What's New at NBP

Attend Blind Legislative Informational Networking Day at the State House.

The Commonwealth's leading blindness organizations and agencies will meet at the State House on March 21, 2012 to inform legislators about the necessity for state-funded services for individuals with impaired vision. Representative Patricia Haddad will be honored for her advocacy on behalf of social services issues such as blindness. Consumers will be speaking to highlight the positive impact to this under-served population and the benefits to the entire state when people who are visually impaired, deafblind, or multiply disabled get the services they need to learn, live, and work independently.

National Braille Press took part in the Shops at the Prudential Center's 31 Nights of Light on Wednesday, Dec. 21st. This photo shows Boston's Prudential Center in some of NBP's 6 colors - blue, red, and green.

Mass Eye & Ear Neuroscientist and NBP Member of the Corporation, Lotfi Merabet, was recently interviewed by Anthony Brooks on 90.9 WBUR Radio Boston regarding his research on the effectiveness of using an audio-based virtual environment (based on a gaming platform) to assist in navigation, orientation and mobility, and problem solving skills for blind and visually impaired individuals.
Listen to the radio interview.

As an educator in the Boston Public School system for 36 years, NBP Trustee, Bill Henderson, embraced the concept of inclusion for children with disabilities and built a school that became a national model of excellence. His book, The Blind Advantage, was released this week.

Read more about The Blind Advantage.

Inspired by 7 year old Joshua Goldenberg, a blind boy who asked the question, "Mommy, why isn't there braille on the shelves so I can go shopping, too?," National Braille Press collaborated with the Goldenberg family to create the Braille Independence Initiative. We seek to educate the public about equal access to information through braille.

On Friday, October 14, 2011, the Goldenberg family will be visiting the Boston area to receive NBP's Hands On! Award for their efforts to promote braille literacy. They will also be launching the Braille Independence Initiative at the Whole Foods Market at 647 Washington Street, Newtonville, MA at 10:30am that same day. Please feel free to stop by Whole Foods to meet the Goldenbergs on October 14th!

Watch a video about Joshua Goldenberg.

On September 14, 2011, at Berklee College of Music's Cafe 939 in Boston, jazz pianist Lisa Hilton played the final show of her East Coast tour in support of her new Underground CD. Berklee College of Music invited National Braille Press and friends to attend in honor of the braille music students performing in the show. NBP's 2009 Hands On! Award recipient, Rocco Fiorentino, played during the reception of the event, and Perkins School for the Blind student, John Castillo, and Berklee student, Noe Socha (who uses the Adaptive Music Tech Lab for visually impaired students), heated up the house with an opening set of blues and jazz classics.

Hilton has been working with visually impaired students at Perkins and Berklee for years. "I improvise every time I sit down at the piano," says Hilton. "People who are visually impaired improvise every day of their lives. Our society has made tremendous strides in opening doors for women and members of minority groups. It's time we focused similar attention on people with disabilities. My job is to use music to reach out to show the world the wonderful music we can make together... no matter how we see the notes."

(left to right) Rocco Fiorentino, NBP President Brian Mac Donald, and Lisa Hilton

What is the largest job undertaken by NBP? The New American Bible, Revised Edition, at 45 volumes, surpassing Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire and The Joy of Cooking. The Xavier Society for the Blind contracted with NBP for this job, and their Executive Director, Kathleen Lynch, recently visited. Read more.

Xavier Society Director Kathleen Lynch stands in front of stacks of brailled Bibles