Pre-episode Intro Marci: I want to encourage anybody who is blind, or legally blind, to think about getting a computer. Because computers are such necessities now-a-days, and if you don't know how to use that computer, we're here to teach you how to do that as well, and we can do that for you at an affordable cost. Liz: This is the Penny Forward podcast, a podcast about blind people building bright futures one penny at a time. I'm Liz Bottner, ... Chris: I'm Chris Peterson, ... MOe: I'm MOe Carpenter. Liz: Today, we are going to devote this episode to technology. Specifically, technology that is at, perhaps, a more affordable price point to those of us in the blind and low vision community. And to help us talk about that, we have Marci Duty from Computers for the Blind. Marci, thank you for being here. Marci: Thank you for having me. What a pleasure it is to be here. Liz: Tell us about yourself, your blindness, and your connection to the blindness community. Marci: So, I was born totally blind, and always wanted to do things that would help people. So, it started with a job as a receptionist, then a job for a police department for a major city, during the nighttime shift, which was really interesting, when all the interesting things happened. Then I went to work for a bank, I also have worked for Fidelity Investments for a little while, having to go through the series 7, series 63 exams. In 2010, my manager said, "You spend more time working with me than you work with your regular job, so come and teach me to develop Jaws curriculums, or come and help me develop Jaws curriculums for people, for teachers of the visually impaired across the state of Texas." So I did that, teaching teachers Jaws, Zoom Text, and the different technologies that they could use to help their students, went to work for the Iowa Department for the Blind for a little while, and then came across Computers for the Blind and have been here ever since. This was 2019, and really enjoy helping people get computers, number one, and recently, teach them to use those computers to do some different things to help them be productive. Chris: Can you tell us a little bit about Computers for the Blind, specifically, what was its history, and what kinds of things do you provide to the blind community? Marci: So, Computers for the Blind was founded in 1995 by Robert Langford. Robert was born sighted, and lost his sight at age 16 in an accident. He went through college, as the first blind person to graduate from college in New Mexico, he got three degrees, and realized what a, an opportunity computers for, provided for people. They could read independently, they could E-mail, they could communicate with different people, so he decided to start collecting computers for people who were blind or with low vision. We have delivered up to twenty thousand computers to date, since 1995. Our computers come to us from corporations like Texas Instruments, General Motors, and our mission is to get them in the hands of people who are blind or with low vision across the United States, at a low cost. MOe: Tell me about the services that Computers for the Blind offers. Marci: So currently, we offer desktop and laptop Windows computers, we also offer training in the use of the Jaws screen reader. One of our partners is Freedom Scientific, so when a person purchases a computer from us for the first time, they are entitled to a copy of Jaws, a copy of Zoom Text, or if they desire, a copy of both Jaws and Zoom Text, the annual, home annual licenses for each program. Liz: Who are your customers, and what is the cost to those customers for computers from Computers for the Blind? Marci: So, our customers are anyone who is blind or who has low vision. Legally blind people. From across the United States and in surrounding territories. We have delivered computers to Puerto Rico. So all we ask of them is to prove that they are blind or have low vision, and that proof can come from a doctor, a nurse, a social worker, a rehab teacher, rehab counselor, so we just need, I've accepted them from presidents of NFB, ACB, Hadley, the presidents can be national, local, state, so our customers are anyone who's blind or with low vision. Anyone who's legally blind. The cost for the computer, your basic laptop with Windows 11, 256 gigabytes of storage, solid state storage, 8 gigabytes of memory, is two hundred fifty dollars. Your basic desktop is Windows ten, and the same 8 gigabytes ram, 256 gigabyte solid state storage, and that costs 175. We currently have grants available for people who purchase laptops, where they can get between 150 and 175 dollars off of that price. Chris: Well, that's a lot of value for the buck. Is there any drawback to getting computers from Computers for the Blind? Marci: Drawback. Hmm. The drawback probably would be that they are, um, not new computers, but that is totally replaced for them by the fact that they are provided with a copy of their screen reader, or screen magnification program. Or both if that's what they need. Liz: What sets Computers for the Blind apart from other companies in the same space? Marci: I believe it's our partnerships. We have a partnership currently with Accessibite, where we can offer, if a person is unfamiliar with the keyboard and needs to learn it, a copy of Typeo with those computers at 20 dollars for the year, also, our partnerships with Freedom Scientific, giving them the assistive technology that they need, or the access technology that they need, with Jaws, with Zoom Text, or with both programs. MOe: Since you have offered over 20 thousand computers, do you have any favorite success stories of individuals that you guys have helped that you'd like to share? Marci: That is a great question. We trained a judge, who was a judge for one of the supreme courts in a state, and he took our class, and he wrote us a beautiful testimonial of the things that he'd learned, and how productive our class made him on how to use his computer. Liz: Is there anything that you would like to share with us that we did not ask? Marci: I want to encourage anybody who is blind, or legally blind, to think about getting a computer. Because computers are such necessities now-a-days. We need them for doctor's appointments, we need them for shopping for groceries, we need them for information. For education. For recreation. And if you don't know how to use that computer, we're here to teach you how to do that as well, there's a, a great chance that you take, because you're opening up the world for yourself by obtaining a computer, and we can do that for you at an affordable cost. Liz: Speaking of opening up the world for people, Marci, I'm just kind of curious. What, if you can recall, was your first memory, or one of your first memories, of technology, and, uh, more specifically, of technology, and how it was able to help you do something that you wanted to do? Marci: So my first memory of technology was when I was working for the police department. I had my rosters and everything available to me in braille, but what I could do was type messages for officers, and my familiarity with the braille writer allowed me to actually print those messages on a technology long time ago use, called a Braille ‘N Print. Where whatever you brailled would be printed for the officers to get their messages. Chris: Wow! (Laugh.) That's a ... Marci: That was my first ever use of technology, it was a long time ago. Chris: That’s a blast from the past. Yeah. Thank you. Um, one of the things that I was most impressed with when I got a computer from Computers for the Blind, was that it was very speedy. And very nicely put together. And I think one of the reasons for that is, is that it, it appears that you do a good job of stripping out a lot of the bloatware that a lot of computers come with, but there's also a nice selection of software that's pre-installed, and I think you talked about some of it, but is there any other pre-installed software that comes on a Computers for the Blind computer that you'd want to touch on and, and talk about what it does for people that might not be familiar with it? Marci: So, our computers also come with a copy of Microsoft Office 2019 Student, which gives the user a copy of Word, a copy of Excel, a copy of Power Point. A lot of the Office products that people are now using in the corporate sector. Um, our computers also come with Bard Express, a lot of our users use the Talking Book Library, so the Bard Express app allows them to download books to their particular locations. Uh, our computers come with several books that are available in the public domain, so people can read books either in audio format, or have the screen reader or screen magnifier read the books for them. Our computers also come with a training bundle produced by Freedom Scientific I want to say about five years ago. So a lot of the commands that Jaws uses are still similar, are still the same, and they can get the basic of Jaws from the training bundle that's installed on our computers. We also have a lot of resources that people can take advantage of, for people who are blind or with low vision. Chris: And for people who may feel like 8 gigabytes of ram, or 256 gigabytes of storage, isn't gonna be enough for them, are there options to upgrade the base packages at all? Marci: The package that we offer that gives people the most ram and storage is 16 gigabytes of ram with a one terabyte of solid state hard drive. The laptop with Windows 11, the regular price is five hundred dollars. But again, please take advantage of those grants, which are available to students, to recipients of any type of social security, and to veterans and their spouses. So, veterans and their spouses and students get the bigger discount, those would come, that price would come down to 325. If you receive any type of social security, that price would be three hundred fifty dollars. Chris: And as a student, of Penny Forward, they qualify to be a student, correct? Marci: That is correct. Liz: Heard it here first. (Laugh.) Marci: So the Penny Forward classes teach us to be very financially successful, and to learn the different things about financing, and the computer is a really good way to get there. And so, take advantage of the discount, being a Penny Forward student, and give us a call, and let us know that you need that computer. MOe: Can you talk a little more about the continuing education classes that you do? Marci: So, the education classes that we do are designed for people who need to learn to use the computer differently. A lot of our customers have recently lost their sight. So, we designed these courses to teach people to use the keyboard first, then to learn a little more about the Windows environment, then to learn about typing documents, and how to copy, cut and paste text in a document. Then we take them to the internet and learn how to use Microsoft Edge to do some basic research on the internet, to find some web sites. And after that, on the sixth week, we teach them to send and receive E-mail using Gmail in standard view. Liz: Are the training classes only offered to those persons who purchase a Computers for the Blind computer, or could anyone who was interested in training reach out and, and take advantage of that? Marci: So, I wish I could say that anyone could reach out, but right now, they are only available to our customers, to people that purchase computers from us. Liz: Speaking of purchasing computers, from Computers for the Blind, how could someone find out more information about how to do that? Marci: Excellent question. So our web site is computersfortheblind.org and I have divided, or I have ... (chuckle.) Talked about the steps that people have to follow, as "the actions." So, the first thing that people need to do is fill out an application. The application is available on our web site. We can also, we in customer service can also help a customer complete that application. So, step one is the application. Step 2 is documentation. We need proof that the person is blind or has low vision. And then, step 2 A, if they qualify for a grant, we need the grant qualifying documentation. So, application, documentation, then they would pay us the compensation for the computer. Then, we ship the computer, so the transportation step. So, it's education, documentation, compensation, transportation, and then we give you education. (Laugh.) So that's, that's what I did, that's my, my definition of how people apply and receive a computer. The web site, as I said, was computersfortheblind.org our E-mail address is service@ computersfortheblind.org that goes straight to customer service, and our telephone number is 214-340-6328. Liz: Thank you, Marci, for being here, and sharing with us about Computers for the Blind. We really appreciate it, and we know that our listeners will as well. Marci: My pleasure. Thank you for letting me share. Liz: I would like to also take this time to thank the current Penny Forward sponsors, those being the American Printing House or APH Connect Center, Thrivent, Wells Fargo, and World Services for the Blind. If you would like to become a sponsor, you may do so by visiting www.pennyforward.com/sponsorships and choosing a sponsorship package that is right for you, and your budget. Penny Forward is a nonprofit organization founded and led by blind people. Through education, mentoring, and mutual support, we help each other learn to navigate the complicated landscape of personal finance. To learn more about our accessible online financial courses, weekly and monthly workshops, one on one financial counseling, and more, visit our web site at www.pennyforward.com The Penny Forward podcast is produced by Liz Bottner and Chris Peterson with assistance from MOe Carpenter. Audio editing and postproduction is provided by Brynn Lee, text transcription is provided by Anne Verduin, and the music is both composed and performed by Andre Louis. All of whom happen to be blind. For all of us in the Penny Forward community this week, I'm Liz Bottner, ... Chris: I'm Chris Peterson, ... MOe: I'm MOe Carpenter, ... Liz: Thank you for listening and make it a fantastic week.