For 75 years, the California Council of the Blind has been working to improve the lives of Californians who are blind or visually impaired. With local chapters from San Diego to Chico, San Francisco to Placerville, our members provide a variety of services to help the blind and low vision community. Services include crisis intervention funding, no-interest loans for employment purposes, information and referral services, mentoring and peer support, the production of a quarterly magazine, and advocacy on the local, state and national level on issues of concern to blind and visually impaired individuals, including those of concern to students.
For more than 4 decades, one of our most important services has been the provision of scholarships to legally blind residents of California, even if they are not attending school in the state. The council has assisted persons in an amazing array of fields, from law to physics, photography to web design, psychology to culinary arts. If you are considering applying for a scholarship from the council, you should know that, although we urge you to consider joining our organization of committed Californians with visual impairments, we assist both members and non-members alike. If you would like to learn more about the council, do not hesitate to call us at 800-2216359 or e-mail us at ccotb@ccbnet.org.
In conclusion, we urge you or legally blind friends or family members who are attending, or will be attending, a college, university, or vocational school to apply for a scholarship from the California Council of the Blind.
To qualify to receive a scholarship award, you must be a full time student registered for at least 12 units for each term of the entire academic year. If you believe that you have extenuating circumstances, such as additional disability or job requirements, that do not enable you to meet this requirement, please provide a complete explanation of your circumstances.
Once an award has been approved, when the student applies for his or her award each term, he or she must submit written proof of their registration, signed by the Registrar on school letterhead, including a complete list of the classes and total units to be taken.
When beginning or continuing work on a thesis, a letter from the Dean, or Department head stating that the student is working on their thesis, must be provided. This must be done at the beginning of each term. No monies will be allocated if proof of registration or continuing thesis studies are not provided.
You must be a permanent California resident to apply.