[Nfbmt] National Federation of the Blind Announces 2015 Dr. Jacob Bolotin Awards

[Bruce&Joy Breslauer]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT:
Chris Danielsen
Director of Public Relations
National Federation of the Blind
(410) 659-9314, extension 2330
(410) 262-1281 (Cell)
cdanielsen at nfb.org

National Federation of the Blind Announces 
2015 Dr. Jacob Bolotin Awards

Baltimore, Maryland (December 10, 2014): The National Federation of the
Blind today announced that applications are now being accepted for
<http://www.nfb.org/bolotin-award-main> the 2015 Dr. Jacob Bolotin Award
Program. Each year the National Federation of the Blind presents cash awards
to individuals and organizations that have demonstrated exemplary leadership
and extraordinary accomplishments in improving the lives of blind people in
the United States.

Dr. Jacob Bolotin was a blind physician who lived and practiced in Chicago
in the early twentieth century. He was widely known and respected in Chicago
and throughout the Midwest during his career, which spanned the period from
1912 until his untimely death at the age of thirty-six in 1924. He was
particularly recognized for his expertise on diseases of the heart and
lungs. Bolotin used his many public speaking engagements to advocate for the
employment of the blind and their full integration into society.  

Mark Riccobono, President of the National Federation of the Blind, said:
"Dr. Jacob Bolotin was a pioneer who overcame low expectations and
discrimination to become a renowned member of the medical profession without
the benefit of the support services and civil rights protections available
to blind people today. He was also a fierce advocate for greater opportunity
for the blind in his time, and doubtless would have been a leader in the
organized blind movement had he lived to see it come into being. The Jacob
Bolotin Award Program celebrates his pioneering spirit by recognizing and
supporting outstanding programs, technologies, and individual efforts that
help blind Americans live the lives we want. Our previous winners represent
projects and achievements of outstanding merit consistent with Dr. Bolotin's
legacy, and we look forward to honoring more trailblazers this year."

Recipients of the 2015 Dr. Jacob Bolotin Awards will be determined by the
Dr. Jacob Bolotin Award Committee of the National Federation of the Blind.
Applications are due by March 31, 2015. Individuals or organizations are
encouraged to apply on behalf of themselves or others. The award recipients
will be announced at the  <http://www.nfb.org/convention> 2015 National
Federation of the Blind Convention in Orlando.  

The Jacob Bolotin Award Program is funded through the generosity of Dr.
Bolotin's nephew and niece, Alfred and Rosalind Pearlman. In addition to
establishing the Alfred and Rosalind Pearlman Trust to endow the awards, the
late Mrs. Pearlman also wrote The Blind Doctor: The Jacob Bolotin Story. The
book has been published by Blue Point Books and is available through the
National Federation of the Blind. For more information or to fill out
<http://www.nfb.org/application-information> the online application, please
visit  <http://www.nfb.org> www.nfb.org.

###

 

About the National Federation of the Blind

The National Federation of the Blind knows that blindness is not the
characteristic that defines you or your future. Every day we raise the
expectations of blind people, because low expectations create obstacles
between blind people and our dreams. You can live the life you want;
blindness is not what holds you back.