Project Lifesaver Comes to Athens

The Athens-Banner Herald recently ran a story about Project Lifesaver, a monitoring bracelet worn by those with neurological disorders.

These tracking bracelets help rescuers find the individual more quickly if they become lost. Each bracelet is assigned its own frequency, so police and firefighters can tune into that frequency and pinpoint the wearers' location. It can reduce search time from 9 hours to 30 minutes.

The bracelets cost about $300 each, plus a $15 monthly fee. The Classic City Pilot Club raised $16,000 to provide two receivers to the ACC Fire Department, and are working to purchase more bracelets for those in need.

For more information, please read the ABH article here: www.onlineathens.com/stories/022509/new_398263057.shtml or contact the Classic City Pilot Club at (706) 201-6763.

Interactive Trip to the Circus

People of all ages living in north Georgia get excited when the circus comes to town. The Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus is a spectacular event, filled with animals, clowns, and stunts. But what about children who are blind?

The Ringling Brother's "Blind-Touch Tour" solves the problem. The tour visits about a dozen cities per year and invites visually-impaired children to touch sets, props, and costumes, interact with performers and animals, and learn about the circus through tactile methods.

To read an article from CNN about the Blind-Touch Tour, please visit: www.cnn.com/2009/HEALTH/02/23/hm.circus.eyesight.kids/index.html

Volunteers of Vacaville

Volunteers of Vacaville is a small group of volunteers in California that provide audio transcription services, braille transcription services, and Perkins Brailler repair at greatly reduced prices. This group began in 1960 and has spread to helping schools, prisons, institutions, and individuals across the country.

The prices are as follows:

Audio Transcription
$4 per track (approximately 70 minutes)
Additional copies of the book for 50 cents per tape or CD

Braille Transcription
Literary or Textbook Formatted Braille - $2/page

Proofreading - 10 cents/page

Preformatting - 25 cents/page

Nemeth Braille - $3/page

Tactile Graphics - $5/page

Embossing - 5 cents/page

Binding - $2/volume

Brailler Repair
Volunteers will disassemble, clean, replace or repair parts and put each Brailler through quality assurance inspections before returning them. Work comes with a 90-day warranty on parts and labor. The average repair cost is $66.

Volunteers of Vacaville
707-448-6841
P.O. Box 670
Vacaville, CA 95696

Oconee Rotary Club Builds Ramps for Butterfly Dreams Farm

The Oconee Rotary Club spent the past weekend helping a Watkinsville farm serve more disabled people.

The Butterfly Dreams Farm, located in Farmington, is a Therapeutic Riding Program. They offer hippotherapy (using horses as therapy assistants) as well as therapeutic riding. These programs can offer emotional as well as physical therapy for those with disabilities.

However, without a ramp to get to the horses, wheelchair-bound adults and larger children have not been able to participate in the programs. The Rotary Club stepped in and built two ramps: a 20-ft long wheelchair ramp and a 10-ft long "slider" ramp. These will allow many more people to ride and bond with the horses.

The Athens-Banner Herald printed a story about this service mission, which can be read at www.onlineathens.com/stories/022309/new_396826906.shtml.

Victor Reader Stream and NLS Compatibility

An email from the HumanWare Team:

Dear Victor Reader Stream Friends:

We are receiving reports through our customer service and from NLS that some NLS books are not transferring properly when using the Stream Companion program to copy the book from your computer to the Stream storage card. We have made corrections to the new version of the Companion program that will correct these issues.

The new Companion program will also be able to transfer the new ZIP book formats from Bookshare.org.

These and other improvements will all be part of a new Companion program to be released in a month or so. It will be announced on this newswire. Please encourage anyone who wants to receive this and other announcements to register to the Stream Newswire at:www.humanware.ca/stream_news_form_en/

Thank you,
The HumanWare Team

Board of Regents Hear Presentation on Serving Students With Disabilities

The Board of Regents was recently presented with information about the nearly 9,000 students with various learning disabilities currently attending colleges and universities in the University System of Georgia. That number has increased dramatically in the last eight years and is expected to continue to climb.

To read the article, please visit the following link: www.usg.edu/news/2009/021009-1.phtml

Blind Persons Return to Work Act of 2009

The following is a press release from the National Federation of the Blind:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT:
Christopher Danielsen
Director of Public Relations
National Federation of the Blind
(410) 659-9314, extension 2330
(410) 262-1281 (Cell)
cdanielsen@nfb.org

National Federation of the Blind Praises Bill to Create Work Incentives and Opportunity Blind Persons Return to Work Act of 2009 Introduced by Congressman Lewis Washington, D.C. (February 8, 2009):

Congressman John Lewis (D-GA) has introduced legislation designed to help blind persons receiving Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) to return to work. The Blind Persons Return to Work Act of 2009 (H.R. 886), will eliminate penalties that prevent blind persons from reentering the workforce and will facilitate their transition to employment.

Dr. Marc Maurer, President of the National Federation of the Blind,which has long advocated this change in policy, said: "This proposal will allow thousands of blind people to rejoin the workforce and become productive, tax-paying citizens. Many blind people are understandably reluctant to take entry-level jobs because they are penalized by an immediate loss of SSDI benefits, and their work income rarely compensates for that loss. This legislation will allow blind persons to make a smooth transition from dependence to opportunity. We will work with Congressman Lewis to ensure the swift passage of this landmark legislation."

Congressman Lewis said: "Americans who are blind deserve the same opportunities as all other Americans. Their blindness does not prevent them from making valuable contributions to our society, as evidenced by the many successful blind people I have personally met over the years. The gifts and opportunities of these citizens should not be hindered by policies that discourage them from entering the workforce. That is why I am proud to stand with my blind brothers and sisters and introduce this much-needed legislation."

Gwinnett County Schools Introduce Adaptive Sports Program

Gwinnett County has recently become another school district in Georgia to introduce an adaptive sports program, which is designed to give physically disabled students an opportunity to participate in sports. Several other counties in the Atlanta area also have this type of program.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution featured an article on the Gwinnett Heat, a wheelchair basketball team. You can read the article here: www.ajc.com/gwinnett/content/metro/gwinnett/stories/2009/01/11/wheelchair_basketball_gwinnett.html

NFB Adds Braille Music Resources

The website for NFB (National Federation of the Blind) now has a page devoted to braille music resources, as well as a braille music video.

Here is the link to this page:

www.nfb.org/nfb/Braille_music.asp?SnID=1099907068