Our Mission

The mission of the California Council of the blind is to increase the independence and equality for all Californians who are blind or low vision.

CCB Statement of Solidarity

The California Council of the Blind (CCB) provides a safe place for members to express and be heard to pursue equity in our nation as a whole and specifically in our state. This organization is committed to diversity at every level.

CCB promotes:

  • Honesty
  • Integrity
  • Respect
  • Understanding
  • Diversity
  • Advocacy

in all walks of life.

We condemn hate crimes, systemic racism, the misuse of police force, judicial inequity, and the disparate treatment of black, indigenous, other people of color, immigrants, the LGBTQ+ community, and people with disabilities. We also strive to eliminate implicit and explicit bias in the medical and educational fields.

In solidarity,
The California Council of the Blind

New Resource Books Available

Vision loss in later life can be an unwelcome journey to the scary unknown. CcB offers help, with its illustrated book, “Have a Happy Life: as a Senior Losing or without Vision.” Family and friends will also find insight and some solutions. To read more or to purchase this book, select the Buy Now link below. Available for $2.99.

Buy Now!

CCB Happenings March 22, 2024

Welcome to the CCB Happenings for March22, 2024.

CCB office move:

The CCB office has now moved. The new address is:
8880 Cal Center Dr.
Suite 400
Sacramento, CA 95826
The phone numbers will remain the same.

Reminder from the Convention Committee:

The deadline to register for the CCB 2024 virtual conference and convention is Friday, March 22. Please visit the CCB website for details or, for assistance, call the CCB office at: (800)-221-6359

From Governmental Affairs Chair, Jeff Thom

CCB is sponsoring AB3193, which would make it far easier for the Department of Rehabilitation to purchase assistive technology-related goods and services by exempting these purchases from bidding and other requirements overseen by the Department of General Services. The bill will have its first hearing on April 9 and I am in dire need of a witness to testify at the hearing who has had problems due to untimely or inappropriate purchases by the Department of Rehabilitation, even if you are not a current client. If you have a story to tell, email me at jsthom@comcast.net or call me at 916-995-3967.

Call for Awards:

The CCB Awards Committee is seeking your nominations for individuals to be recognized and celebrated for their service to our community through the presentation of CCB awards during our 2024 Conference and Convention. We are accepting nominations for those individuals who promote the CCB Mission Statement and CCB Statement of Solidarity.
All nominations should include: the name of the nominator, full name and contact information of the person being nominated, the specific award the individual is being nominated for and a paragraph with at least three sentences which specifically supports the award criteria.
Nominations will be accepted until March 24th. Send your letter of nomination to gabrielgriffith@gmail.com If you have questions please call Gabe at (925)768-8195.
Due to space constrictions, following is a listing of the awards. If you need the criteria please email or call.
The CCB Hall of Fame:
The CCB Community Service Award:
The CCB Distinguished Service Award:
The CCB Legislator of the Year Award:
The Humanitarian Award:
The CCB Merit Award:
Thank you for your submissions.

From Brian McCallen

Hello Speaking Out for the Blind listeners,
I will be interviewing Blind & Visually Impaired Center of Monterey County Executive Director Steven Macias to explain how the center provides services for Monterey County’s visually impaired on March 29th at 8PM Eastern (ACB Media 1).
Here’s how to access ACB Media 1:
PC / browser access (RECOMMENDED):
Visit acbmedia.org at http://www.acbmedia.org/1 (1 = stream number). The site has a built-in media player and there is no need to install or use a media player on your device. Hit the play button and the stream will begin playing immediately.
Alternate Dial-In access Dial 1 (518) 906-1820. Listen to the menu prompts and press 1.

Basics with Bits

BITS (Blind Information Technology Specialists) is an ACB affiliate.
We want to give back to the ACB community by offering a twice-monthly training of technology basics through ACB community calls on zoom.
Look for us teaching you through our Basics With BITS presentations on the second and fourth Saturdays of each month at noon pacific. You will need to get the zoom information from the ACB community internet mailing list. If you aren’t already signed up, send a blank email to
Acb-community-events+subscribe@groups.io
Also, on the first and third Saturdays of each month, at the same time, there’s an iPhone Basics presentation so every Saturday you have a chance to get some beginner-level technology training absolutely free from ACB community.
These trainings are recorded, streamed and podcasted by ACB community, so even if you miss a Saturday, you can always get the podcast later. You can also listen to them on ACB media 5

Happenings Submissions:

In order to submit an item, please provide the message either to the office or to Andrea DeKlotz directly at 714-921-0289 or submit.happenings@ccbnet.org by 5:00 pm on Wednesday before the happenings is recorded. Also, please make sure your message states in the subject line that it is for the Happenings, or it may be missed.
THE EDITOR RESERVES THE RIGHT TO EDIT ANY ANNOUNCEMENT FOR THE SAKE OF SPACE.
Thank you for reading.

California Council of the Blind Email List Subscriptions

CCB Happenings Weekly News Letter

You can receive an email version of the above CCB Happenings weekly news letter by subscribing to the CCB Happenings email list.

To subscribe to the CCB Happenings email list, send a blank email message to: CCBHappenings+subscribe@ccblists.groups.io

CCBL Email List

The CCBL list is a public list maintained and moderated by the California Council of the Blind. Its purpose is the dissemination of information related to the council, as well as the sharing and discussion of issues related to visual impairment and blindness.

To subscribe to the CCBL email list, send a blank email message to: ccbl+subscribe@ccblists.groups.io

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