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RECORDING FOR THE BLIND & DYSLEXIC RECEIVES MAJOR GRANT

Los Angeles, California, August 23, 2000 - FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – Recording for the Blind & Dyslexic-Los Angeles Unit (RFB&D-LA) is proud to announce they have just received a $250,000 grant from the W.M. Keck Foundation as part of a joint request with RFB&D-Inland Empire/Orange County. The gift is dedicated to the installation of the latest digital audio recording equipment in the five local recording studios of these two Southern California units of RFB&D.

The W.M. Keck Foundation, one of the nation’s largest philanthropic organizations, was founded in 1954 by the late W.M. Keck, founder of the Superior Oil Company. The Foundation’s grant making is focused primarily on pioneering efforts in the areas of higher education, medical research, science and engineering. The Foundation also provides some support for liberal arts colleges, and maintains a Southern California Grant Program that provides funding in the areas of civic and community services, health care, pre-collegiate education and the arts. Since its inception, the Foundation has made grants of over $700 million while its assets have grown from $250 million to $1.7 billion today.

Recording for the Blind & Dyslexic has been providing textbooks on audiotape for blind and learning disabled students of all ages for 50 years. The national nonprofit organization is in the process of converting to digital audio software. This innovation allows the volunteers to record textbooks directly onto the computer. The recipient students will then be able to access the information instantly, much in the way other students access a chapter on the printed page. The textbooks on CD will further accommodate the student’s needs by holding large quantities of text on a single disk. Textbooks are presently recorded on 4-track tapes. It often takes many cassettes to hold a single large volume.

Carol Smith, Executive Director of RFB&D-LA, said, "We are so grateful to the W.M. Keck Foundation for giving us the opportunity to update our technology and serve our exploding print disabled student population. Our mission is to level the educational playing field for all students, and the Foundation is giving us the means to accomplish our goal."

The Los Angeles Unit of RFB&D has three recording studios located in Hollywood, South Bay and West Valley. For information regarding RFB&D-LA’s services, please call 1-800 RFB-TEXT.