  We present a study of nearby dwarf galaxies selected from the ALFALFA blind
HI survey. A primary goal of the project was to utilize a non-standard
selection method with the hope of detecting previously unrecognized extremely
metal-poor (XMP) galaxies. The study was motivated by the recent discovery of
two XMP galaxies $-$ Leo P and Leoncino $-$ which were both originally found
via the ALFALFA survey. We have obtained narrowband H$\alpha$ images for 42
dwarf systems, many of which are located in the local void in front of the
Pisces-Perseus Supercluster. Spectra for eleven of the best candidates resulted
in the determination of metal abundances for ten of the systems. None were
found to be extremely metal poor, although one system (AGC 123350) was found to
have an oxygen abundance of log(O/H)+12 = 7.46, or $\sim$6\% solar. One of the
galaxies in our sample exhibits a high oxygen abundance for its luminosity,
suggesting the possibility that it may have a tidal origin.
