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<p class=MsoNormal><b><font size=4 face=Helvetica><span style='font-size:13.5pt;
font-family:Helvetica;font-weight:bold'>FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE<o:p></o:p></span></font></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><b><font size=3 face=Helvetica><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Helvetica;font-weight:bold'>CONTACT:<o:p></o:p></span></font></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face=Helvetica><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Helvetica'>Chris Danielsen<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face=Helvetica><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Helvetica'>Director of Public Relations<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face=Helvetica><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Helvetica'>National Federation of the Blind<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face=Helvetica><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Helvetica'>(410) 659-9314, extension 2330<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face=Helvetica><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Helvetica'>(410) 262-1281 (Cell)<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'><a href="mailto:cdanielsen@nfb.org"><font face=Helvetica><span
style='font-family:Helvetica'>cdanielsen@nfb.org</span></font></a><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal align=center style='text-align:center'><b><font size=4
face=Helvetica><span style='font-size:13.5pt;font-family:Helvetica;font-weight:
bold'>National Federation of the Blind Celebrates Read Across <ns0:country-region
w:insAuthor="Unknown" w:insDate="2012-02-27T18:19:00Z" w:endInsAuthor="Unknown"
w:endInsDate="2012-02-27T18:19:00Z"><ns0:place w:insAuthor="Unknown"
w:insDate="2012-02-27T18:19:00Z" w:endInsAuthor="Unknown"
w:endInsDate="2012-02-27T18:19:00Z">America</ns0:place></ns0:country-region><o:p></o:p></span></font></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal align=center style='text-align:center'><font size=3
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'> <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal align=center style='text-align:center'><b><i><font size=3
face=Helvetica><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:Helvetica;font-weight:
bold;font-style:italic'>Encourages Blind Youth to Join in Celebration by <ns0:City
w:insAuthor="Unknown" w:insDate="2012-02-27T18:19:00Z" w:endInsAuthor="Unknown"
w:endInsDate="2012-02-27T18:19:00Z"><ns0:place w:insAuthor="Unknown"
w:insDate="2012-02-27T18:19:00Z" w:endInsAuthor="Unknown"
w:endInsDate="2012-02-27T18:19:00Z">Reading</ns0:place></ns0:City> Braille
Books<o:p></o:p></span></font></i></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal align=center style='text-align:center'><b><i><font size=3
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-weight:bold;
font-style:italic'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></i></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><b><font size=3 face=Helvetica><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Helvetica;font-weight:bold'>Baltimore, Maryland (February 27,
2012): </span></font></b><font face=Helvetica><span style='font-family:Helvetica'>The
<a href="http://www.nfb.org/">National Federation of the Blind</a> (NFB), the
nation’s leading advocate for Braille literacy, will celebrate <a
href="http://www.readacrossamerica.org/">Read Across America Day</a> on March
2, by encouraging blind youth to join in the nationwide holiday of
reading. Read Across America, created by the National Education
Association in 1998, is an annual reading motivation and awareness program that
calls for youth to celebrate the joy of reading on March 2—also the
birthday of renowned children’s author Dr. Seuss—by reading Dr.
Seuss books. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face=Helvetica><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Helvetica'>The NFB encourages blind youth to celebrate Read Across
America Day by reading their favorite Dr. Seuss books in Braille, sharing their
thoughts about the books on Facebook and Twitter, and sending to us videos of
themselves reading Braille. We will choose our favorite videos and post
them on the </span></font><a
href="http://www.facebook.com/NationalFederationoftheBlind"><font
face=Helvetica><span style='font-family:Helvetica'>NFB Facebook page</span></font></a><font
face=Helvetica><span style='font-family:Helvetica'> and </span></font><a
href="http://www.youtube.com/nationsblind"><font face=Helvetica><span
style='font-family:Helvetica'>YouTube account!</span></font></a><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face=Helvetica><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Helvetica'>Dr. Marc Maurer, President of the National Federation of
the Blind, said: “Read Across America is a wonderful program that
promotes literacy and the joy of reading. Braille literacy is just as
critical to the success of blind children as print literacy is to sighted
children. Our celebration of Read Across America Day seeks to include
blind youth and those with low vision in this great program and to encourage
them to read Braille on March 2. We hope this activity will instill in
blind children a love of reading Braille that will last their whole
lives.”<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face=Helvetica><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Helvetica'>To learn more about the National Federation of the
Blind’s celebration of Read Across <ns0:country-region w:insAuthor="Unknown"
w:insDate="2012-02-27T18:19:00Z" w:endInsAuthor="Unknown"
w:endInsDate="2012-02-27T18:19:00Z"><ns0:place w:insAuthor="Unknown"
w:insDate="2012-02-27T18:19:00Z" w:endInsAuthor="Unknown"
w:endInsDate="2012-02-27T18:19:00Z">America</ns0:place></ns0:country-region>,
including how to access Braille versions of Dr. Seuss books for yourself or
your blind child, please visit </span></font><a
href="http://nfb.org/read-across-america"><font face=Helvetica><span
style='font-family:Helvetica'>http://nfb.org/read-across-america</span></font></a><font
face=Helvetica><span style='font-family:Helvetica'>.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal align=center style='text-align:center'><b><font size=3
face=Helvetica><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:Helvetica;font-weight:
bold'>###<o:p></o:p></span></font></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal align=center style='text-align:center'><b><font size=3
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-weight:bold'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></b></p>
<p><strong><b><font size=3 face=Arial><span lang=EN style='font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>About the National Federation of the Blind </span></font></b></strong><font
face=Arial><span lang=EN style='font-family:Arial'><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p><font size=3 face=Arial><span lang=EN style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:
Arial'>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
<ns0:country-region w:insAuthor="Unknown" w:insDate="2012-02-27T18:19:00Z"
w:endInsAuthor="Unknown" w:endInsDate="2012-02-27T18:19:00Z"><ns0:place
w:insAuthor="Unknown" w:insDate="2012-02-27T18:19:00Z" w:endInsAuthor="Unknown"
w:endInsDate="2012-02-27T18:19:00Z">United States</ns0:place></ns0:country-region>.
The 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 <ns0:country-region w:insAuthor="Unknown"
w:insDate="2012-02-27T18:19:00Z" w:endInsAuthor="Unknown"
w:endInsDate="2012-02-27T18:19:00Z"><ns0:place w:insAuthor="Unknown"
w:insDate="2012-02-27T18:19:00Z" w:endInsAuthor="Unknown"
w:endInsDate="2012-02-27T18:19:00Z">United States</ns0:place></ns0:country-region>
for the blind led by the blind.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal align=center style='text-align:center'><b><font size=3
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-weight:bold'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
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