[Nfb-idaho] Press Release-Braille Coin Celebration

Tue Mar 24 04:33:07 UTC 2009

Sorry!  there were a whole bunch that didn't come down last time I tried. 
This one is great!
 Ramona
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Susan Bradley" <craftisue at hotmail.com>
To: "NFB listserve" <nfb-idaho at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Monday, March 23, 2009 12:59 PM
Subject: [Nfb-idaho] Press Release-Braille Coin Celebration

National Federation of the Blind of Idaho
Elsie Hiebert Lamp - President
300 Willard Avenue, Pocatello, ID 83201
elsielamp at yahoo.com fax (208) 232-5416
ph (208) 233-5833 cell (208) 241-6030

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT:
Susan Bradley
First Vice President
National Federation of the Blind of Idaho
(208) 794-9431
craftisue at hotmail.com

National Federation of the Blind of Idaho Celebrates
Release of Louis Braille Bicentennial Silver Dollar

Boise, Idaho March 26, 2009: The National Federation of the Blind (NFB) of 
Idaho celebrates today the release of the Louis Braille Bicentennial Silver 
Dollar.  This historic commemorative coin, the first-ever U.S. coin to 
contain tactile readable Braille, will be launched at a special ceremony at 
the headquarters of the National Federation of the Blind, in Baltimore, 
Maryland.  In Boise Idaho, the launch will be held on March 27, 2009 at the 
Owyhee Plaza Hotel beginning at 4:00 p.m.

The celebration will be a high point of the annual Convention of the 
National Federation of the Blind of Idaho.  Governor Otter will send a 
proclamation which designates March 27, 2009 as Braille Readers are Leaders 
Day in Idaho.  We will also be acquiring a proclamation from Mayor, David 
Bieter of Boise.  We will have the first coin available in Idaho for all to 
see and will announce how to purchase the Coin.  Everyone present will 
receive a sample of Braille, and blind Braille readers and writers will be 
on hand to demonstrate the value of the code.  Displays will show both the 
simplicity and the importance of Braille and how its availability is 
enhanced by technology for the blind.

Elsie Lamp, of Pocatello, President of the NFB of Idaho says, “I was not one 
of the fortunate blind children who learned Braille.  It would have made my 
life so much richer.”

Dr. Marc Maurer, President of the National Federation of the Blind said, “If 
the blind can read, the blind can achieve. The Louis Braille Bicentennial 
Silver Dollar celebrates the man who gave literacy to the blind and is a 
unique and beautiful keepsake, but it is also a coin with a mission: to make 
sure that every blind child and every adult losing vision in our nation has 
the opportunity to learn Braille.”
National Federation of the Blind of Idaho Celebrates
Release of Louis Braille Bicentennial Silver Dollar
March 26, 2009
Page two

Blind people in Idaho are complimentary of the Braille teachers in this 
State.  Unfortunately there simply are not nearly enough Braille teachers 
and so many blind children and adults do not develop as much reading and 
writing skills that they need.

The 2009 Louis Braille bicentennial Silver Dollar commemorates the 200th 
anniversary of the birth of Louis Braille, inventor of the Braille system, 
which is still used by the blind to read the write.  Sales of the Louis 
Braille Bicentennial Silver Dollar, which was authorized by a law passed by 
Congress in 2006, will support the NFB’s “Braille Readers are Leaders” 
campaign.  The campaign is a national initiative created to double the 
number of blind children learning Braille by 2015.

The National Federation of the Blind is asking the American public, through 
purchasing this stunning silver dollar, to join its campaign to bring 
literacy, education, opportunity, and success to the blind of America.  The 
Louis Braille Bicentennial Silver Dollar goes on sale to the general public 
at noon today.  Those interested in ordering a coin should visit 
www.usmint.gov or call 1-800-USA-MINT (872-6468).  For more information 
about the National Federation of the Blind and the Braille Readers are 
Leaders campaign, visit www.braille.org.

###

About the National Federation of the Blind

The National Federation of the Blind of Idaho is one of 52 affiliates of the 
largest organization of the blind in the nation. 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.
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