MEDIA ALERT: (DIFFERENT WAYS TO) READ ACROSS AMERICA DAY

RFB&D-SoCal's Volunteers + Local Icons will Record into the Night!

Hollywood, California, February 26, 2009- FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE -
Recording for the Blind & Dyslexic-Southern California's (RFB&D-SoCal's) volunteers are gearing up to do a real recording marathon at their 17th Annual Record-A-Thon celebrated this year during Read Across America Day, March 2nd. RFB&D-SoCal's 5022 Hollywood Blvd., L.A., CA 90027 studio volunteers will begin recording textbooks at 6:00 a.m. during "Different Ways to Read Across America Day," and will continue as long as they can until the 6:00 p.m. cutoff. Members of the television, radio and newspaper media including local icons CHRIS ERSKINE, HUELL HOWSER, KENT SHOCKNEK, PHILLIP PALMER, SANDRA TSING LOH, AND LARRY MANTLE will join the vigilant volunteers, by coming in for an hour to record a textbook for students with disabilities. The educational outreach staff will also be available to demonstrate the finished audio textbooks on CD and downloadable MP3 files, while RFB&D-SoCal student members who are blind, and use the service, will be available for interviews. Record-A-Thon's goals are to raise awareness about different ways to read and learn, to record more critical textbooks, and to raise money to support their services. RFB&D-SoCal's five recording studios are located in Hollywood, Redondo Beach, Reseda, Santa Ana/Tustin and Upland, and all five studios have special Record-A-Thon events scheduled. The studios are open and free to the public, who may come in to take a tour to find out about volunteering or about RFB&D's services. Contact ryoung@rfbd.org, call 800 732-TEXT or visit www.rfbd.org/SoCal.

RFB&D-SoCal is a national nonprofit organization that records textbooks and other educational materials for students of all ages, with vision impairments, physical disabilities, and learning disabilities like dyslexia. They uniquely use only volunteers to record textbooks in all subjects, and have been in service for more than 60 years. RFB&D-SoCal serves nearly 6,400 students in the Southern California area.

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EXCELLENT VISUALS/INTERVIEW OPP

MEDIA CONTACT: Diane Kelber, Communications Director
(323) 664-5525 X104, (818) 383-6165 (cell) dkelber@rfbd.org
FREE ACCESSIBLE PARKING/FREE FOOD

*To access RFB&D-SoCal, enter the first driveway to the East after George's Lighting, on the South East corner of Hollywood Blvd. and Mariposa. Drive through to the parking lot. RFB&D's recording studio is upstairs, toward the back.