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CONTACT:
Chris Danielsen
Director of Public Relations
National Federation of the Blind
(410) 659-9314, extension 2330
(410) 262-1281(Cell)
<mailto:cdanielsen@nfb.org>cdanielsen@nfb.org
National Federation of the Blind Awards $50,000
Second Annual Dr. Jacob Bolotin Awards Presented at 2009 Convention
Baltimore, Maryland (July 13, 2009): The National
Federation of the Blind presented $50,000 in cash
awards to individuals and organizations that have
made outstanding contributions toward achieving
the full integration of the blind into society on
a basis of equality. The second annual Dr. Jacob
Bolotin Awards honored eight innovators in the
blindness field at the National Federation of the
Blind annual convention in <?xml:namespace prefix
= st1 ns =
"urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" />Detroit on Wednesday, July 8.
Awards in the amount of $10,000 were given to
Opportunities Unlimited for the Blind and Diane
Croft. A joint award of $10,000 was also given
to the National Organization of Parents of Blind
Children (NOPBC) and the National Association to
Promote the Use of Braille (NAPUB) for their
Braille Readers Are Leaders contest. Abe Nemeth,
John Andrew English, the Princeton Braillists,
and the American Action Fund for Blind Children
and Adults were each awarded $5,000.
Dr. Jacob Bolotin––the namesake of the award
program––was a blind physician who lived and
practiced in Chicago in the early twentieth
century. He was widely known and respected in
Chicago and throughout the Midwest during his
career, which spanned the period from 1912 until
his untimely death at the age of thirty-six in
1924. He was particularly recognized for his
expertise on diseases of the heart and
lungs. Bolotin used his many public speaking
engagements to advocate for the employment of the
blind and their full integration into society.
Dr. Marc Maurer, President of the National
Federation of the Blind, said: “Dr. Jacob Bolotin
was a pioneer who overcame low expectations and
discrimination to become a renowned member of the
medical profession without the benefit of the
support services and civil rights protections
available to blind people today. The National
Federation of the Blind is proud to honor the
memory and spirit of Dr. Bolotin by recognizing
and financially supporting those who are doing
exceptional work to help achieve the shared dream
of Dr. Bolotin and the National Federation of the
Blind––a society where the blind are treated as
productive, independent, and equal citizens.”
The Dr. Jacob Bolotin Award Program is funded
through the generosity of Dr. Bolotin’s nephew
and niece, Alfred and Rosalind Perlman. The late
Mrs. Perlman established the Alfred and Rosalind
Perlman Trust to endow the award. Income from
the trust is distributed to the National
Federation of the Blind and the Santa Barbara
Foundation for the purpose of administering the
Dr. Jacob Bolotin Award Program. Mrs. Perlman
also wrote The Blind Doctor: The Jacob Bolotin
Story. The book was published by Blue Point
Books and is available through the National
Federation of the Blind. A portion of the
proceeds from book sales will also benefit the
award program. For more information about the
Dr. Jacob Bolotin Award Program, including more
information about this year’s winners, as well as
eligibility criteria and application procedures,
visit <http://www.nfb.org/>www.nfb.org.
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