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<font size=4><b>FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE<br><br>
</font> <br><br>
CONTACT:<br><br>
</b>Chris
Danielsen
<br><br>
Director of Public
Relations
<br><br>
National Federation of the
Blind
<br><br>
(410) 659-9314, ext. 2330 <br><br>
(410) 262-1281 (Cell)<br>
<a href="mailto:cdanielsen@nfb.org">cdanielsen@nfb.org</a><br><br>
<br><br>
<div align="center"><font face="Helvetica, Helvetica" size=4><b>National
Federation of the Blind to Hold<br>
<i>THE CANE EVENT<br>
</i></font><font face="Helvetica, Helvetica" size=5> <br><br>
</font><font face="Helvetica, Helvetica"><i>Join Us for a Night of
Gaming, Music, and Fun<br><br>
</i></b></font></div>
<font face="Helvetica, Helvetica" size=5> <br><br>
</font><font face="Helvetica, Helvetica"><b>Baltimore, Maryland (April
26, 2010):</b></font><font face="Helvetica, Helvetica" size=5>
</font><font face="Helvetica, Helvetica">The National Federation of the
Blind (<?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns =
"urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" />NFB) will
host <i>THE CANE EVENT</i> on May 1, 2010, at the National Federation of
the Blind Jernigan Institute in the Federal Hill area of Baltimore.
The event will commemorate the NFB’s seventieth anniversary.
</font>More than three hundred friends, colleagues, and blind people from
across the nation are expected to attend. <br><br>
<font face="Helvetica, Helvetica"> <br><br>
<i>THE CANE EVENT</i> will feature a variety of casino games, giving
attendees a chance to try their hand at poker or blackjack and even win
prizes</font>! There will also be silent and live auctions (featuring
sports memorabilia, vintage French wines, and vacation packages), a piano
bar, and more. <br><br>
<font face="Helvetica, Helvetica"> <br><br>
Dr. Marc Maurer, President of the National Federation of the Blind, said:
“We are pleased and proud to welcome our friends from the Baltimore
community, as well as members and friends from all over the country, to
<i>THE CANE EVENT</i>. The evening will be a remarkable celebration
and will serve to highlight the significant progress blind Americans have
made in the past seventy years. We have come a long way from the
lives of poverty and isolation that we led when the Federation was
founded in 1940; we have access to more opportunity than at any time in
human history. At the same time, blind Americans still face a
staggering unemployment rate of 70 percent and only one in ten blind
children learns Braille. <i>THE CANE EVENT</i> is an opportunity to
commemorate our successes and raise funds for our continuing effort to
improve education, technology, and training for the blind.
</font>Please join us at <font face="Helvetica, Helvetica"><i>THE CANE
EVENT</i></font> as we celebrate our seventieth year and continue to work
toward a brighter future for all blind people in America.”<br><br>
<font face="Helvetica, Helvetica"> </font> <br><br>
Proceeds from this event benefit the National Federation of the Blind
<i>Imagination Fund.</i> This fund supports the programs of the NFB
Jernigan Institute, as well as grassroots efforts by our fifty-two
affiliates and seven hundred chapters across the country. <br><br>
<font face="Helvetica, Helvetica"> <br><br>
For more information about this exciting event, please contact Karen
Zakhnini by phone at (410) 659-9314, extension 2297, or by e-mail at
<a href="mailto:kzakhnini@nfb.org">kzakhnini@nfb.org</a>. Tickets
may be purchased online at <a href="http://www.nfb.org/">www.nfb.org</a>;
or by phone through Becca Cordell at (410) 659-9314, extension 2312; or
by e-mail at
<a href="mailto:bcordell@nfb.org">bcordell@nfb.org</a>. <br><br>
<br><br>
<br><br>
<div align="center"><b>###<br><br>
<br><br>
</b></div>
<br><br>
</font><b>About the National Federation of the Blind<br><br>
</b> <br><br>
<font face="Helvetica, Helvetica">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.
</font>T<font face="Helvetica, Helvetica">he 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.<br>
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