Braille Services - Winter Appeal 2010
Getting a feel for words
Micah uses braille to read The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle
Micah feels the texture of real leaves to relate to the book he's just read.
Please help Vision Australia offer braille services by giving a gift to our Winter Appeal, which aims to raise $1.35 million by 30 June.
Vision Australia provides a range of braille programs, including an extensive library, a transcription service, braille training for adults and our Feelix Library for children who are vision impaired.
We rely on community support to provide our free services. By giving a tax-deductible gift to our Winter Appeal, you will help more Australians like Micah (pictured) to access a world of words and learning.
For children born with a vision impairment, braille becomes a part of their life early on. Two-year-old Micah is already starting to realise those raised dots have special meaning.
At 14 weeks, he was diagnosed with a condition that causes abnormal retinal tissue growth. A day after receiving the devastating news that their son was blind, a Vision Australia specialist reassured Ray and Elaine that with the right support, he could still achieve so much.
Aware of the importance of literacy, they signed Micah up to our Feelix Library. This unique library introduces children like Micah to the magic of books through braille, tactile and audio elements. Each kit, which costs $310 to create, contains a CD, objects relating to the tale and a book featuring braille and print, which enables parents to read aloud as their child feels the words.
Our Feelix Library is just one of the braille services your gift could support. Your gift this Winter could also help us provide adult braille training and more brailled books, which can cost more than $3 per master page to produce.
With the number of Australians who are blind or have low vision set to double to 600,000 by 2020, your support is needed now more than ever. To give a gift, please donate online or call 1800 42 20 77.
Please help us to ensure Vision Australia can continue to deliver our braille programs to the growing number of Australians who, like Micah, are blind or have low vision.
Thank you,
Gerard Menses,
CEO Vision Australia