Baltimore, Maryland (August 25, 2009): Denzel Ferges graduated from high school on June 6. But when he was asked to address a gathering of students on July 29, he had to memorize his speech rather than reading it. Denzel does not have enough vision to read print effectively, and he was not taught to read Braille. For all practical purposes, he graduated from high school unable to read.

“I wish that I could be reading my remarks to you in Braille, but I am not able to do so because I was not given the opportunity to learn Braille in school,” Ferges told an audience of two hundred blind students and their mentors gathered for the National Federation of the Blind Youth Slam, a summer science academy for blind high school students. “So with that being said, I have to seek further training to learn Braille and other important blindness skills.”

Denzel is not alone. In fact, nine out of ten blind children in America’s public schools do not know and are not being taught how to read and write using Braille. But reading Braille, especially when learned at an early age, is just as effective as reading print. Braille is also the only system that allows blind people to write and to read what they have written with speed and efficiency. That is why the National Federation of the Blind wants to make sure that young people like Denzel graduate from high school with the ability to read and write, and that every blind child in America and every adult losing vision is given the opportunity to learn Braille. But blind Americans need your help to address the crisis in Braille literacy.

Congress authorized the minting in 2009 of 400,000 Louis Braille Bicentennial Silver Dollars to mark the two-hundredth anniversary of the birth of Louis Braille (1809–1852) and to support the efforts of the National Federation of the Blind—the nation’s leading advocate for Braille—to promote literacy among blind Americans. This unique and beautiful commemorative coin is the first U.S. currency to feature tactile, readable Braille. These coins will no longer be available after December 31, 2009. Today the National Federation of the Blind is kicking off a national campaign in which its affiliates in each state (plus the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico) and over seven hundred local chapters will sell 100,000 coins by November 1, 2009. A portion of the money from sales of the 2009 Louis Braille Bicentennial Silver Dollar will be used to support the NFB’s “Braille Readers are Leaders” campaign, a national initiative created to double the number of blind children learning Braille by 2015, improve certification standards for teachers of Braille, and conduct innovative programs to support Braille literacy.

Dr. Marc Maurer, President of the National Federation of the Blind, said: “The Braille Readers are Leaders literacy campaign and the sale of these beautiful Louis Braille silver dollars are among the most important initiatives the National Federation of the Blind has ever undertaken. The education of tens of thousands of blind children across the nation and the successful rehabilitation of adults who are losing vision depend on our success. We are asking all Americans to help us in ensuring literacy, education, productivity, and success for every blind American by purchasing a Louis Braille Bicentennial Silver Dollar today.”

Those interested in ordering a Louis Braille Bicentennial Silver Dollar should visit www.braille.org or call 1-800-USA-MINT (872-6468). For more information about the National Federation of the Blind and the Braille Readers are Leaders campaign, visit www.braille.org.