National Braille Press is sponsoring its first fundraising concert on October 1st featuring 5-time Grammy winner and legendary blues guitarist and singer, Buddy Guy. Boston-based Ernie and the Automatics will open for Buddy Guy that night at the House of Blues in Boston.

NBP is very excited about getting Buddy Guy for our first fundraising concert. He's one of the legendary guitar gods that Eric Clapton calls his "favorite blues axeman." Tickets are on sale for $40 through www.livenation.com.

NBP is also offering NBP supporter tickets for $100 that includes a private pre-concert party starting at 6:00pm in the Foundation Room at the House of Blues and concert viewing in a private mezzanine area for NBP friends. If you would like to purchase an NBP supporter ticket, please contact Kimberley Ballard at kballard@nbp.org. Only 100 tickets will be sold for this party.

Technology is the pipeline to opportunity, especially for people with disabilities. That's why the Verizon Foundation, which is committed to improving access to information and services that address the needs of people with disabilities, awarded $55,000 to five Massachusetts nonprofit agencies that are dedicated to improving accessibility.

National Braille Press was one of the award recipients for our Braille is Literacy initiative which supports reading and writing as a core skill and as a vital foundation that uses technology to help blind children of all ages. The grant will support two key programs. One program, Hands On! Books for Blind Children, provides braille literacy support to families of blind children up to 9 years old to ensure they have the literacy skills to succeed in school. The other program, Braille for Everyone, is to develop a refreshable braille PDA (personal digital assistant) that will give blind students of all ages access to e-mail, the Internet, text files, and digital textbooks.

The Obama Administration's "Let's Read. Let's Move." event is a summer enrichment series designed to help curb childhood obesity and summer reading loss. National Braille Press was asked to be a part of this event on July 30, 2010 so that area blind children could participate in the reading program and receive a print/braille children's book donated by NBP.

"We know that for far too many children, reading achievement stalls when schoolwork stops during the summer. In fact, most low-income children can lose more than two months of reading skills during the summer break," said Education Secretary Arne Duncan. He hosted U.S. Congressman Jim Langevin; Kareem Dale, special assistant to the President of the U.S. on disability policy; and Quinton Aaron, the actor who portrayed football star Michael Oher in the movie "The Blind Side" and each took turns reading a story to the children. Kareem Dale read from NBP's print/braille book If I Ran for President.

NBP President Brian Mac Donald and Kimberley Ballard, Director of Marketing, traveled to DC to attend the "Let's Read. Let's Move." event and to present Kareem Dale with a braille copy of the US Constitution and Bill of Rights. Books, games, and equipment for fitness activities donated by Target, were given to each child who attended to promote healthy lifestyles and encourage reading in the summer months.

Eileen Curran at the 2009 NBP Gala

Eileen Curran, VP for Education Services at NBP, began her career as a braille teacher in the '80s. She came to work at NBP in 1985, as its first blind braille transcriber. She was promoted three times, first as technology development manager, then operations manager, and finally as head of Education Services.

Now, almost twenty-five years later, Curran is returning to the classroom. She will be leaving NBP at the end of July to work at the Carroll Center for the Blind as a teacher of blind children. She served as Chair, and a host of other positions, on the board of the Braille Authority of North America (BANA). Some of her most significant accomplishments include the authoring of Just Enough to Know Better, a braille primer for parents of blind children, and the inception and growth of Education Services, producing the highest quality textbooks and tests in the country.

We consider her greatest traits to include her tireless advocacy for braille, her endearing sense of humor, and her commitment to NBP's mission for almost a quarter-century. Best of luck, Eileen, back in the classroom!

Members of the National Braille Press team, The Braille Bombers,
pose for a picture during post-race activities.

Over 600 runners and walkers took part in the 2010 Vision 5K on June 20. Families and participants celebrated Father's Day at this unique event, which included a post-race barbeque, live music, and a kids' area complete with clown, balloon animals, and an obstacle course.

Men's Overall and Visually Impaired Division champion, Moises Beristain Gutierrez summed up the purpose of the race in an interview after his victory, "I feel like I'm an ambassador to the visually impaired community. It doesn't matter if your vision is impaired - you can still do things that are very important, like this race. It is possible to run in a race - and win it."

National Braille Press would like to thank all of our sponsors, volunteers, participants, and members of the Braille Bombers team. To learn more about the race including this year's results visit www.Vision5K.org.

The evening also included several special presentations. The first recognized outgoing board members - Louis Goldish, Paul McLaughlin, Scott McGrath, Bob O'Brien, and Marcy Scott - who collectively represent over 95 years of service to NBP. Jeff Chang received the Marco Polo Award for his work with CBI to build bridges with the China Braille Press. Finally, the 2010 Volunteer Awards were presented to: Judith Krimski for her beautiful design work and support of NBP's marketing efforts; Albano Berberi for his work as a braille literacy advocate; and Adobe Systems for their continued support and participation in volunteer projects.

President Brian Mac Donald presents Jeff Chang with the Marco Polo Award

On June 15, National Braille Press held our Annual Meeting where Board Chair Paul Parravano and President Brian Mac Donald presented updates about the past year including the importance of braille and our endeavors with the Center for Braille Innovation (CBI). The night ended with an original musical performance by braille advocate Ashley Bernard and volunteer awardee Albano Berberi from Ashley's Braille Rocks project through Pledge Music.

The evening also included several special presentations. The first recognized outgoing board members - Louis Goldish, Paul McLaughlin, Scott McGrath, Bob O'Brien, and Marcy Scott - who collectively represent over 95 years of service to NBP. Jeff Chang received the Marco Polo Award for his work with CBI to build bridges with the China Braille Press. Finally, the 2010 Volunteer Awards were presented to: Judith Krimski for her beautiful design work and support of NBP's marketing efforts; Albano Berberi for his work as a braille literacy advocate; and Adobe Systems for their continued support and participation in volunteer projects.