[Nfb-krafters-korner] Braille books

[becky frankeberger]

National Federation of the Blind and Wal-Mart Foundation Partner to
Promote Braille Literacy
Wal-Mart Foundation to Sponsor Web Site for Exchange of Braille Reading
Materials
Baltimore, Maryland (February 2, 2009): The National Federation of the
Blind, the oldest and largest organization of blind people in the United
States and the country's leading advocate for Braille literacy, and the
Wal-Mart Foundation are partnering to bring Braille reading materials to
those who need them. The Wal-Mart Foundation is sponsoring NFB
ShareBraille, a Web site to facilitate the exchange of Braille books
through a community-run library. NFB ShareBraille will help connect
those who want Braille with those who want to give Braille away, thus
increasing the life of Braille materials. The Web site is located at
<
braille.org/
>www.nfbsharebraille.org.
Dr. Marc Maurer, President of the National Federation of the Blind,
said: "There are many contributing factors to the decline in Braille
literacy among the nation's blind children and adults, but access to
Braille reading materials is one such factor. That is why the National
Federation of the Blind has launched NFB ShareBraille to help students,
professionals, and avid readers find the Braille materials they need for
enlightenment, productivity, and success. We deeply appreciate the
Wal-Mart Foundation sponsoring this important effort."
Crosby Cromwell, manager of disability markets for Wal-Mart Stores,
Inc., said: "Literacy is critically important to a fulfilling and
productive life, and this is no less true for the blind than it is for
anyone else. That is why we are proud to work with the National
Federation of the Blind to increase the availability of Braille books
and to support literacy for all blind Americans."
NFB ShareBraille is part of the NFB's Braille Readers are Leaders
campaign, a national initiative to promote the importance of reading and
writing Braille for blind children and adults. One of the campaign
goals is to make Braille resources more available through online sharing
of materials, enhanced production methods, and improved distribution.
NFB ShareBraille is designed to help in meeting this goal by encouraging
blind people to trade Braille books and build their <?xml:namespace
prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags"
/>personal libraries. Frequently, Braille materials in good condition
are discarded because a new home for the materials cannot be found. NFB
ShareBraille now offers a way for a community to close that gap and keep
Braille reading materials circulating.
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. The coin, which will feature the word "Braille" written in
tactile Braille, will be released on March 26, 2009. The Wal-Mart
Foundation plans to support other aspects of the Braille Readers are
Leaders campaign in addition to sponsoring NFB ShareBraille. For more
information about the campaign, please visit
<
org/
>www.braille.org.