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<b><br>
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE<br><br>
<br><br>
CONTACT:<br><br>
</b>Chris Danielsen<br><br>
Director of Public Relations<br><br>
National Federation of the Blind<br>
(410) 659-9314, extension 2330<br>
(410) 262-1281(Cell)<br>
<a href="mailto:cdanielsen@nfb.org">cdanielsen@nfb.org</a><br><br>
<div align="center"><h1><b>National Federation of the Blind Awards
$50,000<br><br>
<br>
</b></h1><h2><b>Eighth Annual Dr. Jacob Bolotin Awards Presented at 2015
Convention</b></h2></div>
<b>Orlando, Florida (July 10, 2015):</b>
<a href="http://www.nfb.org/">The National Federation of the Blind</a>
(NFB) today presented $50,000 in cash awards to individuals and
organizations that have made outstanding contributions toward achieving
the full integration of the blind into society on a basis of equality. At
the National Federation of the Blind
<a href="https://nfb.org/convention">annual convention</a> in Orlando,
the eighth annual <a href="http://nfb.org/bolotin-award-main">Dr. Jacob
Bolotin Awards</a> honored five innovators who are helping blind people
live the lives they want.<br><br>
<br><br>
A $5,000 award was presented to Professor Nicolaas tenBroek, a computer
science instructor at Heartland Community College in Illinois and
grandson of Jacobus tenBroek, the founder of the National Federation of
the Blind, for his creation of a course to teach computer science
students how to design accessible mobile apps. A $5,000 prize was also
presented to the United States Association of Blind Athletes for its
creation of a state-of-the art training center for blind goalball players
so that they can prepare for participation in the 2016 Paralympics and
beyond. A $10,000 prize was jointly awarded to the University of
California, Davis and the Centre for Molecular and Biomolecular
Informatics for their collaboration on an accessible computerized system
for creating 3D tactile models of molecules and molecular interactions. A
$10,000 award was also presented to Seedlings Braille Books for Blind
Children for its outstanding work producing Braille and print-Braille
books for blind children of all ages. A cash prize of $20,000 went to the
Southern Arizona Association for the Visually Impaired (SAAVI) for
partnering with the organized blind to improve rehabilitation services
for blind Arizonans.<br><br>
<br><br>
Dr. Jacob Bolotin, the namesake of the award program, was a blind
physician who lived and practiced in Chicago from 1912 until his untimely
death at age thirty-six in 1924. Dr. Bolotin was especially recognized
for treating diseases of the heart and lungs. Despite his rigorous
schedule tending to his patients’ needs at all hours of the day and
night, Dr. Bolotin also became known as a public speaker and advocate for
the employment of the blind and their full integration into
society.<br><br>
<br><br>
Mark A. Riccobono, President of the
<a href="http://www.facebook.com/NationalFederationoftheBlind">National
Federation of the Blind</a>, 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. The National
Federation of the Blind is proud to honor the memory and spirit of Dr.
Bolotin by recognizing and financially supporting those individuals and
organizations, both from within the blindness field and outside of it,
who are doing exceptional work to help achieve the shared dream of Dr.
Bolotin and the National Federation of the Blind—a society in which the
blind, like all other Americans, can pursue their goals and live the
lives they want.”<br><br>
<br><br>
The Dr. Jacob Bolotin Awards Program is funded through the generosity of
Dr. Bolotin’s nephew and niece, Alfred and Rosalind Perlman. The late
Mrs. Perlman established the Alfred and Rosalind Perlman Trust to endow
the awards. Income from the trust is distributed to the National
Federation of the Blind and the Santa Barbara Foundation for the purpose
of administering the Dr. Jacob Bolotin Awards Program. Mrs. Perlman also
wrote <i>The Blind Doctor: The Jacob Bolotin Story. </i>For more
information about the Dr. Jacob Bolotin Awards Program—including more
information about this year’s winners, as well as eligibility criteria
and application procedures—visit
<a href="http://www.nfb.org/">www.nfb.org</a>.<br><br>
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<b> <br><br>
About the National Federation of the Blind<br><br>
</b> <br><br>
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.<br>
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