[Nfbmo] Braille Coin Initiative

[Fred]

Please read this entire message, it is most important for you and I as 
members of the NFB and the future members of this organization. How we deal 
with this project and it's impact on our organization can have far-reaching 
affects.

As the recently selected Missouri coordinator for the Braille Coin 
Initiative I want to give you as much information as possible. As this 
initiative is most important to the future of children who are blind in the 
United States it is most apparent and appropriate that we, The National 
Federation of the Blind of Missouri spearhead this campaign within our state 
boundaries and facilitate the spread of information to families and friends 
throughout the country. To that end I would ask anyone who has an idea which 
they feel will reach a maximum amount of people to forward those ideas 
directly to me or to your chapter presidents so they in turn can send them 
on to me. My email address is:

goodfolks at charter.net
Fred Olver

CHAPTER PRESIDENTS, PLEASE READ AND ACT SOON!!!
For more information go to: http://www.braille.org

>From Fred Schroeder National coordinator  Braille Coin Initiative, sent to 
all state coordinators.

I wanted to give you a brief update about the NFB braille coin and the need
to have a coordinator from each affiliate.

 At this point we are developing a core of individuals in the states to be
the point of contact for the activities we will be asking affiliates to
undertake.
For example we are developing materials for affiliates and local chapters to
use in holding a demonstration of braille and the ability of blind people
to be fully literate. The events will be held on January 4, the day of
Louis Braille's birth. What we have in mind is targeting a large local book
store
for the demonstration. This will give us a chance to talk with members of
the public about the crisis in braille literacy, particularly as it concerns
blind children. We will have braille alphabet cards for the events that
direct people to the braille.org website.

At this stage of the campaign, we are focusing on braille literacy awareness
and getting our name before the public. The reason is that the coin will
not
be released until late March or early April. The Mint will not take
presales for the coin so we will not be marketing the coin directly until
closer
to the time when it can be purchased.

The reason we need to establish a core of contact individuals from the
states is to gather ideas on braille literacy efforts that affiliates and
chapters
have held in the past to be able to give affiliates a listing of ideas,
large and small, that they may consider as activities in their states. We
do not
anticipate that every affiliate will have the ability in terms of person
power to hold large outreach events, but every affiliate should be able to
participate.

We also need the state contacts to help us assess state and local capacity.
For example we would like to hold an event near the actual release date of
the coin in which we give away one million braille alphabet cards on a
single day. That would get the issue of braille literacy before the public,
help
promote sales of the coin and generate media attention about the coin and
the importance of braille literacy. If we are going to be successful in a
one
million braille card blitz, we will need to know from each affiliate what
location or locations would be appropriate for such an event and the ability
of the affiliate to person the event. The state coordinator will be
important in helping organize the event or events in the state and will be
key in
helping build enthusiasm among our members.

We have many additional activities in mind but want the collective thinking
of our affiliates in helping shape our work. In short our objectives are
these:
sell the coins, raise the match, make the public aware of the importance of
braille and the crisis in literacy among blind children, get our name before
the public, forge new corporate and foundation relationships and, most
important, make a difference in the braille literacy crisis in America.
There may
be other goals we should add to this list, and that is why we need a team of
people working together on the effort.
Thanks,

FKS

Fred Schroeder, First Vice President
National Federation of the Blind

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