[Nfbwv-talk] BRAILLE LITERACY STORY IN LOCAL NEWSPAPER

Thu Jun 4 11:24:32 UTC 2009

Ed,

This is great news.  Please let me again thank you and Karen for all your 
hard work on promoting Braille, the coin, and Agency Partnership.  I really 
do appreciate all of the time and effort the two of you have taken on the 
behalf of our organization and blind people.

Charlene

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Ed McDonald" <ed at eioproductions.com>
To: "NFB of West Virginia Discussion List" <nfbwv-talk at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Sunday, May 31, 2009 6:29 PM
Subject: [Nfbwv-talk] BRAILLE LITERACY STORY IN LOCAL NEWSPAPER

> The story below appeared in the Friday, May 29, issue of the Mineral Daily
> News Tribune, the local daily newspaper here in Keyser, WV.  The
> accompanying photo caption reads:
>
> Karen McDonald, secretary, National Federation of the Blind of West 
> Virginia
> (NFBWV) presents Gov. Joe Manchin a copy of a comprehensive report on the
> "Braille Literacy Crisis in America," along with chocolate reproductions 
> of
> the Louis Braille Bicentennial commemorative coin.
>
> The story appears to be an unedited version of the news release that I
> distributed statewide several days earlier.  I understand that a much
> shortened version of the story also appeared in the Huntington
> Herald-Dispatch, but I am not aware of any other publications of the
> release.
>
> If any of you in other parts of the state become aware of additional
> appearances of the story, please let me know.
>
> This was a significant event for our affiliate, and we will follow up with
> the governor to ensure that he makes good on his commitment.
>
>
> Ed
>
>
> ############################################################
>
>
> Manchin pledges to support Braille initiative
>
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
>
>
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
>
> News-Tribune
> Fri May 29, 2009, 11:28 AM EDT
> For the News-Tribune
>
> CHARLESTON - West Virginia Gov. Joe Manchin has pledged his support for 
> new
> initiatives to enable more blind West Virginians to read and write 
> Braille.
> Meeting recently at the Cultural Center with a group of blind consumers 
> and
> service  providers, Manchin called for a cooperative effort to make West
> Virginia a  leader in the nationwide campaign to promote Braille literacy.
> The year 2009 is the 200th anniversary of the birth of Louis  Braille, the
> inventor of the raised dot system of reading and writing that  bears his
> name. The meeting in Charleston was one of many bicentennial  events 
> taking
> place throughout the nation to recognize Braille as the key to  literacy 
> for
> blind persons.
> It was organized by the National Federation of  the Blind of West Virginia
> (NFBWV) as part of its Agency Partnership  Program.  On hand were
> representatives from several state and private  agencies that provide
> specialized services to the blind.  They included the  Division of
> Rehabilitation Services, the Department of Education, the West  Virginia
> School for the Blind, the Marshall University
> training program for  teachers of blind children, and the West Virginia
> Library Commission.  The  gathering was hosted by the Library Commission
> which offers a variety of  informational services to blind West 
> Virginians.
> Gov. Manchin took part in the event by issuing a proclamation  recognizing
> the role of Braille in helping blind persons achieve  independence,
> productivity, and success.  The proclamation noted that  Braille is a tool
> for blind persons "to be productive and imaginative  contributors to
> society."
> NFBWVFirst Vice-President Ed McDonald of Keyser chairs the organization's
> Agency Partnership program.
> "Today we're here to celebrate Braille and to  remember the life and work 
> of
> Louis Braille," McDonald told the gathering.
> "But we're also here to recognize a crisis in Braille literacy and to
> consider what this partnership can do to change it," he said.
> The governor also recognized the Braille literacy crisis in his remarks.
> "Despite its efficiency, versatility, and universal acceptance by the
> blind," Manchin said, "the rate of Braille literacy in the United States
> has  declined to the point where only 10 percent of blind children are
> learning  to read and write Braille. Just as a literacy rate of 10 percent
> among this  nation's sighted children would be rightly viewed as a crisis
> and as cause  for national outrage, the decline in Braille literacy is a
> crisis and swift  action must be taken to reverse this dangerous trend," 
> he
> continued.
> "I would like for all of us to accept that as a challenge for West 
> Virginia
> to be the top in the nation as far as leading and fighting for literacy in
> Braille," the Governor said. "That's an achievement we can all accomplish 
> if
> we commit ourselves to it."
> NFBWV Secretary Karen McDonald of Keyser accepted the gubernatorial
> proclamation on behalf of the Federation.
> "As a pianist, I could not play  Chopin, Beethoven, or Scott Joplin if I
> could not read the Braille music score," McDonald said as she handed the
> Governor a copy of a comprehensive
> report on the Braille literacy crisis in America.
> "I read everything from  cookbooks to novels in Braille, and without 
> Braille
> I would be illiterate."
> On March 26, the United States Mint unveiled a commemorative coin that 
> bears
> the likeness of the young Frenchman whose invention has made it possible 
> for
> blind people around the world to read and write. The reverse side of the
> Louis Braille Bicentennial Silver Dollar also contains the raised dot
> characters BRL, the Braille symbol for the word "Braille."
> After giving the Governor a chocolate reproduction of the coin, NFBWV 
> Second
> Vice-President Sheri Koch presented Manchin with the real thing - a Louis
> Braille silver dollar in a protective case.  Koch, who works for the West
> Virginia Division of Rehabilitation Services as supervisor of statewide
> programs for the blind, also shared her personal story of learning and 
> using
> Braille.
> "I grew up blind but with enough residual vision to get myself in and out 
> of
> trouble," Koch said.  As a result, she said she learned to read Braille 
> with
> her eyes, rather than with her fingers.  She explained, however, that as 
> an
> adult, she has relied primarily upon the use of large print.
> "The more  vision I lost, the bigger the print got," she acknowledged, 
> "and
> it became
> evident that I needed to learn to read Braille with my fingers."
> Thus, in  honor of the Governor's appearance, she used Braille for the 
> first
> time in  public to read the notes for her presentation.
> "This is a very special coin," Koch said.  "It is more precious than the
> silver it is made of.  It is special in that it honors every blind person
> who has achieved the ability to read and become literate in Braille - to
> take  that gift that Louis Braille left us and become literate.
> "We hope that every time you look at this coin, you will remember the 
> power
> behind it - the power that Braille gives to us, and the power that your
> proclamation means to us - that if we all work together, we can make 
> Braille
> available to any blind person who wants it," Koch said.
> A portion of the proceeds from the sale of each Louis Braille silver 
> dollar
> will help fund the Federation's "Braille Readers are Leaders" campaign. 
> One
> goal of this campaign is to double the literacy rate among the nation's
> blind children by the year 2015.  The campaign also includes initiatives 
> to
> promote awareness of the importance of Braille and to increase the
> availability of competent Braille instruction and Braille reading 
> materials.
> In conclusion, Gov. Manchin called upon "all public officials,  educators,
> and citizens throughout West Virginia and this nation to  recognize the
> importance of Braille to the lives of blind people and to  assist the
> National Federation of the Blind in its efforts to increase
> instruction in and use of Braille in West Virginia and across the United
> States."
> The Federation's Agency Partnership meetings are held semiannually for the
> purpose of offering positive consumer input concerning the quality and
> delivery of vital services to blind West Virginians.
> More information about Braille literacy, the National Federation of the
> Blind, and the Louis Braille Bicentennial Silver Dollar can be found on 
> the
> web at www.braille.org or www.nfbwv.org.
>
>
>
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