The 2009 Vision 5K on June 7th was a great success! With over 1000 participants, this year was the biggest and best the event has ever been. National Braille Press would like to thank all those who participated in the Vision 5K especially our sponsors, volunteers, participants, and members of the Braille Bomber team. To learn more about the race and see this year's results visit www.Vision5K.org.

1st Place Finisher, Francis Thuo from Kenya, crosses the finish line with his guide posting a time of 16:36.

Reader's Digest Partners for Sight Foundation has challenged National Braille Press to raise $25,000 before December, 2009. If we succeed, Reader's Digest will match the funds that NBP raises.

You can help National Braille Press to meet the Reader's Digest challenge. Gifts from new donors, or increased donations from current donors will all count toward meeting the challenge grant. Every dollar that you give is matched by Reader's Digest, so your gift is automatically doubled. Ultimately, blind children and adults are the real winners of this challenge. Everything we raise will support braille literacy and technology - two core tools for leading an independent life.

The Reader's Digest grant and any funds that are raised as part of the challenge will support the Center for Braille Innovation (CBI), which was established to harness the power of technology to support braille literacy. At CBI, National Braille Press is exploring and developing new ways to provide braille information faster and more efficiently, in a variety of formats, and with new technologies that allow blind people to keep pace with the world around them.

A braille reader uses a refreshable braille display.

The Louis Braille Bicentennial Exhibit will be on display at the O'Neill Library at Boston College from May 27-June 6, 2009 and at the Vision 5K at Boston College on June 7, 2009. The 20-panel print and braille display takes a viewer through Louis's life, the braille production process, and why braille remains important today.

Other celebrations for Louis Braille's Bicentennial have been taking place all over the country including one at Beals Elementary School in Beals, Maine. Blind kindergartener Noah Carver presented a brief biography of Louis Braille's life with the help of his mom/teacher, Suzanne Carver. Noah also shared his personal experience of learning to read and write braille with the help of Louis Braille's accomplishments. His class continued the celebration by singing Happy Birthday to Louis Braille any enjoying 3 Dunkin' Munchkins cut in half to replicate a 6-celled braille cell topped with ice cream.

Noah's presentation

Beals Elementary School students and faculty share in the celebration, front row classmates hold plates with Dunkin' Munchkins cut in half to replicate a braille cell and Principal Chris Crowley holds a Play-Doh braille cell with candles showing 200 commemorating Braille's birthday. At Principal Crowley's right Noah Carver and Special Education teacher Sue Fox enjoy the festivities.

Adam Roberge

This year, Vision 5K participant Adam Roberge has set an impressive goal of raising $10,000 for National Braille Press. Adam, a 15 year old, blind, 9th grade student, has been a generous donor to NBP after first being introduced through the Children's Braille Book Club and Twin Vision books.

In 2007, his V5K team "Harry Potter and the Walking Wizards" raised over $20,000 for National Braille Press and sponsored several books including Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling. Adam feels that participating in the Vision 5K gives him an annual opportunity to be a part of the blind community in New England. He has gained wonderful experiences and has met a number a fascinating people through his efforts.

This summer, Adam is really excited to participate in Perkins' Outreach Summer Program. This three week program promotes specialized skills that will help him become an independent adult. As Adam has grown, he has been able to strive for independent braille reading and NBP continues to be there to help him in those efforts. Read more about Adam here.

If you would like to help support Adam's Vision 5K efforts for the race on June 7, 2009, visit his fundraising page on www.vision5k.org.

One special group of volunteers are those from Verizon who have been partnering with National Braille Press since 2000. The Verizon Foundation's "commitment to improving literacy and strengthening the educational achievement of children" has found a special connection with us through the promotion of children's braille literacy. In celebrating Volunteers Week, Verizon held a Volunteer Expo where Donna Cupelo, Verizon's Massachusetts and Rhode Island Region President, said, "Volunteer work is part of our culture."

Employees in Massachusetts are certainly living up to their commitment to making a difference in their community sharing a special piece of their time with National Braille Press. They have participated in Children's Braille Book Club projects by collating books for blind children, and have also donated braille books to libraries during their Season's Readings campaign. In addition, Verizon is an active participant in the Vision 5K Run and Walk and is currently putting a team together with many employees already committed to tackling the Blindfold Challenge at the event on June 7. In recognizing Verizon's commitment to volunteerism, National Braille Press President, Brian MacDonald, attended the Volunteer Expo to present them with the 2008 Vision 5K Uncommon Vision Award. Boston City Council PresidentMichael Ross also extended a special thanks to Verizon employees at the expo saying, "I'm proud of Verizon for the work they do with the Braille Press, a non-profit located in my own district."

Michael Ross, Stephanie Lee, Brian MacDonald, Donna Cupelo

To hear audio versions of poets reciting a specially selected poem in honor of poetry month, WGBH and David Grubin Productions have created a Poetry Everywhere website. Poetry Everywhere was designed to take a fresh look at poetry using a variety of production approaches. A different poem will be recited each day and poetry readings will take place between PBS television broadcasts during the month of April.

From Shel Silverstein's 'Where the Sidewalk Ends.'