[Colorado-Talk] FW: Urgent: Federal Braille Training Grants Eliminated – Why This Matters to Our Community

[Gail Hamilton]

Anyone know anything about this?


Infinite Blessings,
Gail Hamilton

From: Melissa Weisse <leaderdog at leaderdog.org>
Sent: Friday, September 12, 2025 8:11 AM
To: Gail Hamilton <gail at soaringintogreatness.com>
Subject: Urgent: Federal Braille Training Grants Eliminated – Why This Matters to Our Community

We want to share an important update that affects the future of braille education and services

 

Dear Leader Dog Community,



On September 5, the U.S. Department of Education eliminated all three national Braille Training Grants under the 235E Demonstration Program. This decision directly affects Leader Dog clients and the future of braille literacy and the independence of people who are blind, DeafBlind or low vision — including many individuals we serve.

Without these programs:

·    Fewer professionals will be trained to teach braille.
·    Adults and children will lose access to essential literacy tools.
·    The braille literacy crisis will deepen across all age groups.
How You Can Help:

Please call your U.S. Senators and urge them to take action. Find contact info<https://f9bem4gab.cc.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=0012WMXMayjAhqnubMxoDWpSKV43Rn1UoEPcCqwWWzyREhY4Pdl4DtTLRe2kX-8-nMlhBO4SY58A0RY0w4NxOBJs1u6Qpn6UE08rKKe5-JVrYftpOVvCHwXSA7YNvz9vcB2P0HJPBihOjKl60L4fmX6VI9It9dLVrlw7p3CqY33K9s5if8jW3qgvm94qvtxKJ39&c=g3DJ-yo-ZI-LcE8lHL_lm6TiTgBhaA5mcioV-NJeVxYrOXr_GFzHMg==&ch=vonSM_M0SyxSozuoSk7PhFfZHDTEad7YDAWB65JQf78rPQWPpoXNww==>.



Key talking points you can use:
·    Braille is literacy. Without it, people lose access to education, employment, and independence.
·    This is not a budget issue—it’s a policy decision that eliminates all federal braille training programs.
·    These programs had a strong track record of success and national impact.
·    Every state benefits from the professionals trained through these grants.



Let’s stand together to protect braille literacy and ensure accessible education remains a reality for our Leader Dog clients and the blind community.


Sincerely,

Melissa Weisse

President and CEO

Leader Dogs for the Blind

[https://files.constantcontact.com/54702ceb101/25d3ea86-7018-4e10-a83e-0ee162dee241.png?rdr=true]

 

Leader Dogs for the Blind | 1039 S. Rochester Rd. | Rochester Hills, MI 48307 US


Unsubscribe<https://visitor.constantcontact.com/do?p=un&m=001wE-EiVUHOc2RNUOcpnDacg%3D&ch=30bc73be-79b3-11ee-a3f4-fa163e8d7f7f&ca=39ed83be-2df3-4d14-b6ed-b37bb22cddaf> | Update Profile<https://visitor.constantcontact.com/do?p=oo&m=001wE-EiVUHOc2RNUOcpnDacg%3D&ch=30bc73be-79b3-11ee-a3f4-fa163e8d7f7f&ca=39ed83be-2df3-4d14-b6ed-b37bb22cddaf> | Constant Contact Data Notice<https://www.constantcontact.com/legal/customer-contact-data-notice>

-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: winmail.dat
Type: application/ms-tnef
Size: 36003 bytes
Desc: not available
URL: <http://nfbnet.org/pipermail/colorado-talk_nfbnet.org/attachments/20250912/2dde3855/attachment.bin>