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Press Release
RECORDING
FOR THE BLIND & DYSLEXIC LENDS A HELPING HAND
TO STUDENTS WITH PRINT DISABILITIES
IN HURRICANE-RAVAGED FLORIDA SCHOOLS
RFB&D honored
for
donating replacement equipment
lost in Hurricane Charley
January 20, 2005 (Princeton, NJ) - When Hurricane Charley
tore through Charlotte County, FL, on August 13, 2004, nearly
two dozen schools were damaged or destroyed and students with
print disabilities lost vital equipment that helped them to read.
Responding to the crisis that left thousands of students displaced,
the headquarters of the national nonprofit Recording for the Blind
& Dyslexic (RFB&D) shipped specialized digital CD players
to the affected schools - once again allowing students to access
the printed word using RFB&D's AudioPlus® digitally recorded
textbooks on CD.
"RFB&D's generous
gift to compensate for our Hurricane Charley losses has helped
us through the recovery process," said Ann Eppler, director
of exceptional student education at Charlotte County Public Schools.
"The organization has become an unsung hero by remembering
our students, teachers and parents in their time of need."
Even as the hardest-hit areas
began cleaning up and assessing the damage in the aftermath of
Charley, it became clear that hundreds of students who rely on
RFB&D's accommodation were left without the equipment they
needed to learn. Within days the decision was made at RFB&D's
headquarters in Princeton, NJ, to help with the relief effort
by replacing the damaged or lost equipment with 50 Victor Reader
Classic Plus digital CD players.
"Hurricane Charley not
only destroyed schools and homes and uprooted families, but it
left our members without the basic tools they need for equal access
to the printed word," according to RFB&D President &
CEO John Kelly. "When you consider all of the hardships faced
by these students and their families as they struggle to rebuild
their lives, the last thing they should have to worry about are
their recorded textbooks."
RFB&D's national headquarters
and its Florida Unit were recognized for their contributions at
a ceremony on January 20 in Port Charlotte, FL.
RFB&D, a nonprofit organization,
is the nation's educational library of recorded textbooks for
students with visual impairment, dyslexia or other physical disabilities
that make reading standard textbooks difficult or impossible.
RFB&D serves more than 137,000 students from kindergarten
through graduate school and beyond with its one-of-a-kind collection
of more than 104,000 educational titles on CD or four-track cassette.
Students rely on RFB&D's unique accommodation to access the
printed page and to achieve educational success.
All of RFB&D's accessible
titles are recorded by volunteers working in 29 RFB&D recording
studios nationwide, including studios in Miami and Boca Raton,
FL.
additional media inquiries:
RFB&D News Desk1-800-803-7201
media e-mail inquiries
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