Who We Are

Welcome to the NFB of North Carolina

The National Federation of the Blind of North Carolina is the leading advocate of the blind and visually impaired within North Carolina and is an affiliate of the National Federation of the Blind based in Baltimore, Maryland.

The NFB of North Carolina complies with the programs outlined by the National office and is dedicated to supporting the efforts of the NFB in all endeavors and is proud to adopt and work to achieve the goals outlined by the National Federation of the Blind.

Our History

It is estimated that about 1.3 million people in the U.S. are blind. Each year 50,000 more will become blind. Studies show that only AIDS and cancer are feared more than blindness. However, blindness need not be the tragedy which it is generally thought to be. In the NFB we say, “The real problem of blindness is not the loss of eyesight, but the misunderstanding and lack of information which exist.” ​

Founded in 1940, the National Federation of the Blind (NFB) is the nation's largest and most influential membership organization of Blind persons. With more than fifty thousand members, the NFB has affiliates in all fifty states plus Washington D.C. and Puerto Rico, and over seven hundred local chapters. As a consumer and advocacy organization, the NFB is considered the leading force in the blindness field today.

Our Objectives

The purpose of the National Federation of the Blind is two-fold—to help blind persons achieve self-confidence and self-respect and to act as a vehicle for collective self-expression by the blind. By providing public education about:

Blindness

  • information and referral services
  • literature and publications about blindness
  • ​aids and appliances and other adaptive equipment for the blind

Scholarship

  • ​advocacy services and protection of civil rights
  • development and evaluation of technology
  • support for blind persons and their families

Special Services of the National Federation of the Blind

Independence Market containing over eleven hundred pieces of literature about blindness and four hundred different aids and appliances used by the blind and the International Braille and Technology Center for the Blind is the world's largest and most complete evaluation and demonstration center for all speech and Braille technology used by the blind from around the world.

​NFB-NEWSLINE® for the Blind, the world's first free talking newspaper service, offers the blind the complete text of leading national and local newspapers with the use of only a touch-tone telephone.

Publications of the NFB include:

  • Braille Monitor, which provides a positive philosophy about blindness and discusses events and activities of the Federation and in the blindness field.
  • Future Reflections, a publication of the National Organization of Parents of Blind Children. A division of the NFB.

Special Announcements


MAKING CONNECTIONS

NFBNC’S visit to the NC Legislature

By Robert Parrish
           

           The North Carolina Legislature is comprised of people who are to make laws on behalf of the citizens of our great state.  However, they may not always understand the needs of certain population groups.  Thus unfamiliarity causes laws to be made, or not made, that harms the blind people of the Tar Heel State.  This is why twenty-five members of the National Federation of the Blind of North Carolina (NFBNC)  visited  our state legislators on Wednesday, May 15th, 2024. 
           The purpose of this visit was to introduce ourselves to state representatives.  In doing so we gave out literature about the National Federation of the Blind (NFB) and told them about how both the state and national organization positively impacts our lives.  
           After most people arrived by train and share ride, we posed for pictures in front of the welcome sign of the legislative building as a gentle drizzle fell.  Just after a delicious lunch in the cafeteria, our visit began in earnest.
           Perhaps it was a bit caloric at times, but the NFBNC members exercised and developed their independent travel skills by asking where room numbers were in both large facilities and getting assistance from staff when needed.  As state representatives learned about the NFB relationships were formed and quality connections were made.  In some cases follow-up may be done with some of the information that they gained.  
           While most of the visits were done with the staff members of the law makers, the ground work was laid for our legislative engagement in the future. It is then that the NFBNC will campaign for the passage of such laws as the right for blind parents to raise their children. It is hoped that even more members of our state affiliate will come to Raleigh for a more intensive time.​

"Build a future for the blind"