Recording for the Blind & Dyslexic
New Jersey Unit
69 Mapleton Road
Princeton, New Jersey 08540
Phone 609-750-1830
Fax 609-750-9653
New Jersey Unit News
Tony Gruenewald, Editor
September/October 2006
Volunteer Recognition Event on September 28!
There are red carpet events like the Academy Awards, the Grammy Awards, the MTV Awards, the People’s Choice Awards and then there are there is the ultimate red carpet extravaganza...the New Jersey Unit Volunteer Recognition Luncheon. Joan Rivers and Kathy Griffin will be commenting on the afternoon wear, Jon Stewart and Whoopi Goldberg are thumb wrestling to see who has the honor of emceeing the event and even though she doesn’t volunteer, Susan Lucci is once again hoping to win the daytime vixen award.
Only kidding.
Oh, you’d already figured that out.
The New Jersey Unit will be expressing gratitude for the hard work of its volunteers during the Volunteer Recognition Luncheon to be held on Thursday, September 28 from 12–3 P.M. at the Queenship of Mary Church on Dey Road in Plainsboro. Of course, we know that many of you, especially evening and Saturday volunteers, can’t attend (those annoying things called work or school), so there will be special goodies available during the following week.
Along with presentations to volunteers who have given 5, 10, 15, 20 and 25 or more years of service, and the most time over the last fiscal year, there will be tributes to Betty Wood, Ruth Alampi and Anne Sheldon.
Kristen Witucki, a visually impaired RFB&D member and winner of a National Achievement Award will tell of her experience using RFB&D recordings. She is currently working on an MFAin Creative Writing at Sarah Lawrence.
If you can join us, please RSVP with studio staff. Directions to the church are available in the studio.
SAVE!
It’s good to SAVE your file each time you stop while recording.
Be sure to read photo and illustration credits at the end of the description.
“The little red dot is blinking. Does that matter?...”
In a word, “YES!!!!”
The VU meter at the bottom right of the screen measures the volume of the sound coming through the microphone. That volume can be increased or decreased by the knob on the far right of the mic preamp/processor (or at the top if the preamp is mounted vertically). Ideally, the yellow lights of the VU meter should be lit when the reader is speaking into the mic. If the red bar is lit, the volume is a little high, but not to the point of distorting or having the voice turn to static or disappear (called clipping). When the red dot lights up, whether it’s blinking or not, it is an indication that the volume is too high. It may have gone too high for just a moment, but there was something that set the light off.
You should stop and listen back. What you heard while recording isn’t what was recorded. (You’re favorite computer science reader can explain why.) Even after you get the OK on your soundcheck from staff, things change; readers move, voices get stronger or tired. Some readers read differently during sound-checks than while actually recording. Directors, readers and self-directed readers need to look at the VU meter from time to time. If you have a problem or question, don’t hesitate to ask staff.
Ideally, the yellow lights should be lit while recording.
When the red dot is lit or flashing. STOP, go back and listen. You may hear distortion
If you love volunteering at RFB&D, imagine how much fun you’ll have working for RFB&D!
Position: NJ RFB&D Educational Outreach Regional Coordinator (two positions, one for the northern and one for the southern part of the state.
Purpose: To support and encourage RFB&D’s educational outreach initiatives in New Jersey as defined by the NJ Unit’s Educational Outreach Director regarding the state funded program. This position is directly related to specific funding requirements.
Part time – 20 hours per week.
Responsibilities:
•To build awareness of RFB&D services throughout specified counties within the state.
•Reports directly to the Educational Outreach Director, who reports directly to the Executive Director.
•This position is an important element of the Educational Outreach team.
•Support & maintain relationships with existing schools that have RFB&D memberships under the state
funded program.
•Works closely with the Educational Outreach team to foster productive institutional memberships.
•Provides considerate and courteous assistance to school districts regarding the state funded program
through emails, telephone inquiries and individual visits.
•Provides prompt and courteous follow-up to all inquiries from school personnel.
•Works with identified school districts to build an understanding of the state funded program.
•Provides teacher training and in-service support to district schools.
Requirements:
•Valid driver’s license and proof of vehicle registration.
•Excellent organizational, interpersonal and communication skills.
•Computer proficiency.
•Bachelor degree/or relevant educational work experience.
•Background check/federal requirement.
Please contact:
Christine Ranaghan, Director– RFB&D NJ Educational Outreach Center
Toll Free – 1-877-4RFBDNJ cranaghan@rfbd.org
Name this newsletter!
The New Jersey Unit News?
Dull! Boring! Clichéd!
Drop your suggestion in the box by the sign out sheets.
Make it funny...Make it classic
You suggest...we’ll decide
Gitti Sinding says Thank Youfor your cards and well-wishes.
If you’d like to send Gitti a card or letter, her address is:
900 Hollingshead Spring Road
Apt. I-102
Skillman, NJ 08558
Finish that paragraph before you quit for the day.
If you can’t get through it, please go back to the end of the previous paragraph.
Join RFB&D at The International Dyslexia Association Fall Conference
New Jersey Unit Educational Outreach Director Chris Ranaghan and Connie Dowling, educational programs director at RFB&D’s national headquarters will be making a presentation at the New Jersey branch of The International Dyslexia Association’s (IDA) Annual Fall Conference. The conference will be held on Friday, October 13 at the Westin Princeton at Forrestal Village (less than five minutes from the New Jersey Unit studio).
The theme of the conference is Aligning Language and Literacy: Covering All the Bases. Chris and Connie will be conducting a program providing an overview of RFB&D; explaining why it is an effective intervention for students with learning disabilities. They will also outline practical classroom implementation strategies. There will be other presentations and information on research, assessment and effective instruction to aid students with dyslexia and other learning disabilities at the conference. An exhibit hall of vendors offering educational material will be open throughout the day.
The IDAis a nonprofit scientific and educational organization dedicated to the study and treatment of dyslexia. The organization focus is in four major areas: information and referral services, research, advocacy and direct services to professionals in the field of learning disabilities. Chris is also on the board of directors of IDA’s New Jersey branch.
The conference will run from 8:30 a.m.–2:30 p.m. and is open to the public. If you or anyone you know (parents, educators, etc.) would like more information, please email the New Jersey branch of IDA at njida@msn.com with your name and mailing address and a brochure will be mailed to you.
Help yourself and RFB&D with the Pension Protection Act
A new tax-saving opportunity was signed into law by President Bush on August 17, 2006. The Pension Protection Act of 2006 gives new tax incentives for charitable gifts for donors who are 701/2 or older, or will turn 701/2 on or before December 31, 2007.
The new law allows you to use funds from your IRAto make a lifetime charitable gift, tax free.
The benefits to you:
You may be receiving minimum distributions from an IRAas part of your retirement income since you turned 701/2. You may not need these IRAdistributions, but by law you have to take them and pay income tax on them. Under the new law, if you transfer those minimum distributions to your favorite charity, you will avoid paying income tax on them.
Your transfer will not generate a tax deduction, so you do not have to itemize this tax deduction to receive the benefit.
A couple of rules apply:
You are currently aged 701/2 or older, or will be on or before December 31, 2007.
You make your gifts on or before December 31, 2007.
Your gifts do not total more than $100,000 per year (thus you have a maximum allowance of $200,000 by December 31, 2007) .
Your funds are transferred directly from an IRAor Rollover IRA .
You make your gift to a public non-profit charity (such as the New Jersey Unit).
Making a gift to the charitable organization of your choice is easy -- please contact your IRAcustodian for the necessary transfer forms. Please consult your financial advisor for further information pertinent to your own specific circumstances.
And if you would like any further information on the Pension Protection Act of 2006 and how your gift could benefit your favorite charity, contact Jessica Wilson at 609-750-9579.
Oh! That’s the difference between O and 0
For longer than most of you would believe, I had a phone number with the last four digits of 1062. It was voiced, one-oh-six-two. The 0 was also what you dialed (Remember dialing?) to get an operator (“Operator! Get me Murray Hill 5-5555!).
Unfortunately, in the digital age, 0 and O are completely different animals. You MUST read the 0s as
zeros and the Os as Ohs. For example; if my website was www.tgruenewald_1062.com, it would be very important to read the 0 as a zero. If you read it as oh, the browser would, at the very least, not lead you to the site you were looking for.
Does your company have a matching gift program?
Does your company play the Match Game. No, not the one with Gene Rayburn in eternal reruns on the Game Show Network Many employers sponsor matching gift programs and will match any charitable contribution made by their employees to nonprofit organizations like the New Jersey Unit. Some even make contributions for time volunteered with the organization.
Listed below are some of the companies that have matched their employees’ —and even retired employees’-- gifts to RFB&D. Contact your business or personnel office to obtain the proper form to complete, and return it to us at the New Jersey Unit.
Adobe Sytems, Inc.
Gannett Foundation
PCW Communication
Advanced Micro Devices
Geico
J.C. Penney
Aetna Foundation
General Electric Company
PepsiCo Foundation
Aid Association for Lutherans
General Re Foundation
Pfizer
AlliedSignal
G.L.C. Inc.
Philip Morris Companies
American Express Company
Glaxo WellCome
Pitney Bowes
Ameritech Corporation
The Green Point Savings Bank
PNC Financial Corporation
Applied Energy Services
John Hancock Mutual Insurance Co.
PPG Industries
ARCO Foundation
Harcourt General
PQ Corporation
Astoria Savings
John A. Hartford Foundation
Quaker Oats Foundation
AT&TFoundation
Herberts-O’Brien
Reader’s Digest Foundation
Automatic Data Processing
William & Flor Hewlitt Foundation
Reuters America
Avon Products
Hoechst Foundation
Rreef Outreach
BankAmerica Foundation
Houghton Mifflin Company
The Rockefeller Group
Bankers Trust Foundation
IBM Corporation
Safeco Corporation
Becton Dickinson
Illimois Tool Works Foundation
Salomon Foundation
BestfoodsITG
Charles Schwabb & Co.
The Boeing Company
Johnson & JohnsonSecurity
Mutual Life
BPAmerica
The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
Shaklee USA
Leo Burnett U.S.A.
Kemper Securities
Sony USAFoundation
The Capital Group
Eli Lily & Co. Foundation
Southern California Gas
CapMac
Lucent Technologies
Southwestern Bell Foundation
Champion International
MassMutual
Spear, Leeds & Kellogg
Chase Manhattan Foundation
McDonnell Douglas Foundation
St. Paul Federal Bank
Chevron Corporation
McGraw-Hill Companies
Sun Microsystems Foundation
Chubb Corporation
Merrill Lynch & Co. Foundation
Susquehanna Partners, GP
CIGNAFoundation
Microsoft
Swiss Bank Corporation
Cisco System
Millipore Foundation
Time Warner Cable
Citibank
Mobil Foundation
Times Mirror
Cleveland H. Dodge Fdn.
Monsanto Company
Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A.
The Coca-Cola Company
J.P. Morgan & Co.
Transmerica Foundation
Computer Associates International
Mutual of America
Unilever United States
Contracor Bonding & Insurance Co.
Mutual of New York (MONY)
United Technologies
Corn Products International
National Reinsurance Corp.
UPS Foundation
Corning Incorporated
NYMarine & General Insurance Co.
U.S. West Foundation
Equitable Foundation
The New York Times Company
Washington Mutual Foundation
Ericsson GE
Newsweek
The Washington Post
Exxon Corporation
Nike
Zurich Reinsurance Centre
Fannie Mae Foundation
Norton Company Foundation
Volunteer happenings
David Coales waited until the hottest day of the year to make his appearance in the world. Proud parents Heather and Stephen Coaleswere happy to spend the summer’s most intense days using the hospital’s air conditioning. Since young David spent much of his in utero time helping Heather direct recording sessions, we expect his first words will be a legal citation, a chemical reaction or computer code.
Angela Holmanand her husband Dr. Michael Holman celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary in July in Maine. Their children and other relatives came from as far away as England and Alberta, Canada to celebrate with them.
Ginny Mayer’s husband Bill will be honored with the AARPAndrus Award for Community Service for the state of New Jersey on September 12 at Grounds for Sculpture. The award is named after AARP’s founder Dr. Ethel Percy Andrus and recognizes outstanding AARPvolunteers and members who are making a difference in their communities in ways that support the organization’s mission, vision and strategic direction and inspire others to volunteers.
Bill Kastanwon first place in the professional acrylic painting category of the Middlesex County Department on Aging Senior Art Contest. He will go on to compete in the New Jersey State Senior Citizens Arts Contest in September.
John Schivell returned to RFB&D just five weeks after having open heart surgery. He’s feeling well enough to have started jogging again.
Fred Horowitzand Savi, Chet, Kavitaand Preeta Ragavanwere featured in a recent Princeton Packet article about RFB&D.
Molly Williamson has started classes at Villanova. Megan Finleyhas started classes at St. Olaf College.
Shamus Adamsis working for the Cooper-Hewitt Museum in New York.
Greg Parissends greetings from the Boston studio. His job with Novartis was transferred to Beantown.
If there’s any news you’d like to share with your fellow volunteers, please tell Tony Gruenewald or send him an email at tgruenewald@rfbd.org.
Recording for the Blind & Dyslexic
New Jersey Unit
69 Mapleton Road
Princeton, NJ 08540
609-750-1830
About RFB&D | Learning Through Listening | Educational Outreach | Online Catalog | News | Volunteer | Donate | FAQ'S / Links | Contact Us | Holiday / Weather Closings | RFB&D National Headquarters | Home | Site Map | Directions to Studio |
Get a penny for our cause, every time you search! Try iSearchiGive.com, powered by Yahoo! Search. |
Copyright Recording for the Blind & Dyslexic, New Jersey Unit® 1998-2008 all rights reserved.