FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

1st Annual Boston Reading Tournament
Sponsored by Recording for the Blind & Dyslexic May 7-14, 2005

Cambridge, MA (March 16, 2005) --- The Boston Unit of Recording for the Blind & Dyslexic (RFB&D) has announced its first annual Boston Reading Tournament that will be held in conjunction with its 20th anniversary Record-A-Thon May 7-14, 2005. The tournament will take place in RFB&D’s East Cambridge studio located at 58 Charles Street.

RFB&D is a nonprofit volunteer organization that records academic books for students who are blind or who have learning or physical disabilities and cannot use standard print.

According to RFB&D Executive Director Christina Raimo, the 2005 Record-a-Thon will be a weeklong event of fellowship, great food and fun as new books are read and recorded for students with disabilities in Massachusetts and across the United States. "The goal of the Record-a-Thon is to double a week’s regular production output of books to be housed in RFB&D’s one-of-a-kind CV Starr Learning Through Listening® Library located in our organization’s Princeton, NJ headquarters."

"In addition, we hope to raise funds for the local studio and for our services in Massachusetts schools," Raimo added.

"This year we are challenging area companies to put together teams to read during the Record-a-Thon," Raimo said, "The team with the most recorded minutes will win a school membership and playback equipment for use by students with disabilities in the community of their choice."

Raimo continued, "Another goal is to introduce area businesses and their employees to RFB&D’s volunteer opportunities."

Raimo added, "With a team entry fee is $250, we anticipate that each of our eight digital recording booths will be filled during the marathon reading sessions."

The deadline for registering corporate teams is April 11, 2005. For more information about the Boston Reading Tournament or the 20th Anniversary Record-A-Thon, contact Judy Vollmer at (617) 577-1111, ext. 13.

— RFB&D —

RFB&D (www.rfbd.org) is the largest national nonprofit organization providing audio textbooks to people of all ages who cannot read standard print effectively due to visual impairment, severe dyslexia or other physical disabilities. More than 5,700 dedicated volunteers from across the country are the cornerstone of RFB&D and have recorded the 98,000 textbooks that comprise RFB&D’s CV Starr Master Library. Locally, RFB&D works with over 400 volunteers and provides services to over 8,000 Bay State students.

FOR MORE INFORMATION: CONTACT MARTIN COHN AT (617) 962-3136