[Nfbnet-members-list] National Federation of the Blind Awards $50, 000

[Kuhnke, Kristian]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE



CONTACT:

Chris Danielsen

Director of Public Relations

National Federation of the Blind
(410) 659-9314, extension 2330
(410) 262-1281(Cell)
<mailto:cdanielsen at nfb.org>cdanielsen at nfb.org


National Federation of the Blind Awards $50,000




Eighth Annual Dr. Jacob Bolotin Awards Presented at 2015 Convention

Orlando, Florida (July 10, 2015): 
<http://www.nfb.org/>The National Federation of 
the Blind (NFB) today 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. At the National Federation 
of the Blind <https://nfb.org/convention>annual 
convention in Orlando, the eighth annual 
<http://nfb.org/bolotin-award-main>Dr. Jacob 
Bolotin Awards honored five innovators who are 
helping blind people live the lives they want.



A $5,000 award was presented to Professor 
Nicolaas tenBroek, a computer science instructor 
at Heartland Community College in Illinois and 
grandson of Jacobus tenBroek, the founder of the 
National Federation of the Blind, for his 
creation of a course to teach computer science 
students how to design accessible mobile apps. A 
$5,000 prize was also presented to the United 
States Association of Blind Athletes for its 
creation of a state-of-the art training center 
for blind goalball players so that they can 
prepare for participation in the 2016 Paralympics 
and beyond. A $10,000 prize was jointly awarded 
to the University of California, Davis and the 
Centre for Molecular and Biomolecular Informatics 
for their collaboration on an accessible 
computerized system for creating 3D tactile 
models of molecules and molecular interactions. A 
$10,000 award was also presented to Seedlings 
Braille Books for Blind Children for its 
outstanding work producing Braille and 
print-Braille books for blind children of all 
ages. A cash prize of $20,000 went to the 
Southern Arizona Association for the Visually 
Impaired (SAAVI) for partnering with the 
organized blind to improve rehabilitation services for blind Arizonans.



Dr. Jacob Bolotin, the namesake of the award 
program, was a blind physician who lived and 
practiced in Chicago from 1912 until his untimely 
death at age thirty-six in 1924. Dr. Bolotin was 
especially recognized for treating diseases of 
the heart and lungs. Despite his rigorous 
schedule tending to his patients’ needs at all 
hours of the day and night, Dr. Bolotin also 
became known as a public speaker and advocate for 
the employment of the blind and their full integration into society.



Mark A. Riccobono, President of the 
<http://www.facebook.com/NationalFederationoftheBlind>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 individuals and 
organizations, both from within the blindness 
field and outside of it, who are doing 
exceptional work to help achieve the shared dream 
of Dr. Bolotin and the National Federation of the 
Blind—a society in which the blind, like all 
other Americans, can pursue their goals and live the lives they want.”



The Dr. Jacob Bolotin Awards 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 awards. 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 Awards Program. Mrs. Perlman 
also wrote The Blind Doctor: The Jacob Bolotin 
Story. For more information about the Dr. Jacob 
Bolotin Awards 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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About the National Federation of the Blind



The National Federation of the Blind knows that 
blindness is not the characteristic that defines 
you or your future. Every day we raise the 
expectations of blind people, because low 
expectations create obstacles between blind 
people and our dreams. You can live the life you 
want; blindness is not what holds you back.
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