has been working to improve the lives of blind and visually impaired persons, advocating at the local, state, and national levels in areas as diverse as education, transportation, employment,civil rights, and services to seniors with visual impairments. The CCB also provides scholarships for blind college students, information and referral services, crisis assistance, a quarterly magazine, no-interests loans for employment-related purposes, mentoring for those with recent vision loss, local seminars, and two conventions each year. Our spring convention is held in the northern part of the state, and our fall convention in the south. Our next convention will be held FROM April 10-13, 2008 at Arden West Hilton Hotel in Sacramento. Most important, however, we offer a chance for you to get to know other blind or visually impaired persons who face and overcome the same obstacles that you do.
To learn more about the upcoming convention, to obtain more information about the CCB, or to find out about the local chapter nearest you or how you can help CCB, continue to look at our website or call the CCB office at 800-221-6359. Come join CCB. It changed my life, and it can change yours as well.