In Touch Newsletter - Seedlings Braille Books for Children

Fall 2015
www.seedlings.org
••• In Touch Newsletter
Seedlings Braille Books for
Children is a 501(c)(3)
non-profit, tax-exempt
organization dedicated to
increasing the opportunity
for literacy by providing high
quality, low cost children’s
literature in braille.
2015 Board of Directors
Jerry Bricker-President
Gretchen Alaniz
Mark Bosscher
Arthur Cole
Ann Devereux
Katie Dodge
Paula Korelitz
Sharon Marsh
Sarah Saltzman
Cheryl Shewach
Jared Stofflett
Sue Ward
Seedlings Wins Prestigious Bolotin
National Award
The National Federation of the Blind (NFB) on July 10 presented a
$10,000 cash award to Seedlings Braille Books for Children as one
of five organizations and individuals honored with a Dr. Jacob
Bolotin Award. The NFB presented a total of $50,000 in cash
awards to individuals and organizations that have made
outstanding contributions toward achieving the full integration of
the blind into society on a basis of equality. The award took place at the 75th anniversary
of the National Federation of the Blind at its annual convention held in Orlando, Florida.
Seedlings produces almost 25,000 braille books and articles per year, 40% of which are
given away with the unselfish goal to help increase the literacy rate among blind and
visually impaired children. Seedlings’ books have been shipped to every state in the US,
every province in Canada, and 75 other countries around the world.
In addition to the production of books, in 1994 Seedlings added The Rose Project which
provides free transcription of encyclopedia articles in braille for students’ projects and
reports. This service is entirely free to visually impaired students in grades 1-12.
Among the programs offered by Seedlings is the Book Angel Program. Each year Seedlings
provides two free braille books to visually impaired children from the United States and
Canada who register. The program has opened up new worlds for thousands of children.
Dr. Jacob Bolotin, the namesake of the award program, was a blind physician who lived
and practiced in Chicago in the early twentieth century. He was widely known and
respected in Chicago and throughout the Midwest during his career, which spanned the
period from 1912 until his untimely death at the age of thirty-six in 1924. He was
particularly recognized for his expertise on diseases of the heart and lungs. Bolotin used
his many public speaking engagements to advocate for the employment of the blind and
their full integration into society.
Receiving the award on behalf of Seedlings was Debra Bonde, Seedlings’ Founder and
Director. In receiving the award she noted, “We are so deeply honored to receive this
award, and we hope and believe that it comes with some of Dr. Bolotin’s drive, tenacity,
and compassion for others which we will combine with our own.”
“Placing a book in a child’s hands
is like planting a seed.
About the National Federation of the Blind: The National Federation of the Blind (NFB),
headquartered in Baltimore, MD, is the largest membership organization of blind people
in the United States with more than 50,000 members. The NFB’s primary mission is to
serve as a means for blind people to work collectively to improve their lives, as well as to
educate the public about the true ability of blind people to function at the same level as
their sighted peers. For more information about NFB’s programs, visit www.nfb.org.
What Your Donations Are Accomplishing at Seedlings...
100 FREE HOORAY FOR BRAILLE KITS
ADOPT-A-READER PROGRAM
A $2,500 gift from Foresters made it possible for 100
Hooray for Braille kits to be made. The Foresters even
had their own volunteers do the assembly
of the kits! These kits
will be distributed to
early intervention
specialists who are
working with visually
impaired infants, preschoolers, and their
families in Nebraska, Kansas, and Missouri.
Donors are making it possible for visually impaired children in our Adopt-A-Reader Program to receive a $100
gift certificate they can use to select braille books from
the Seedlings catalog.
If you are interested in adopting a reader, all you need
to do is make a $100 donation to the program and you
will be matched with a child who is in need of some extra braille books. Your donation to this program will be
sure to put a smile on the face of a very special child!

FREE BOOKS FOR THE BELL PROGRAM
Each kit includes: one of our print-and-braille preschool
touch and feel books, a set of print-and-braille touch
and feel alphabet flashcards, a print book called “Braille
for the Sighted,” a booklet of braille games called “The
Braille Trail,” a braille alphabet bookmark, a Seedlings
catalog, and a Seedlings Book Angel Form which will
give the families the chance to order two more free
books for their child. All of this is packed in a red canvas
“Hooray for Braille” tote bag.
We look forward to distributing these great kits in additional states in the future.

Seedlings provided the National Federation of the
Blind’s BELL (Braille Enrichment for Literacy and Learning) Camps with $200 each to spend on braille books for
their camps this summer. The NFB BELL Program is designed to provide intensive braille instruction to blind
and low vision children during the summer months.
Thanks to our generous donors, we were able to help 34
BELL sites across the United States place 764 braille
books into the hands of visually impaired children who
were in need of braille materials and resources.

SUMMER READING GIVEAWAY
Getting braille books in the hands of
those who need them is important
to us at Seedlings and we know it’s
important to our donors too! This
summer we were excited to hold a
summer reading giveaway. From July
1st through July 15th, anyone who
placed an order was entered into a
drawing to win a $100 gift
certificate. On July 16 fifty names
were randomly drawn and each
person received a $100 gift
certificate.
SEEDLINGS’ BOOK ANGEL PROGRAM
All of Seedlings’ donors help to keep the Book Angel
Program going year after year. This program is a
wonderful way to introduce a visually impaired child to
the marvel of braille literacy.
Through the program, Seedlings invites braille readers
and pre-readers from ages 0 to 21 in the United States
and Canada to register to receive two free braille books
per year. Since its inception in 2002, over 32,000 free
books have been placed into the hands of children who
yearn for more books to read.
Ryan, one of our
youngest volunteers,
helps out by drawing
the winners’ names.
Here is one of the many thank you notes we have
received:
We had some very thrilled winners. Our thanks to all
who participated—donors and contestants!
“My son received two books from the
Book Angel Program yesterday and
couldn't wait to get started on them!!
Thank you so much!! Joshua loves to
read. For his birthday or Christmas I
always refer our relatives to your
website for books. Thank you!”
Here’s an email from one happy winner:
“Wow-Kazow! Thank you so very much … this is
better than Christmas or Hanukkah!
I'm going shopping right now for our precious
braille books!”


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News and Information
The Braille Code is Changing to the UEB!
Louis Braille was born in 1809 and by the age of 12, he
was working on inventing a better way for blind people to
read and write. The Braille Code, as his system was
called, has evolved over the years, and it is now in the
process of changing again.
Consequently, the Seedlings staff has been busy
learning the UEB and the new software that we will be
using to produce our new books in UEB. There are many
things to consider as we tackle this challenge and much
time will be involved with this conversion.
Work began on these changes in the 1990’s. The goals
were many and included: fixing some of the ambiguities
in the braille code, making reading easier for braille
readers, unifying the code for all of the English-speaking
countries, and combining the literary and the computer
braille codes. Thousands of hours were invested by
hundreds of people. The result was the Unified English
Braille Code (UEB).
We have started with our books for infants, toddlers, and
preschoolers. So far, we have converted our Print-Braille&-Picture Books in Uncontracted Braille, and our EasyReaders in Uncontracted Braille to the UEB. Other
sections will follow. Some books will still be available in
the old code (EBAE).
We will keep you apprised of our progress (please
consult www.seedlings.org for updates), and we thank
you in advance for your patience and support as we work
on this project. We are motivated by all of the blind
children and their families who are counting on us to
continue to be the place they can turn to for high-quality,
low-cost braille books.
On April 2, 2004, the International Council on English
Braille (ICEB) gave the go-ahead on the UEB. In May of
2004, South Africa was the first country to adopt it,
followed by Nigeria, Australia, and New Zealand. Canada
came on board in 2010; the UK in 2011. Then in
November of 2012, the UEB was adopted by the Braille
Authority of North America (BANA) for use in the United
States, with an implementation date of January 4, 2016.
If you are interested in more information on the UEB,
please see BANA’s website: www.brailleauthority.org
New Books Available in the New Code!
Seedlings Braille Books for Children is pleased to announce:
All of our Uncontracted Print-Braille-&-Picture Books are now in UEB
AND we have 5 new books in UEB for children ages 0-5!
NEW! 9853 ANIMAL SHAPES (Tactile
Board Book). Introduce shapes to your
little one with this touch-and-feel book
that’s filled with adorable animals and
tactile shapes! 10 cardboard pages, $7.00
NEW! 9856 LLAMA LLAMA JINGLE
BELLS (Board Book) by Anna
Dewdney. Join little llama for lots of
Christmas fun! 12 cardboard pages,
Ages 0-5, $6.00
NEW! 9854 BABY’S VERY FIRST
TOUCHY-FEELY CHRISTMAS BOOK
(Tactile Board Book) by Katrina Fearn.
Children will love the tactile illustrations in
this fun holiday book! 10 cardboard
pages, $8.00
NEW! 9857 VERY FIRST ABC (Board
Book). This beautiful book is the perfect
way to introduce young children to the
letters of the alphabet and simple words!
14 cardboard pages, Ages 0-5, $8.00
Our new catalog will be out in September, but
these books are already listed on our website:
www.seedlings.org
NEW! 9855 DUCK & GOOSE: IT’S TIME
FOR CHRISTMAS! by Tad Hills (Large
Board Book). Goose wants to make snow
angels and go sledding—but Duck knows
it's time for Christmas! 20 cardboard
pages, $11.00
Seedlings’ books are always ‘on sale.’ Thanks
to our donors, we are able to sell them for a
fraction of what it costs to make them!
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Upcoming Events
You Are Invited to Our Open House
On 10/7/15!
Seedlings’ first braille
printer was made by
Debra’s father!
Mark Your Calendars for Seedlings’ 2016
Bowling for Braille Books Event!
Seedlings Braille Books invites you to
our Open House on Wednesday,
October 7, 2015
between 5:00 p.m. and
7:00 p.m.
Next year’s Bowling for Braille
Books event will be Saturday, March
12, 2016 at Plaza Lanes in Plymouth.
Watch for more news and
information in our Winter
Newsletter!
Come meet our staff and
volunteers and see how
our braille books were made in 1984 and
how much faster it is now!
Feel free to bring along friends, family, and
co-workers. We love to share how we put
together our braille books!!
Our current
high-speed
printers
Avery at our 2015
Bowling Event
We are located in the MetroPlex Office Complex: 14151
Farmington Road, Livonia 48154 (just north of I-96).
Hope to see you then!
If your group or
company would be
interested in being
a sponsor, please
email:
info@seedlings.org
or call:
734-427-8552
Volunteer & Bowler,
Tiffany Taylor with our
celebrity bowler,
Channel 7’s
Chief Meteorologist,
Dave Rexroth
Other Items of Interest
GENERAL MOTORS USES BRAILLE IN AD
AS A SYMBOL OF PRECISION!
If you are a
Federal
Employee
participating in
the Combined
Federal
Campaign,
Seedlings’ CFC #
is 11825.
We were thrilled when a
local ad agency called to
see if they could borrow
a braille book for a photo
shoot for GM’s ad
campaign: Precision
Matters. Yes, it does!
Kudos to them for
recognizing braille as a
symbol of precision! Look
for the ad in various
home and garden
magazines.
Follow Seedlings on Facebook
and Twitter: @SeedlingsBrlBks.
Seedlings Braille Books for Children • 14151 Farmington Road • Livonia, Michigan 48154
734-427-8552/800-777-8552 • Fax: 734-427-8552 • info@seedlings.org • www.seedlings.org
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