Spotlight Stories from the 2007 Annual Report

Member Profile
RFB&D member Christine Saxer

Hurling yourself 12 feet in the air on the end of a fiberglass pole may sound dangerous, but for Overland Park, KS, resident and track star Christine Saxer, it is a passion. Setting high goals for herself and meeting them is also a passion for Christine, who is now a student and track team member at Saint Louis University.

Identified with dyslexia at age seven, Christine had to work harder than her classmates to keep up. "I still can hear the snickers of my grade school classmates as I stumbled to read a passage aloud during class," she recalls.

Teamed with a tutor who introduced her to RFB&D's audiobooks, Christine was able to reach new heights in her education. "Not only was I able to keep up with class work, I was getting A's on my tests and making honor roll every semester in high school," she says.

Hard work and dedication are central to Christine's success both on the track and in the classroom. "I would be lying if I said that overcoming dyslexia has been an easy journey," she states.

Christine recalls how successful she felt when competing in a very challenging Kansas State high school track and field competition. "As I cleared the crossbar and qualified for State, my thoughts drifted back to myself at age seven," she remembers. "I realized that I had truly learned what it takes to be a success. With perseverance, faith and hard work, the sky's the limit!"

Member Profile
RFB&D Member Yuki Nagasawa

Yuki Nagasawa, who is legally blind, started using RFB&D's audio textbooks in 2006. She also reads braille in Japanese, German and English. The very accomplished Yuki is presently working toward her third master's degree at California State University, Los Angeles. Her first was in piano performance, the second in musicology, and she just began work on her third, a master of science in rehabilitation counseling.

Yuki, whose name means "snow," radiates joy and gratitude, and says she plays the piano directly "from my heart and soul, never from my head." With a beautiful smile and easy laugh, her positive attitude toward life definitely plays through
her music. Although she embarked upon the journey to this country alone, Yuki says she never feels lonely.

"My family is all in Osaka, Japan, so I'm in the US by myself. But I am blessed by so many wonderful people here," she says.

Although a relatively new member of RFB&D, Yuki has already borrowed close to 20 books. She took two English courses last quarter, and was ecstatic to find that RFB&D had all four of her required textbooks on CD.

Yuki says RFB&D not only helped her access her textbooks and improve her English, but also opened up her literary world to short stories, poems, dramas, and favorite authors like Emily Dickinson and Alice Walker. She emphasizes that RFB&D's audiobooks are a huge improvement over synthetic speech books, and that using the CDs makes her feel like she is not alone; as if the volunteer is there studying with her. "I am so impressed by what they do," says Yuki of RFB&D volunteers. "They are amazing!"

They also have inspired her to help others. Yuki plans to use her "newest" master's degree in rehabilitation counseling to help people with all sorts of disabilities.

Member Profile
RFB&D Member Nathan Stooke

Nathan Stooke always knew that he was meant to make things happen. And, having struggled from a young age with dyslexia, he often felt he had to make them happen for himself.

Recently honored as one of the top "30 under 30" entrepreneurs by a panel of Business Journal editors and former winners in St. Louis, MO, Nathan is continuing a streak of successes that seemed to begin in high school when he discovered RFB&D's audiobooks.

He says RFB&D's services not only changed his life dramatically, but his mother's as well. "My mother used to read my school books to me, which took so much of her time," he recalls. RFB&D's audiobooks allowed Nathan to listen to his large volume of reading material with increased comprehension, and helped him balance his school work with daily swim practices and other activities.

Soon, he was excelling in both academics and swimming. Nathan graduated as valedictorian from his high school in 1994. That same year, he was also one of the top winners of RFB&D's Marion Huber Learning Through Listening (LTL) awards, presented annually to high school students with learning disabilities in recognition of extraordinary leadership, scholarship, enterprise and service to others. Nathan says the award helped pay for his learning disability services at Southern Illinois University at Carbondale (SIUC).

Using RFB&D's services, Nathan graduated from SIUC with high honors - and a bachelor's degree in computer science, a minor in math and an MBA. He also managed to excel on the university's swim team and was a 25K open ocean swimmer on the US National Swim Team. He competed for the US in the Pan Pacific Championships in Japan and the World Championships in Australia and spent a year working as a computer consultant before he became a rising entrepreneur.

Business Journal's "30 under 30" honor specifically recognized Nathan's work and success in starting his own wireless Internet company, Wisper. "It's a dream come true!" Nathan says.

Member Profile
RFB&D Member Keegan Fowler-Burns

At 13 years old, RFB&D member Keegan Fowler-Burns is not your ordinary teenager. Already demonstrating an entrepreneurial spirit and a strong sense of compassion, she has raised money on two occasions to help those less fortunate than she. Keegan attends the Moore Math, Science and Technology Magnet School in Tyler, TX, where she is an honor roll student and has twice received Commended Performance in her Texas Assessment Knowledge and Skills (TAKS) exams.

According to Keegan's mom, Amy, her grades were not always so exceptional. "I always knew Keegan was dyslexic," Amy says. "My sister is dyslexic, and so is Keegan's father, so I knew what dyslexia looked like." Amy recalls how Keegan would do everything backward - writing letters and numbers in reverse long past the point when children begin to write correctly - and laughs thinking about how Keegan would ride her tricycle backward!

At the start of third grade, Keegan was getting C's and D's and was eventually tested and identified with dyslexia. Unable to get her daughter accommodations at her school, Amy had Keegan transferred to another elementary school. With accommodations, Keegan was soon on the honor roll, and has been ever since. Keegan's family describes RFB&D as an integral part of her educational success.

RFB&D's audiobooks have also allowed Keegan the independence and free time to focus on her passion for helping others in need. Keegan first answered the call when she donated her own hair to "Locks of Love" after learning that children with cancer lose their hair when they undergo chemotherapy. Two years ago, she created "Happy Feet," custom-designed flip-flops that she sold to raise money for the East Texas Crisis Center - a women and children's shelter where she and Amy stayed once for three days and from where they received services for more than a year.

"I started the Happy Feet Company so I could give back to the people that saved my and my mom's life when we were escaping from a very abusive situation," says Keegan. By providing both money and Happy Feet flip-flops to the shelter, the woman and children staying there will be able to leave on two Happy Feet!"

RFB&D Donor Profile
The Louise Washington Charitable Trust

During her lifetime, Louise Washington was one of RFB&D's most loyal donors, supporting our organization since 1957 when we were still producing recordings on seven-inch vinyl disks. To ensure that RFB&D and her other favorite charities were still supported after her death in 1999, at age 102, she set up a special foundation in a trust. The foundation controls funds for which only seven specific charities can apply.

"We are fortunate that RFB&D was among Miss Washington's top seven causes," says William F. Bartolini, PhD, RFB&D's Chief Development Officer. "The more than $2.5 million we have received from her during her lifetime and after her passing has helped our organization realize some spectacular achievements, such as the growth of our educational outreach efforts, the technological integration of RFB&D's various databases and our transition to digital audio recording."

Born in Belgium, Louise traveled extensively and lived in several countries during her lifetime. Her father, George Washington, invented instant coffee and ran the George Washington Soluble Coffee Company until he sold it to American Home Products, now Wyeth. Miss Washington, who was hard of hearing and had macular degeneration later in life, had a longstanding commitment to education, healthcare and vision-related charities.

Anita Siegel, Esq., the attorney who knew Louise well and has represented The Louise Washington Charitable Trust since its inception in 1993, states, "It gave Miss Washington great pleasure to help those less fortunate than she by supporting charities that provided services and advances in her areas of concern. She was devoted to children and education and found the work of RFB&D to be vital to children with visual impairments."

RFB&D Donor Profile
The Peierls Foundation

Relationships are at the center of the philanthropy practiced by Brian and Jeff Peierls of The Peierls Foundation, a longtime RFB&D donor.

"Many large donors base grants on need alone. We build relationships," says Brian, who keeps in regular contact with RFB&D staff members. "The gem between donors and the organization they support is the relationship."

Brian and Jeff carry on a tradition of philanthropy started by their parents, Edgar and Ethel. Over the decades of supporting RFB&D, the Peierls have been consistent donors, incrementally increasing their annual gifts to keep pace with inflation and support new programs.

"We are all looking at the bottom line and want to see our donations being used in a productive way. By passing on incremental increases we can help tweak the programs we support," Brian says. They are also sensitive to the routine operating needs of RFB&D.

"Operating expenses aren't sexy - they're not glitzy - but without them, the sexy programs that grantors like to support aren't worth diddly," says Brian. "You need to fund operating expenses to keep the programs going."

Elizabeth Danner, RFB&D Director, Corporate Foundations and Gifts, appreciates the fact that Brian stays in regular contact to learn about RFB&D's most timely needs. "We can always rely on our friends at The Peierls Foundation," she says. "It's reassuring to see how deeply they care about RFB&D's present and future."

RFB&D Volunteer and Donor Profile
Matthew Atherton

RFB&D volunteer and donor Matthew Atherton of Rancho Cucamonga, CA, is using his fame as the winner of the Sci-Fi Channel's reality television show Who Wants to Be a Superhero? to lend his time, voice and money to RFB&D's Inland Empire/Orange County Unit. Matthew's superhero alter ego, "Feedback," became nationally known when the software engineer joined other contestants in creating their own superhero identities, superpowers and costumes.

As part of the first prize, Matthew participated in Mega Snake, a Sci-Fi Channel original movie, and his first comic book featuring Feedback debuted this summer. Written by Stan Lee, the creator of Spider-Man, The Fantastic Four, X-Men and the Incredible Hulk, the publication from Dark Horse Comics is available in stores and online to comic book fans around the world. Further information can be found on www.forcefeedback.tv.

In addition to recording textbooks for students with print disabilities every Thursday at the Inland Empire Studio in Upland, CA, Matthew also gives $2 to RFB&D for each autograph he signs at comic book trade shows and conventions. He has already donated close to $5,000.

Matthew discovered RFB&D while searching online for a recording studio to produce his first audio drama featuring the Feedback character and knew he wanted to get involved. "For people with blindness or learning disabilities, I can't imagine the difficulties associated with trying to learn about a subject without the help of RFB&D," he says.

"I have had a lifelong love of learning, and, fortunately, the luxury of access to the printed word has enabled me to indulge that love of learning," says Matthew. "Volunteering is a way for anyone to put on a cape and be a superhero to others - even if it's in a small way. You never know what kind of positive impact you can have on the world - and you don't need a shiny costume to do it!"

Member Profile
RFB&D Member Anne Gaddy

Anne Gaddy painfully recalls nights when she lay in bed crying because of the difficulties she had in school. "My friends were zipping through their textbooks," she remembers, "and I was still learning to read." Feeling "sad, frustrated and stupid," Anne vividly recalls other students laughing at her struggles - and teachers losing their patience.

When she was identified with dyslexia and introduced to RFB&D's audiobooks in fourth grade, Anne says she finally felt "some people cared."

"RFB&D and its volunteers seemed to care about me. They wanted me to succeed in life; they believed in me and gave me the assistance I needed so I could read, graduate and accomplish my dreams!" she says.

One of Anne's dreams was to become a teacher and, having now come full circle, she proudly sits on the other side of the desk - working as a special education teacher in the very same school district in which she was a student. It was a special day when Carolyn Donges, the South Carolina Outreach Director from RFB&D's Regional Unit of the Virginias and Carolinas (RUVC) - funded by a grant from the Lipscomb Family Foundation - gave a presentation at the school and asked the audience who was aware of RFB&D.

Anne felt so many emotions as she raised her hand and told her story to everyone at her school and, subsequently, at a fundraising luncheon for the Unit. "If it had not been for RFB&D, I would not have gotten into college, much less earned my master's degree in education from the University of South Carolina!" she exclaims.

Libby Anne Inabinet, RFB&D's RUVC South Carolina State Director, states, "Anne is an inspiration to every child living with a learning difference. She's a wonderful example of someone who is making a very positive impact in her own community because she was given the simple tools (RFB&D's audiobooks) that she needed to succeed."