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RFB&D-LA VOLUNTEERS GET INTO THE HOLIDAY SPIRIT OF GIVING

Raise Money for State-of-the-Art Booth to Record Textbooks for Students with Disabilities

Reseda, Ca., December 10, 2001 - FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE -Volunteers at the Reseda studio of Recording for the Blind & Dyslexic-Los Angeles (RFB&D-LA) have put their money where their hearts are. This week, the $5,000 they raised at an annual volunteer contest, Record-A-Thon, was spent to purchase a state-of-the-art soundproof recording booth from WhisperRoom, Inc. Here, the volunteers will digitally record textbooks for print-disabled students to help them compete equally on the educational playing field.

The "WhisperRoom" marks the final booth at the Reseda studio to house the recently converted digital audio software. Previously recording on reel-to-reel tape recorders, these volunteers are now recording directly onto computers. They are producing textbooks on CD-ROM for print-disabled students who use special playback machines and soon will be able to navigate the CDs on computers. Even with the new technology, audiotapes will be available to students as long as the need exists.

Studio Director Becky Christiansen said garnering the "WhisperRoom" recording booth was totally volunteer driven, from raising the money to carrying in the pieces from the truck to actually putting the pieces together. Three valley resident volunteers, Howard Griggs, Paul Halfpenny and Armando Lucci finished putting the booth together today. RFB&D-LA has three Los Angeles area studios with volunteers who range in age from 14 to 80, with backgrounds allowing them to expertly read or direct readers of textbooks from subjects like history, advanced chemistry, economics, etc.

RFB&D, a national nonprofit volunteer organization, has been recording textbooks on tape and now computer for over fifty years, for students with vision, learning or physical disabilities. Studio director Christiansen said they are presently in need of volunteers interested in learning how to direct the readers. RFB&D-LA provides training in all aspects of producing audio textbooks. Individuals are asked to volunteer a minimum of 2-hours per week. For more information, please call (818) 654-2749 and visit their website at www.rfbd.org/LA.