Congratulations to our winners for Nonprofit Health Committee!
Please read on to learn about their incredible achievements and work.
Thomas L Tobin, President, American Council of the Blind Diabetics in Action
I was elected President of ACB Diabetics In Action, ACBDA, in June 2021. Over the past two plus years, our special interest affiliate of the American Council of the Blind, ACB, has experienced tremendous growth and success programmatically, financially and in our membership.
In 2021, ACB Diabetics In Action stood-up our Peer Mentor Relations Program, which is based on the peer-to-peer support model, a very effective way for peers living with diabetes and vision loss to assist and support one another! Currently, we have 14 mentors and 21 mentees!
Moreover, we have expanded our Community Call offerings, providing our community with a monthly “Living Well With Diabetes” Education Call, typically with a subject matter expert and a specific topic impacting individuals living with diabetes and vision loss. In addition, in 2022, at the request of our members and friends, we expanded our “Friends Helping Friends Casual Chat” calls offering our members and friends an opportunity to gather twice per month in an open forum to discuss whatever is on people’s minds, again, based on the peer-to-peer support model!
Over the past two years, we have grown our treasury substantially, as well. In 2022, ACBDA secured our 501©(3) IRS tax exempt status, so any donation to ACBDA could be deducted to the full extent of the law. Moreover, In 2022, the ACBDA Sugar Warriors took second place in the Brenda Dillon Memorial Walk Fundraiser and in 2023, the Sugar Warriors took first place in overall team fundraising, securing over $8,500 in revenue! As President, I took first place in overall individual fundraising! This success is attributable to all of our members and friends, who through their grassroots fundraising efforts, made it happen, an achievement we are all most proud of!
We have also achieved tremendous membership growth over the past two plus years. Between 2021 and 2022, membership in ACBDA grew enough to enable us to secure one more affiliate vote, bringing our total affiliate vote up from two to three! Between 2022 and 2023, membership grew so significantly that we added two more affiliate votes, bringing our total to five. Our overall membership stands at 117!
Other Programs and Services ACB Diabetics In Action is proud of include:
- A website filled with information and podcasts
- Annual Convention Programming
- A quarterly newsletter
ACB Diabetics In Action has seen much success over the past two plus years and we offer our members and friends many benefits and perks!
As President, growing ACBDA has truly been a labor of love and I’m tremendously proud of our Officers and Board members, who are the one’s who make it all happen!
I am truly honored and humbled to have been chosen to receive Accessible Pharmacy’s Vision Healthcare Award, honoring individuals in vision and healthcare. I accept this recognition and acknowledgement on behalf of ACB Diabetics In Action with much enthusiasm and pride!
To learn more about the American Council of the Blind Diabetics in Action, please visit: https://www.acbda.org/
Sienh (Stacie) Leap, Chair, National Federation of the Blind of Pennsylvania, Blind Parents Group
Stacie Leap lost her eyesight in 2016 as a result of domestic violence/intimate partner violence. As Stacie learned to adjust to her blindness, she also learned how to be a new single mother. She began seeking services within the state and local communities in order to gain the knowledge and training needed. With the Bureau on Blindness and Visual Services along with Associated Services for the Blind (now Vision Link), she was able to learn how to use a white cane, access technology using screen readers with her phone and laptop, manage household tasks and Braille. She connected with Educating Communities for Parents, a local nonprofit, where she attended parenting classes and connected with parents of blind children. Even though she is not a parent of a blind child, Stacie attended their meetings in order to know different blindness adapted techniques. This landed her to the National Federation of the Blind. She currently serves as the Chair of the Blind Parents Group within the National Federation of the Blind of Pennsylvania. There, she leads peer support groups, book discussions, and health seminars for blind parents and grandparents monthly via Zoom. She partnered up with Turning Points for Children to hold a workshop series on the Powers of Positive Parenting. There was also a book discussion on “The 7 Habits on Highly Effective Families” where various members of the Blind Parents Group helped in co-facilitated. She partnered with the Pennsylvania Association of Blind Students and Accessible Pharmacy to have workshops on medication management as blind parents. The group also provides a safe space for blind parents and grandparents to discuss their successes and challenges in parenting and given an opportunity to seek peer guidance and advice. Even though she lost eyesight, she never lost her vision to empower herself and those around her. As a survivor of domestic violence and a blind parent, she discusses her journey on various podcasts, conferences, workshops, and conventions throughout the country. Stacie hopes that through her interactions with people, stigma about blindness is minimized and barriers to accessibility are diminished. She wants people to understand that blindness does not hold her back, blind parents are capable, and she can live the life she wants. Her biggest motivators for her advocacy and drive are God and her daughter Alana.
To learn more about the National Federation of the Blind of Pennsylvania Blind Parents Group, please visit: https://nfbofpa.org/