[Nfbf-l] reminder: INTRODUCTORY PRICES for Braille coin GOING AWAY, DON'T MISS OUT!!!

[Sherrill O'Brien]

Hi all,
Just a reminder so you don't get mad at yourself for waiting too long on the
better pricing for the coins.  I admit I haven't put in my order yet, so
you're sure not alone.  Read on and then you might want to save this email
so you can refer to it or send it to chapter members, friends and relatives.

Have a great weekend!
Sherrill
-----Original Message-----
From: brl-coordinators-bounces at nfbnet.org
[mailto:brl-coordinators-bounces at nfbnet.org]On Behalf Of Fred
Sent: Friday, April 17, 2009 10:34 PM
To: Braille Readers are Leaders contest support list; NFB Chapter
Presidents discussion list
Subject: [Brl-coordinators] INTRODUCTORY PRICES GOING AWAY, DON'T MISS
OUT!!!


Introductory prices for the Louis Braille commemorative coin  will go away
at the completion of business on Sunday April 26. Pricing information is
below.

The National Federation of the Blind will have Louis Braille coins available
through the NFB Independence Market as a convenience to members beginning

March 26.  For your information, below are the prices that they will sell
coins for.

March 26-April 26: $33 uncirculated and $40 proof plus actual shipping costs

After April 26: $34 uncirculated and $42 proof plus actual shipping costs

Independence Market 410 659-9314 Ext. 2216

USA Mint Pricing

Introductory Price

Regular Price

Uncirculated Louis Braille Bicentennial Silver Dollar

Introductory price: 31.95

Regular Price: 33.95

The uncirculated Louis Braille Bicentennial Silver Dollar will also be
offered in an easy-to-open

capsule for those who would like to feel the tactile elements offered by the
coin

design.

Uncirculated Louis Braille Bicentennial Silver Dollar in Easy-Open Capsule

Introductory price: 31.95

Regular Price: 33.95

Proof Louis Braille Bicentennial Silver Dollar

Introductory price: 37.95

Regular price: 41.95

You can order coins online at the U.S. Mint:


http://www.usmint.gov

or by phone at: 1-800-USA-MINT (800) 872-6468)

TTY: 1-888-321-MINT (6468)

Outside the 50 United States: 001-202-898-MINT (6468)

Available seven days a week from 8:00 a.m. to 12:00 midnight (Eastern
Daylight Time).

Remember, if you don't order before April 26, the coins will still be
available, but only until the end of this year. After that they will only be
available from collectors.

Fred Olver

Missouri Coordinator Louis Braille coin initiative

Email:
goodfolks at charter.net

  Braille Readers are Leaders

Braille equips the blind with literacy in the exact same manner that print
empowers the sighted.  Yet, today fewer than 10 percent of blind children
are learning Braille. The National Federation of the Blind is introducing
the "Braille Readers are Leaders" Literacy Campaign to improve Braille
literacy and double the number of young Braille readers by 2015.

Background
The Braille code, the primary system of reading and writing used by people
who are blind, is a relatively modern invention that has frequently met with
opposition.  The code is named after its creator, Louis Braille (1809-1852),
who developed and published the first manual on his code at the age of
eighteen.  Blind students enthusiastically took to the Braille code as until
then the only means of reading independently, was using embossed letters.
The embossed letters were slow and difficult to use, and no easy way to
write using this system existed.  Essentially, the embossed letter system
was invented by fully sighted individuals as a means of helping blind people
to be normal.  Despite the clear advantages of Braille and the enthusiastic
support for the system among young blind students, using the code was
challenged by sighted schoolmasters who viewed it as simply another barrier
between blind and sighted individuals.  The Braille code was first
introduced in the United States in 1869 but faced many struggles before its
adoption as the Standard English Grade Two Braille code, in 1932.

>From that point until the early 1960s, many blind people were routinely
taught to read and write Braille from an early age.  However, by the 1980s,
the Braille literacy rate among blind people was reported to be near 10
percent.  This meant that the vast majority of blind people were
illiterate-they could not effectively use print or Braille to read and
write.  A number of causes led to the decline in Braille literacy,
including:

·        The emphasis, since approximately 1965, on teaching children with
some remaining vision to read print, to the exclusion of Braille;

·        Negative attitudes toward blind people and the communication skills
they need;

·        Lack of standardized Braille teaching methods and of quality
control to ensure high standards of teaching;

·        The misguided notion that technological advances, such as cassette
tapes, were a viable substitute for Braille;

·        Discouragement of newly blinded adults from learning Braille under
the false belief that it cannot be mastered after childhood;

·        Not giving older individuals the opportunity to explore how some
Braille might help them maintain their independence and manage their own
medications; and

·        Underestimation of and view of Braille as unusual, thus, the blind
themselves are viewed in a similar fashion.

A Much Needed Shift

Led by the National Federation of the Blind (NFB), a number of initiatives
were undertaken, beginning in the 1980s, to change the decline in Braille
literacy.  These included raising public awareness about the benefits of
Braille and an effort to adopt state laws that strengthened access to
Braille instruction and instructional materials for blind children.  While
significant progress was made in the 1990s in changing public policies
related to Braille and raising awareness of the importance of Braille to the
blind, the literacy statistics for the blind show that far too few blind
people have access to quality instruction in Braille.  This is true despite
the fact that research conducted during this period demonstrates a
significant relationship between Braille and employment.  That is, better
than 80 percent of the blind people who are gainfully employed utilize
Braille in their daily lives.  This is contrasted with an unemployment rate
among the blind that is often cited to be 70 percent.  Braille,
independence, confidence, success, and literacy are all tied together.

"Braille Readers are Leaders" Literacy Campaign
The National Federation of the Blind-the oldest and largest organization of
blind people in the United States-will establish an unprecedented and
comprehensive initiative in Braille literacy beginning in July 2008 to
coincide with the unveiling of the design for the Louis Braille
Commemorative Coin from the United States Treasury in honor of Braille's
200th birthday.  This initiative will be marked by the most significant
investment in literacy for the blind ever-raising $8 million for Braille
literacy programs into the future-and an innovative network of programs that
dramatically enhance opportunities and education for the blind.

The campaign has aggressive goals:

1.      The number of school-age children reading Braille will double by
2015

2.      All 50 states will enact legislation requiring special education
teachers of blind children to obtain and maintain the National Certification
in Literary Braille by 2015.

3.      Braille resources will be made more available through online sharing
of materials, enhanced production methods and improved distribution.

4.      The American public will learn that blind people have a right to
Braille literacy so they can compete and assume a productive role in
society.

The first phase of the campaign is raising sufficient funds to fund such
future programs as:

Braille.org: The Superhighway to Literacy

A new website,
www.braille.org
, will be launched as a clearinghouse "portal"
to become the premier Internet resource on Braille and educate the public
about the capabilities of the blind well into the future.

Braille Outreach Projects

Big ideas begin with grassroots innovation.  The NFB includes seven hundred
local chapters located in each of the fifty states, the District of
Columbia, and Puerto Rico.  Thousands of blind people come together in these
local chapters to establish programs in partnership with members of the
community to improve the integration of the blind into society on terms of
equality.  A significant focus of the Braille literacy campaign will be
providing local grants to innovative outreach and education programs around
the country that have a clear emphasis on Braille.

"That the Blind May Read": An Educational Documentary

The National Federation of the Blind will raise awareness of the 2009
Braille campaign by helping to produce a one-hour documentary about Braille,
its history, and the role it plays in empowering the blind all around the
world.  Never before has an accurate, and in-depth educational look at
Braille been produced in a multi-media form for a wide audience.

Braille Reading Pals

A Braille reading-readiness program for blind infants, toddlers,
preschoolers, and older students with reading delays will enhance literacy
through early exposure to Braille. The program will equip parents with early
literacy materials and will connect them with resources to support their
child's literacy development throughout the years such as mentoring from
other parents of blind children and free Braille books.

"Braille Readers Are Leaders" Contest

A dynamic program encouraging Braille reading at all grade levels (K-12) and
awarding prizes in a number of categories to students reading significant
amounts of Braille each year.

"Braille Is Beautiful" Curriculum

An innovative curriculum to teach sighted students how to read and write the
Braille alphabet code and increase students' sensitivity to and
understanding of blind persons will be introduced.  This modular curriculum
will be flexible, with components to serve different age ranges.

Braille Certification Training Program

NFB will undertake an aggressive outreach effort to significantly expand the
pool of teachers certified in standardized teaching of Braille and
individuals certified in transcribing and proofreading Braille in all
Braille codes (literary, math/science, and music).

Braille Research in Literacy

The National Federation of the Blind will help improve Braille- related
programs by filling gaps in the Braille knowledge base, designing studies to
evaluate the effectiveness of currently available Braille curricula and
teaching strategies for blind people of all ages, measuring the blind
population and Braille readership, and disseminating accurate information
about Braille- related research.

Braille Technology Development

In the 21st century, literacy requires the integration of and accessibility
to technologies that facilitate reading, writing, and access to information.
Tremendous potential exists for stimulating such development and
incorporating the use of Braille into technologies in order to enhance
literacy for the blind.  Electronic refreshable Braille displays, dynamic
tactile pads, new Braille writing technologies, and machines for producing
tactile graphics are all examples where technology development is required.
New, low-cost, Braille writing technologies are also needed as the current
tools have not been significantly improved in decades.  The National
Federation of the Blind will establish a technology development team made up
of strategic university, industry, and other supporters to generate new
Braille-related technologies and bring them to market at an affordable
price.

As this imaginative campaign develops during 2008 with its focus on
fundraising, many new opportunities, innovative programs, and great
partnerships will emerge to further shape the scope of this literacy
initiative.  The NFB is the leader in Braille education, awareness, and
advocacy and the literacy campaign will build on that leadership to build
previously unimagined opportunities.  With imagination and innovation, we
will build a future full of opportunities with Braille.