[Blindtlk] Terry Bradshaw to Serve as National Ambassador for Braille Literacy

[Freeh, Jessica]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE



CONTACT:

Chris Danielsen

Public Relations Specialist

National Federation of the Blind

(410) 659-9314, extension 2330

(410) 262-1281 (Cell)

<mailto:cdanielsen at nfb.org>cdanielsen at nfb.org



Terry Bradshaw to Serve as National Ambassador for Braille Literacy



Baltimore, Maryland (November 3, 2008): The National Federation of 
the Blind (NFB), the nation's leading advocate for Braille literacy, 
announced today that Terry Bradshaw, Hall of Fame NFL quarterback and 
current football analyst and co-host of FOX NFL Sunday, will serve as 
a National Ambassador for Braille literacy.  As an ambassador, Terry 
will help advance the NFB's Braille Readers are Leaders campaign, a 
national initiative to promote the importance of reading and writing 
Braille for blind children and adults.  The Braille Readers are 
Leaders campaign kicked off in July of 2008 with the unveiling of the 
design of a commemorative coin to be minted in 2009 in recognition of 
the two hundredth anniversary of the birth of Louis Braille 
(1809-1852), the inventor of the reading and writing code for the 
blind that bears his name.



Dr. Marc Maurer, President of the National Federation of the Blind, 
said: "The National Federation of the Blind is pleased to have Terry 
Bradshaw as part of this historic initiative to bring Braille 
literacy to all of the blind children and adults in America who need 
it.  As one of the most popular personalities in America, Terry 
Bradshaw's impact as a national spokesperson for Braille literacy 
will surely be huge.  There can be no doubt that the ability to read 
and write Braille competently and efficiently is the key to 
education, employment, and success for the blind.  Despite the 
undisputed value of Braille, however, only about 10 percent of blind 
children in the United States are currently learning it.  Society 
would never accept a 10 percent literacy rate among sighted children; 
it should not accept such an outrageously low literacy rate among the 
blind.  The Braille Readers are Leaders campaign, with the support of 
influential Americans like Terry Bradshaw, will reverse the downward 
trend in Braille literacy and ensure that equal opportunities in 
education and employment are available to all of the nation's blind."



Terry Bradshaw said: "I am honored and pleased to serve as a National 
Ambassador for the Braille Readers are Leaders campaign.  I strongly 
believe in the importance of literacy for everyone, and I am excited 
to help make a difference in the lives of blind children and adults 
throughout the country."



For more information about the Braille Readers Are Leaders campaign 
and the Louis Braille commemorative coin, please visit 
<http://www.braille.org/>www.braille.org.





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