Recording for the Blind & Dyslexic
New Jersey Unit
69 Mapleton Road
Princeton, New Jersey 08540
Phone 609-750-1830
Fax 609-750-9653
News
RFB&D Celebrates 500 NJ Volunteers
The New Jersey Unit Hosts a Volunteer Recognition Reception
Princeton, New Jersey, November 2, 2000
The New Jersey Unit of Recording for the Blind & Dyslexic (RFB&D) is hosting a Volunteer Recognition Reception for their nearly 500 volunteers on Thursday, Nov. 2, at the Princeton Theological Seminary, Mackay Campus Center, 64 Mercer Street, Princeton, NJ. The event takes place from 4 to 7 p.m., and the Recognition Ceremony will begin at 5:30 p.m. Feted will be volunteers from across NJ (and portions of NY and PA) who have attained 5, 10, 15, 20 and 25 years or more of service. Also honored will be those who have volunteered from 150 to over 300 hours to the NJ Unit from July 1999 through June 2000. "RFB&D's volunteers provide an incredibly valuable service to our members," says NJ Unit Executive Director, Ted Taylor, noting that volunteers will get to meet RFB&D members at the event. "Last year, for example, the 32,451 hours of time donated by NJ Unit volunteers were valued at over $ 1 million," Taylor adds.
The New Jersey Unit of RFB&D, one of 21 regional units in the U.S., was founded in Princeton in 1957. The unit operates two recording studios: the Princeton Studio, located on the campus of the Princeton Theological Seminary, and the West Windsor Studio, located in the Carnegie Corporate Center. The unit's new Educational Outreach Center is also housed at the Carnegie Center. RFB&D's corporate headquarters are in Princeton as well.
RFB&D's 80,000-volume library of taped textbooks, reference and professional materials is the largest educational resource of its kind in the world. A private, non-profit, volunteer-based organization, RFB&D serves over 9O,000 individuals with print disabilities from across the nation.
Over 70 percent of the people who use RFB&D's textbooks have dyslexia or other learning disabilities. Seth Burstein of Westfield, NJ was diagnosed with a learning disability before entering high school and was then introduced to RFB&D's services. Seth, who graduated from Westfield High School with a 4.0 average, is now a student at Yale University. "RFB&D has changed my life," Seth says. "I count myself among RFB&D's biggest fans." The balance of RFB&D's membership includes persons who are blind or visually impaired, or have physical handicaps that prevent them from reading standard print. Recent Harvard University graduate Jasmin Kaur Sethi of Elmwood Park, NJ-valedictorian of Elmwood Park Memorial High School, class of 1996 has been using tapes from RFB&D since junior high school. "RFB&D's recorded texts have served to support my education," she says. "I'm now in graduate school and continue to make use of RFB&D's recorded and electronic texts."
RFB&D has no guaranteed sources of income and relies heavily on corporate, foundation and individual giving, federal and state funding to continue their unique services.
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