[Blindtlk] National Federation of the Blind to Hold THE CANE EVENT

[Freeh, Jessica]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE



CONTACT:

Chris Danielsen

Director of Public Relations

National Federation of the Blind

(410) 659-9314, ext. 2330

(410) 262-1281 (Cell)
<mailto:cdanielsen at nfb.org>cdanielsen at nfb.org



National Federation of the Blind to Hold
  THE CANE EVENT



Join Us for a Night of Fun, Food, and Entertainment



Baltimore, Maryland (March 30, 2009): The 
National Federation of the Blind (<?xml:namespace 
prefix = st1 ns = 
"urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" 
/>NFB) will host THE CANE EVENT on April 4, 2009, 
at the National Federation of the Blind Jernigan 
Institute in Federal Hill.  The event will 
celebrate the NFB’s Braille Readers are Leaders 
program.  More than four hundred friends, 
colleagues, and blind people from across the 
nation are expected to attend.  The event 
promises an evening of food, fun, and entertainment.



THE CANE EVENT will feature Mark Riccobono, 
executive director of the NFB Jernigan Institute, 
as master of ceremonies, as well as a catered 
dinner and silent and live auctions.  Live music 
will be provided by Marquise.



Dr. Marc Maurer, President of the National 
Federation of the Blind, said: “We are pleased 
and proud to welcome our friends from the 
Baltimore community, as well as friends from all 
over the country, to our annual fundraiser THE 
CANE EVENT.  The evening will surely be a 
remarkable celebration and will also serve to 
highlight the importance of Braille literacy to 
the general public.  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 learning it.  Please join us at THE 
CANE EVENT as we work together to reverse the 
downward trend in Braille literacy.”



Proceeds from this event will go to the National 
Federation of the Blind’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.  On March 26 the Louis Braille Bicentennial 
Silver Dollar was released by the U.S. Mint.



For more information about this exciting event, 
please contact Jerry Lazarus at (410) 659-9314, 
extension 2297, or by e-mail at 
<mailto:jlazarus at nfb.org>jlazarus at nfb.org. 
Tickets may be purchased online at 
<http://www.nfb.org/>www.nfb.org or through Emily 
Neubeck at (410) 659-9314, extension 2419, or by e-mail at eneubeck at nfb.org.





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About the National Federation of the Blind



With more than 50,000 members, the National 
Federation of the Blind is the largest and most 
influential membership organization of blind 
people in the United States.   The NFB improves 
blind people’s lives through advocacy, education, 
research, technology, and programs encouraging 
independence and self-confidence.  It is the 
leading force in the blindness field today and 
the voice of the nation's blind.  In January 2004 
the NFB opened the National Federation of the 
Blind Jernigan Institute, the first research and 
training center in the United States for the blind led by the blind.