Month: July 2019

The Capsule Group, inc & Sign Shares, inc will be at Abilities Expo Aug. 2-4: Join Us for a Book Signing, Advocacy, & New Launches for Fall 2019!!!

by The Capsule Group Inc | Sign Shares Inc, posted in advocacy, Civil Rights, Deaf, Hard of Hearing, and Deaf-Blind Communities, disability advocacy, Education, Emergency Management, social justice

Capsule logo_bigGearing up for Abilities Expo, Houston, TX, on Aug. 2-4, 2019!!! The event will be held at the NRG Center, Hall E from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m on Friday and Saturday, Aug. 2-3, and from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Sunday, August 4.

The expo is a national, annual event that celebrates the abilities of all. It includes:

Register for the event

The expo is free to attend. Register now. Indicate on the registration if you will need a sign language interpreter or CART live captioning. When you register, you can opt to receive Abilities Expo updates.

Find us at the expo

The Sign Shares and The Capsule Group Inc team will be at booth 930, which is located toward the back right of the expo hall, around the corner from 3E Love and directly across from Fiat Chrysler Automobiles.

Author and audiobook cast book signing

This year, Sign Shares, Inc and The Capsule Group, Inc will host author Christina Goebel for a book signing for her novel, the science fiction fantasy, Birth Right: Galak’s Rising.

Birth Right Galak's Rising logo
Join Birth Right: Galak’s Rising’s audiobook cast and get your book signed at the Abilities Expo Houston on Aug. 2-4, 2019.

Members of the agency’s team read parts in Goebel’s upcoming audiobook for the novel and will be available for the book signing, including The Capsule Group’s Eva Storey and Anthony Butkovich, and Kade D.M. Murdoch, Faith L.D. Storey, and Gerald Goebel. The audiobook is in the editing phase and will be available later this year. This is a rare opportunity to have most of the audiobook cast sign Birth Right.

GoldenHeart: How to Love Humanity by Christina Goebel
Christina Goebel’s book, GoldenHeart, contains a chapter on disability with information about awareness and resources. GoldenHeart focuses on how to love yourself, others, and humanity.

Goebel will also sign copies of her self-help love manual, GoldenHeart: How to Love Humanity. This book was the start of the Twitter movement of 29,000 followers (@lovegoldenheart) promoting love and kindness and using the #GoldenHearts hashtag.

Those purchasing the novels will receive a discount price and free giveaway items not available elsewhere, including buttons for the book. You can learn more about Goebel’s books at her website. Goebel is the Advocacy Advisor for The Capsule Group.

Creating capsules with you

Besides providing access for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing community, The Capsule Group teams enjoy meeting people with all abilities and providing information and resources for a variety of needs so that all Texans can live a full and rewarding life. Stop by to discuss any concerns you have, and the team will assist you in finding answers during or after the event. The Capsule Group creates capsules that enable your growth and success.

Stop by the The Capsule Group Inc | Sign Shares Inc’s booth 930, receive some goodies, and enjoy a chat with our team. See the floor plan for the Abilities Expo Houston.

Receive updates

For updates, join Sign Shares’ more than 55,000 followers on Facebook.

Getting to the expo

NRG Center events utilize Gate 10 on the corner of Kirby and McNee. Type in the address: 8600 Kirby Drive, Houston, TX 77054 for the most accurate driving directions. Learn the location of accessible parking here. Parking will be $15 and is accepted via cash only and does not include any debit or credit card payments.

Abilities Expo Links

Facebook: @AbilitiesExpo
Twitter: @AbilitiesExpo
Imstagram: @abilities_expo
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/user/AbilitiesExpoTV
Pinterest: @abilitiesexpo
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/abilities-expo/

Learn about Federal Grants for Free

by Christina Goebel, posted in disability advocacy, grant writing, Uncategorized
2020 goals on chalkboard
Many organizations and businesses are planning now for 2020 grants and beyond. photo credit: wuestenigel 2020 goals on chalkboard via photopin (license)

The U.S. government provides grant options for governments, organizations, and businesses. According to an email from USAGov, “The federal government typically awards grants to state and local governments, universities, researchers, law enforcement, and institutions planning major projects that will benefit specific parts of the country or a community as a whole.”

The federal website www.grants.gov, provides information about the government’s more than 1,000 programs. Many grants do support initiatives to benefit individuals with disabilities.

Grant writing is a process and grants often have a structure that is different from what many people would expect. If you’re in Texas and would like to receive grant writing instruction for your organization or business, A Circle of 10, Inc. provides intensive paid workshops.

The GrantsGov website cautions that if you receive an email saying that you qualify for a free grant, it may be a scam. The Federal Trade Commission has information on their website and in their newsletter that will help you avoid all types of scams that the agency encounters.

To learn about future scams, subscribe to the commission’s newsletter.

Equifax Security Breach: Half of You Who Read This may be Involved

by Christina Goebel, posted in advocacy, Education, identity theft, security, Uncategorized
Unlocked lock over numbers on a computer screen.
Half of all Americans may have had their identity information, such as their social security numbers, compromised. Are you one of them? Read on to learn more. photo credit: Visual Content <a href=”http://www.flickr.com/photos/1436015photo credit: Visual Content Data Security Breach via photopin (license)

The Federal Trade Commission has shared a link where you can verify if your security has been compromised in an Equifax breach. Equifax is a credit reporting agency. According to the commission, a settlement that was reached with Equifax and others “alleged that the credit reporting company’s failure to take reasonable steps to secure its network led to a data breach in 2017 that affected approximately 147 million people.”

Was your personal information compromised?

To learn if your information was compromised and is in danger of potential identify theft, conduct a search here.

The form requests some information to verify your identity.

What to do if your information is at risk

If your personal information was included in the breach, you have several options, including free credit monitoring by three agencies for six years, and an additional protection for four years from Equifax, totaling 10 years of protection. This service is normally $19.95 a month. It will notify you when someone uses your personal information for loans, credit, or large purchases.

If your information was included in the breach, file a claim here.

Additionally, if the security breach has caused you time or money, you may be entitled to some financial compensation, but they will request documentation.

How all Americans will benefit from this

In 2020, Equifax will provide up to six free credit reports a year for seven years for all Americans, according to the commission.

How did this happen?

In the settlement of Federal Trade Commission v. Equifax Inc, Apache Struts was part of Equifax’s database portal that stores the information for millions of Americans. In March of 2017, “the United States Computer Emergency Readiness Team alerted [Equifax] to a new critical security vulnerability found in Apache Struts, an open source framework used to build Java web applications.”

According to the settlement, the Equifax employee who needed the information didn’t receive the email notification about the vulnerability. Though Equifax made efforts to locate the vulnerability, further mistakes were made, which led to their alleged failure to “notice or remediate the unpatched” database. This vulnerability allowed hackers to penetrate deep into the database.

Get your free, annual credit report from three agencies

Federal law provides that all American are eligible to receive one free credit report a year from each of the credit reporting agencies, which includes TransUnion, Equifax, and Experian. Request yours.

Learn about scams and security updates as they happen

To avoid future scams or receive updates on matters of security, subscribe to the commission’s newsletter.

 

Governor appoints Eva Storey to the Texas SILC

by Christina Goebel, posted in advocacy, Deaf, Hard of Hearing, and Deaf-Blind Communities, disability advocacy

The office of Texas Gov. Greg Abbott announced the appointment of Detective Eva Storey to the Texas State Independent Living Council. Storey is the CEO and President of Sign Shares, Inc. and the Founder of The Capsule Group, Inc. Her term is until June 20, 2022.

EvaStorey_reducedsize
Detective Eva Storey

“It is an honor to be appointed by Governor Greg Abbott to serve within the State Independent Living Council of Texas,” Storey said. “I will respectfully advocate for individuals of disability, creating accessibility between their choice of educational, employment, medical, and legal providers, for all to engage on positive platforms of understanding and acknowledge one another through effective communication.”

The Texas State Independent Living Council, or the Texas SILC, has a mission to “ensure that all Texans with disabilities have access to quality Independent Living services by providing a framework for service delivery.” This is done via the Independent Living Movement principles of peer support, self-help, self-determination, equality, and positive systemic change.

Within that mission, the Texas SILC develops the State Plan for Independent Living in conjunction with the state’s Centers for Independent Living. The three-year plan “establishes the goals for the provision of Independent Living services in Texas.” The SILC also monitors the implementation and effectiveness of the plan and collects input from across the state via meetings, events, and town halls.

Texas SILC meetings and events are listed at the organization’s website at https://www.txsilc.org/.

Storey will provide unique input to the SILC regarding the needs of Texans with all abilities, including those who have mobility, communication access, accommodations, and other needs.

This is the second time that Storey’s advocacy has been recognized by Gov. Abbott. In 2015, Storey was the CEO of Sign Shares, Inc. when it won the state’s 2015 Lex Frieden Small Employer Employment Award.