[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 Gaming, Music, and Fun



Baltimore, Maryland (April 26, 2010): The National Federation of the 
Blind (<?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = 
"urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" />NFB) will host THE 
CANE EVENT on May 1, 2010, at the National Federation of the Blind 
Jernigan Institute in the Federal Hill area of Baltimore.  The event 
will commemorate the NFB's seventieth anniversary.  More than three 
hundred friends, colleagues, and blind people from across the nation 
are expected to attend.



THE CANE EVENT will feature a variety of casino games, giving 
attendees a chance to try their hand at poker or blackjack and even 
win prizes! There will also be silent and live auctions (featuring 
sports memorabilia, vintage French wines, and vacation packages), a 
piano bar, and more.



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 members and friends from all over the 
country, to THE CANE EVENT.  The evening will be a remarkable 
celebration and will serve to highlight the significant progress 
blind Americans have made in the past seventy years.  We have come a 
long way from the lives of poverty and isolation that we led when the 
Federation was founded in 1940; we have access to more opportunity 
than at any time in human history.  At the same time, blind Americans 
still face a staggering unemployment rate of 70 percent and only one 
in ten blind children learns Braille.  THE CANE EVENT is an 
opportunity to commemorate our successes and raise funds for our 
continuing effort to improve education, technology, and training for 
the blind.  Please join us at THE CANE EVENT as we celebrate our 
seventieth year and continue to work toward a brighter future for all 
blind people in America."



Proceeds from this event benefit the National Federation of the Blind 
Imagination Fund.  This fund supports the programs of the NFB 
Jernigan Institute, as well as grassroots efforts by our fifty-two 
affiliates and seven hundred chapters across the country.



For more information about this exciting event, please contact Karen 
Zakhnini by phone at (410) 659-9314, extension 2297, or by e-mail at 
<mailto:kzakhnini at nfb.org>kzakhnini at nfb.org.  Tickets may be 
purchased online at <http://www.nfb.org/>www.nfb.org; or by phone 
through Becca Cordell at (410) 659-9314, extension 2312; or by e-mail 
at <mailto:bcordell at nfb.org>bcordell 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.