Lyft is Offering Free Rides to Voters Who Need Them This Election Season
BY SYEDA KHAULA SAAD (VIA BUSTLE) Photo Credit: Mike Kemp/In Pictures/Getty Images In the 2016 general election, it's estimated that about 40% of American voters didn't cast a ballot. And according to the Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement, about 15 million of those people didn't make it out to the polls because of transportation [...]
Comcast Newsmakers: Accessibility and the Vision Impaired
HOSTED BY JENNY JOHNSON (VIA COMCAST NEWSMAKERS) The Carroll Center for the Blind provides programs that empower people of all ages and all stages of vision loss to live full and independent lives. President and CEO, Greg Donnelly talks with Comcast Newsmaker host, Jenny Johnson, about the Carroll Center for the Blind's programs. View the [...]
Winners Announced: 20th Annual New England Regional Braille Challenge
The 20th Annual New England Regional Braille Challenge is officially a wrap! This competition, a national program of the Braille Institute, encourages blind and visually impaired children to hone their braille skills which are essential to success in the sighted world. Regional winners could be eligible to go on to the Braille Challenge finals in Los Angeles [...]
Memes Still Aren’t Accessible to People Who Are Blind. What’s Being Done About It?
BY RACHEL E. GREENSPAN (VIA TIME) A meme featuring two characters from Toy Story. With his arm around a terrified Woody, Buzz Lightyear points off in the distance. Text reads, "Inaccessible memes are everywhere." If you’ve spent a lot of time on the internet in the last decade, you might immediately recognize this description: a [...]
Haben Girma: My Disability Has Been an Opportunity for Innovation
BY DANNY LEE (VIA THE GUARDIAN) A side profile close-up of deafblind lawyer and activist, Haben Girma. The cafeteria menu was only available in print when 19-year-old Haben Girma started at Lewis & Clark college in Portland, Oregon. “I asked the cafeteria manager to provide something that I as a deafblind student could access,” she [...]
We Must Continue to Invest in Braille
BY GREGORY J. DONNELLY (VIA COMMONWEALTH MAGAZINE) Only 1 in 5 visually impaired school children read using Braille. IN A WORLD where technology is rapidly opening new doors for people with vision loss, most notably in the case of the smartphone and its applications that greatly aid navigation, shopping, and other activities, one might think [...]
For the Blind in Massachusetts, a High-Tech Boost
BY JILL GAMBON (VIA AARP MASSACHUSETTS) Arlene Anderson, 81, was born nearsighted and always wore glasses. Over time her sight deteriorated, and she gave up driving 20 years ago. Now legally blind, Anderson faces many challenges in accomplishing routine tasks such as preparing meals and getting dressed. In 2018, she enrolled in a class on essential [...]
How to Fix Higher Ed’s Accessibility Problem
BY CAITLIN R. WEINER (VIA MODUS) If a college education should be available to all, higher ed websites should be accessible to everyone. An Americans with Disabilities Act lawsuit was recently issued to 50 colleges and universities by a blind prospective student who felt the schools’ websites were not accessible. Not just tiny schools, either — big [...]
‘Blind Tasting to Benefit’ event held to support The Carroll Center for the Blind
VIA THE NEWTON TAB The “Blind Tasting to Benefit” fundraiser to support The Carroll Center for the Blind, 770 Centre St. in Newton, was held Oct. 27 at the Farm Grill and Rotisserie, located at 40 Needham St. in Newton, a unique multi-sensory experience to taste, touch and smell the aromas of authentic Greek cuisine. [...]
Carroll Center’s Robert McGillivray Featured Speaker at South Shore Collaborative Low Vision Support Group
BY ROBERT MCGILLIVRAY (VIA TICNETWORK) If you or a loved one have recently been diagnosed with an eye condition, joining a support group may be the most important thing you will ever do. The Marshfield Council on Aging, Duxbury Senior Center, Kingston Council on Aging, the Plymouth Center for Active Living, and the Talking Information [...]
