ACBNY is the state affiliate of The American Council Of The Blind. Its purpose is to support and promote the educational, vocational and social advancement of blind and visually impaired persons.
The affiliate is made up of local chapters, organized throughout the state.
ACBNY meets twice a year in convention, once usually during the fall and another time during the late winter for a legislative weekend. The fall convention may be held in various parts of the state, to allow chapters to hoast a convention and allowing members from various parts of the state to get to conventions more easily.
At the convention, various workshops and exhibits are held focusing on topics of interest to members. The purpose is to provide the membership with an opportunity to come together to share ideas and experiences. The late winter meeting is held with a theme of visiting state legislators to advocate for issues the organization feels are of importance to its members. A legislative visiting day is held usually the Monday following the weekend meetings and representatives of ACBNY visit their legislators in their Albany offices with written material discussing the issues targeted during the weekend meetings.
ACBNY has a toll free phone number available for questions by either members or those interested in the organization. Many of the calls are from those new to a vision loss and concerned about their ability to continue doing things they enjoy with their lives. Information provided through this toll free phone number ranges from referral to resources which can benefit the caller to basic information concerning blindness and low vision. Callers may be referred to chapters of ACB located in their area. If you would like more information, please feel free to give the toll free phone number a call at: 1-800-522-3303