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<font face="Garamond" size=4 color="#0000FF"><br>
</font><font face="Garamond" size=4><b>FOR IMMEDIATE
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CONTACT:<br><br>
</b></font><font face="Garamond" size=4>Chris Danielsen<br><br>
Director of Public Relations<br><br>
National Federation of the Blind<br>
</font><font face="Helvetica, Helvetica" size=4>(410) 659-9314, extension
2330<br>
(410) 262-1281(Cell)<br>
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<a href="mailto:cdanielsen@nfb.org">cdanielsen@nfb.org</a><br><br>
</font><div align="center"><h1><b>National Federation of the Blind Awards
$50,000<br><br>
<br>
</b></h1><h2><b>Second Annual Dr. Jacob Bolotin Awards Presented at 2009
Convention</i></b></h2></div>
<font face="Helvetica, Helvetica" size=4><b>Baltimore, Maryland (July 13,
2009):</b> The National Federation of the Blind presented $50,000 in cash
awards to individuals and organizations that have made outstanding
contributions toward achieving the full integration of the blind into
society on a basis of equality. The second annual Dr. Jacob Bolotin
Awards honored eight innovators in the blindness field at the National
Federation of the Blind annual convention in <?xml:namespace prefix =
st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags"
/>Detroit on Wednesday, July 8.<br><br>
</font><font face="Garamond" size=4> <br><br>
</font><font face="Garamond">Awards in the amount of $10,000 were given
to Opportunities Unlimited for the Blind and Diane Croft. A joint
award of $10,000 was also given to the National Organization of Parents
of Blind Children (NOPBC) and the National Association to Promote the Use
of Braille (NAPUB) for their Braille Readers Are Leaders contest.
Abe Nemeth, John Andrew English, the Princeton Braillists, and the
American Action Fund for Blind Children and Adults were each awarded
$5,000.<br><br>
</font><font face="Garamond" size=4> <br><br>
</font><font face="Helvetica, Helvetica">Dr. Jacob Bolotin––the namesake
of the award program––was a blind physician who lived and practiced in
Chicago in the early twentieth century. He was widely known and
respected in Chicago and throughout the Midwest during his career, which
spanned the period from 1912 until his untimely death at the age of
thirty-six in 1924. He was particularly recognized for his
expertise on diseases of the heart and lungs. Bolotin used his many
public speaking engagements to advocate for the employment of the blind
and their full integration into society. <br><br>
</font><font face="Garamond" size=4> <br><br>
</font><font face="Helvetica, Helvetica" size=4>Dr. Marc Maurer,
President of the National Federation of the Blind, said: “Dr. Jacob
Bolotin was a pioneer who overcame low expectations and discrimination to
become a renowned member of the medical profession without the benefit of
the support services and civil rights protections available to blind
people today. </font><font face="Garamond" size=4>The National
Federation of the Blind is proud to honor the memory and spirit of Dr.
Bolotin by recognizing and financially supporting those who are doing
exceptional work to help achieve the shared dream of Dr. Bolotin and the
National Federation of the Blind––a society where the blind are treated
as productive, independent, and equal
citizens</font><font face="Helvetica, Helvetica" size=4>.”<br><br>
</font><font face="Garamond" size=4> <br><br>
</font><font face="Helvetica, Helvetica" size=4>The Dr. Jacob Bolotin
Award Program is funded through the generosity of Dr. Bolotin’s nephew
and niece, Alfred and Rosalind Perlman. The late Mrs. Perlman
established the Alfred and Rosalind Perlman Trust to endow the
award. Income from the trust is distributed to the National
Federation of the Blind and the Santa Barbara Foundation for the purpose
of administering the Dr. Jacob Bolotin Award Program. Mrs. Perlman
also wrote <i>The Blind Doctor: The Jacob Bolotin Story. </i>The
book was published by Blue Point Books and is available through the
National Federation of the Blind. A portion of the proceeds from
book sales will also benefit the award program.<i> </i>For more
information about the Dr. Jacob Bolotin Award Program, including more
information about this year’s winners, as well as eligibility criteria
and application procedures, visit
</font><a href="http://www.nfb.org/">
<font face="Helvetica, Helvetica" size=4 color="#0000FF">www.nfb.org</a>
</font><font face="Helvetica, Helvetica" size=4>.<br><br>
</font><font face="Garamond" size=5> <br><br>
</font><div align="center"><font face="Helvetica, Helvetica" size=5><b>
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