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</o:shapelayout></xml><![endif]--></head><body lang=EN-US link="#0563C1" vlink="#954F72" style='word-wrap:break-word'><div class=WordSection1><h1 style='mso-margin-top-alt:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:7.5pt;margin-left:0in;background:white'><span class=field><span style='font-size:39.0pt;font-family:"Lato",sans-serif;color:black;font-weight:normal'>Free Slate and Stylus Program</span></span><span style='font-size:39.0pt;font-family:"Lato",sans-serif;color:black;font-weight:normal'><o:p></o:p></span></h1><p style='mso-margin-top-alt:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:15.0pt;margin-left:0in;background:white;box-sizing: border-box'><span style='font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Lato",sans-serif;color:black'>The National Federation of the Blind will distribute a plastic, four-line, twenty-eight cell slate along with a saddle stylus to those that need them. That includes those that are blind and low vision who know Braille or want to learn Braille. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p style='mso-margin-top-alt:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:15.0pt;margin-left:0in;background:white;box-sizing: border-box'><span style='font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Lato",sans-serif;color:black'>The slate and stylus have long been and continue to be valuable tools for writing Braille, which is vital to literacy for the blind. It is the only Braille-writing device that has the same portability, flexibility, and affordability as a pen and pencil. From labeling your canned goods to jotting down a phone number, the uses and advantages of the slate and stylus for the blind are as varied as those of a pen and pencil for the sighted.<o:p></o:p></span></p><h2 style='mso-margin-top-alt:22.5pt;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:7.5pt;margin-left:0in;background:white;box-sizing: border-box;color:inherit'><span style='font-size:27.0pt;font-family:"Lato",sans-serif;color:black;font-weight:normal'>Application Information<o:p></o:p></span></h2><p style='mso-margin-top-alt:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:15.0pt;margin-left:0in;background:white;box-sizing: border-box'><span style='font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Lato",sans-serif;color:black'><img width=279 height=369 style='width:2.9083in;height:3.8416in' id="Picture_x0020_1" src="cid:image001.jpg@01D81AB3.A0FFDAA0" alt="A young girl uses a slate and stylus."></span><span style='font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Lato",sans-serif;color:black'>Please visit our <a href="http://freeslates.nfb.org/" target="_blank"><span style='color:#005AA3;background:white'>free slate and stylus program online application</span></a> to request your slate and stylus.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style='mso-margin-top-alt:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:15.0pt;margin-left:0in;background:white;box-sizing: border-box'><span style='font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Lato",sans-serif;color:black'>Or complete the <a href="https://nfb.org/images/nfb/documents/pdf/free-slate-application.pdf" target="_blank"><span style='color:#005AA3;background:white'>free slate and stylus program application (accessible PDF)</span></a> and mail it to:<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style='mso-margin-top-alt:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:15.0pt;margin-left:0in;background:white;box-sizing: border-box'><span style='font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Lato",sans-serif;color:black'>Free Slate and Stylus Program<br>National Federation of the Blind<br>200 East Wells Street <em><span style='font-family:"Lato",sans-serif'>at Jernigan Place</span></em><br>Baltimore, MD 21230<o:p></o:p></span></p><h2 style='mso-margin-top-alt:22.5pt;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:7.5pt;margin-left:0in;background:white;box-sizing: border-box;color:inherit'><span style='font-size:27.0pt;font-family:"Lato",sans-serif;color:black;font-weight:normal'>Eligibility<o:p></o:p></span></h2><p style='mso-margin-top-alt:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:15.0pt;margin-left:0in;background:white;box-sizing: border-box'><span style='font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Lato",sans-serif;color:black'>Any blind individual in the fifty states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico can request a slate and stylus for their personal use. Requests can be made as often as once per year.<o:p></o:p></span></p><h2 style='mso-margin-top-alt:22.5pt;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:7.5pt;margin-left:0in;background:white;box-sizing: border-box;color:inherit'><span style='font-size:27.0pt;font-family:"Lato",sans-serif;color:black;font-weight:normal'>More Information<o:p></o:p></span></h2><p style='mso-margin-top-alt:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:15.0pt;margin-left:0in;background:white;box-sizing: border-box'><span style='font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Lato",sans-serif;color:black'>If you are not sure how to use a slate and stylus, please read the<a href="https://nfb.org/images/nfb/publications/fr/fr5/frfa0112.htm"><span style='color:#005AA3'> </span></a><a href="https://nfb.org/images/nfb/publications/fr/fr25/fr07spr18.htm" target="_blank"><span style='color:#005AA3'>"Parents Guide to the Slate and Stylus"</span></a> or <a href="https://nfb.org/images/nfb/publications/fr/fr28/fr280118.htm" target="_blank"><span style='color:#005AA3'>"Writing with a Slate and Stylus is Easy,"</span></a> both of which were featured in our <a href="https://nfb.org/resources/publications-and-media/future-reflections"><em><span style='font-family:"Lato",sans-serif;color:#005AA3;text-decoration:none'>Future Reflections</span></em></a> magazine. You can also purchase <em><span style='font-family:"Lato",sans-serif'>The Slate Book</span></em> from the National Federation of the Blind <a href="https://nfb.org/programs-services/independence-market"><span style='color:#005AA3'>Independence Market</span></a>. For more information regarding our free slate and stylus program, please email us at <a href="mailto:nfb@nfb.org"><span style='color:#005AA3'>nfb@nfb.org</span></a>.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p></div></body></html>