National Braille Press Receives $150,000 from NewCo Foundation for Children's Braille Book Club

BOSTON, Jan. 4, 2021 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- National Braille Press (NBP) announced that it has received a generous donation of $150,000 from the NewCo Foundation over the next five years to help NBP begin the next chapter of the Children's Braille Book Club to provide free braille books for blind and visually impaired children and their families. Currently, 28 percent of blind children don't have access to pleasure reading materials. Applications for the free subscriptions to the Children's Braille Book Club open on January 4, 2021, the birthdate of the inventor of braille, Louis Braille, designated by the United Nations as World Braille Day. NBP will also be raising funds from new and existing donors to match the NewCo Foundation's gift.

"We are excited to make this special commitment to such an important organization," said Dave and Dawn Gross, founders of NewCo Foundation. "NBP's impact in the lives of blind children and their families is significant. We hope other foundations and individuals will join us in supporting the right to read for blind children. We are honored to partner with NBP to put books in the hands of families who otherwise may not have access to print/braille books."

"Thanks to David and Dawn, we will be leveraging their generous support with matching funds to increase access to the free print/braille books for families who need them," said Brian Mac Donald, President of NBP. "This next chapter of the Children's Braille Book Club supports NBP's efforts to defend everyone's right to read."

Since 1983, the Children's Braille Book Club, the first program of its kind, has been a subscription-based program where NBP sends a new print/braille picture book every month to blind and visually impaired children for a small fee. This new initiative will start by offering free 1-year (12 book) subscriptions of the Children's Braille Book Club to 125 eligible families on a first-come, first-served basis. The free memberships will last one year, beginning March 2021 to February 2022. The goal is to have the book club free to everyone who qualifies within 5 years. For more information on the Children's Braille Book Club, eligibility and how to apply, go to http://www.nbp.org

The first book of the new program will be Alma and How She Got her Name by Juana Martinez-Neal published by Candlewick Press of Somerville, MA. In the story, Alma Sofia Esperanza Jose Pura Candela goes on a quest to find out why such a small person has six names. She turns to her father for answers and learns that each name has a meaning and a story behind it. She learns that one day she will have her own story to tell.

The NewCo Foundation, of Santa Rosa Valley, CA, founded by Dave and Dawn Gross, is a non-profit organization driven by the incubation of ideas, products, services and companies founded by or employing students. The foundation supports on and off campus programs that provide employment opportunities for high school and college students to make meaningful contributions to startup endeavors.

About National Braille Press
National Braille Press is a non-profit braille publisher and producer of braille products. NBP creates products and programs to support braille literacy in the blind community and to provide access to information that empower blind people to actively engage in work, family, and community. For more information visit http://www.nbp.org

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SOURCE National Braille Press

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