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July 2004 Forward Access Enhancing communication for Verizon customers.
COVER STORY: Verizon Participates in CSUN Conference The six-day event in March attracted an audience of some 4,300, which included people with disabilities and their support groups, teaching and service professionals, and the general public. The conference featured a series of workshops, plus 176 exhibitors and 306 open sessions. In its booth Verizon displayed products with broad appeal to the disabled community, such as the popular Freedom Package. For one monthly price the package offers unlimited direct-dialed local, regional toll, and long-distance calling anytime, anywhere in the U.S. and certain U.S. territories. The appeal of Verizon's broadband DSL service lies in how it helps customer make the most of the Internet experience. It can also be bundled, at savings, into the Freedom Package. Other products, such as Talking Caller ID and Large Display Keypads, have been designed especially to make communications more manageable for people who most depend on them. Verizon was a significant sponsor of the CSUN conference school scholarship fund, enabling attendees from around the U.S. and the world-persons with disabilities or family members-to attend the conference at no cost. ABILITY Magazine honored Verizon with an award citing its continued quest for innovations in communications that provide access for people with disabilities. For those unable to attend the CSUN conference, video clips of the entire event may be downloaded at no cost from www.at508.com. The Freedom Package does not include unlimited Operator Assisted or Directory Assistance Call Completion charges.
IN THE NEWS: Changes in Medicare The new Medicare prescription drug benefit doesn't start until January 2006. To aid senior citizens with rising drug costs in the meantime, the federal government has created the drug discount card. The savings became effective June 1, 2003. The discount card, contracted by Medicare and bearing Medicare's seal of approval, can help save 10%-25% on prescription drugs. People who need help most will find the greatest help available to them. Those with income of no more than $12,569 as a single person, or no more than $16,862 as a married couple, might qualify for a $600 credit on their discount card to help buy prescription drugs. Applying for a discount card is not mandatory. People happy with the Medicare coverage they have can keep it. Either way, they are still part of the Medicare program. For the latest information about Medicare, call 800-MEDICAR (800-633-4227). TTY users should call 877-486-2048, or visit www.medicare.gov.
COMMUNITY AT LARGE: Making Media More Accessible Perhaps the most commonly shared experience many of us owe to WGBH is being able to watch captions on TV by switching on our TV set's closed caption decoder. A second is being in a theater offering a MoPiX presentation (see related stories in this issue's Outreach and In Other Words columns). WGBH's Media Access group includes the national Center for Accessible Media (NCAM). NCAM was founded in 1993 with a major grant from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. It acts as the research and development arm of WGBH's Media Access Group, and is an extension of public broadcasting's groundbreaking development of captioning for deaf and hard-of-hearing television viewers, begun in 1972. More recently, it has added the technology of video description for audiences with a visual disability. Current activities of NCAM are focused on developing new technologies that create further access to mass media and emerging new programming. That includes not only the retrofitting of existing media such as television, radio, newspapers and theatrical movies, but also emerging telecommunications such as digital TV and Web-based multimedia. NCAM's director, Larry Goldberg, says, "NCAM is a direct expression of America's dual love of technology and democracy; we believe that everyone should have equal access to all our country's media has to offer." NCAM's vision of the future is one that ensures that the 45 million Americans with little or no access to media's sights and sounds will not be left out of the Information Age. To discover more about NCAM projects such as Cornerstones (technology-infused teaching for elementary students with vision and hearing disabilities), Access to Online Education (promoting accessible digital content for education), Beyond the Text (making multi-media accessible in e-books and digital talking books), and many more, log on to http://ncam.wgbh.org/projects/.
NEXT QUESTION, PLEASE Charges may apply to initially suspend and/or reconnect your service.
IN OTHER WORDS: MoPiX The patented Rear Window Captioning System shows reversed captions on an LED display mounted in the rear of a theater. Patrons with a hearing disability use transparent acrylic panels attached to their seats to reflect the captions so that they appear superimposed on the movie screen. These reflective panels are portable and adjustable, enabling the viewer using captions to sit anywhere in the theater. DVS Theatrical delivers narrative via infrared or FM listening systems, enabling moviegoers with a visual disability to hear the descriptive narration on headsets without disturbing other audience members. The descriptions provide information about key visual elements of each scene-actions, settings, and scene changes-making movies more meaningful to people with vision loss.
OUTREACH: Verizon Sponsors MoPiX at the California Science Center The installation was part of an exclusive partnership arrangement with WGBH's Media Access Group and the Center. Verizon's sponsorship of MoPiX is entirely consistent with the mission of VCCD--to empower people with disabilities by making accessible to them telecommunications products and services that improve their quality of life. To get the featured films, dates, and times of a theater in your area featuring the MoPiX technology, click on to http://ncam.wgbh.org/mopix/nowshowing.html, or e-mail access@wgbh.org to receive weekly updates. Even better, use the downloadable coupon to save money on your ticket for an IMAX movie at the California Science Center, courtesy of Verizon.
IN PROFILE: Chet Cooper Does the name Chet Cooper sound familiar to you, like the name of a friend you can't quite place? The lives of millions of people with disabilities have been improved, whether they are aware of it or not, by his lifetime spent in support of disability issues. Just over a year ago, President George W. Bush presented Chet Cooper and 19 others with the President's Community Volunteer Award in a ceremony at the White House. As a child and young woman, Mary went to both public schools and schools for the deaf. Both settings afforded her with many opportunities to learn English and American Sign Language, and to gain experience in what eventually would be her major in Social Work and Education Administration. Cooper and the others were selected on the basis of their achievements in meeting community needs, innovation, mobilization of other volunteers, and the depth of their ongoing involvement. Since his college days at Cal Poly, Cooper found himself drawn to more community-related issues. One of his outstanding accomplishments to date has been the creation of ABILITY Awareness organization, and its 15-year-old seminal publication, ABILITY Magazine, which is devoted to disability issues and how they impact everyone's lives. The cornerstone of ABILITY Awareness is ABILITY House, which partners with Habitat for Humanity International to build accessible, affordable homes for low-income families where one or more member has a disability. ABILITY House specifically targets the volunteer aspects of this acclaimed program to utilize the skills and knowledge of people with disabilities in all phases of the planning and construction of homes across the country. Verizon is a recent and very proud co-sponsor of ABILITY House. Other offshoots include the JobAccess site, designed to expedite the process of linking employers and job seekers with disabilities, and the ABILITY Magazine ThinkQuest Awards. The awards encourage high school student teams to include their peers with disabilities in an effort to win scholarship money. Not surprisingly, Cooper's role models are former President Jimmy Carter and Millard Fuller, founder of Habitat for Humanity International. "They are just out there doing it, traveling around the world and changing the lives of millions of people." That pretty much also describes Chet Cooper. "I always tell young people to do as much as they can in the areas of interning and volunteering," he says. "Through these opportunities, they will gain invaluable life experiences that will shape their futures."
AT YOUR SERVICE: Two Phones That Are Hard To Miss For an ultra-bright ring indicator on both base and handset, to ensure you won't miss calls, try the Uniden Call Waiting/Caller ID Cordless Phone (EZ1996). It features a large, backlit keypad for easy dialing, as well as backlit Caller ID, so you'll be able to see who's calling without fumbling for lights. And Audio Boost enhances high-frequency tones for improved sound clarity. Currently available for 10 easy, interest-free payments of $5.99 or $59.95. If you want superior voice clarity, choose the 2.4 Ghz All Digital Answering System Panasonic (KX-TG2322B). You'll enjoy improved sound reception with Voice Enhancer technology, and easy dialing with a lighted keypad. The visual ringer lets you see when the phone rings. Best of all, this Panasonic is also an all-digital answering machine, the perfect answer for taking messages when you're away or can't manage to get to the phone. Currently available for 10 easy, interest-free payments of $6.99 or $69.95. Verizon is committed to providing communication solutions for its customers with disabilities. This limited-time offer expires August 31, 2004. These products are available exclusively through Verizon Plus retail stores. Visit your nearest Verizon Plus store or call 800-483-6697 to purchase. To find the closest Verizon store, go to verizon.com/verizonplus. Charges to Verizon bill are subject to credit approval. Applicable sales tax plus shipping and handling added to first installment. Ask a sales consultant for details.
VERIZON AND YOU: Large Print Bills and Braille Bills Verizon's Braille Bill is mailed in an 8" x 10" format. It contains the identical information your current bill does, plus a printed bill in the current format for use by anyone who may be helping with your finances. Both are available to customers on request, at no extra charge. To order, contact the Verizon Center for Customers with Disabilities (VCCD) and have your current bill handy.
V/TTY: 800-974-6006
WHAT'S AHEAD: Events, Seminars, Gatherings
MoPIX-equipped Movie Theatre
Living Well with a Disability
Disability Mentoring Day Some events may not be fully accessible for people with disabilities.
GOING FORWARD
©2004 Verizon. All Rights Reserved. Non-VCCD Edition July. |
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