Frater Terry Bradshaw Fights For Braille Literacy

BALTIMORE, Md. - The National Federation of the Blind (NFB), the nation's leading advocate for Braille literacy, announced recently that Frater Terry Bradshaw (Beta-Zeta, Louisiana Tech Univ.), Hall of Fame NFL quarterback, current football analyst and co-host of FOX NFL Sunday, will serve as a National Ambassador for Braille literacy. As an ambassador, Frater Terry will help advance the NFB's Braille Readers are Leaders campaign, a national initiative to promote the importance of reading and writing Braille for blind children and adults. The Braille Readers are Leaders campaign kicked off in July of 2008 with the unveiling of the design of a commemorative coin to be minted in 2009 in recognition of the two hundredth anniversary of the birth of Louis Braille (1809-1852), the inventor of the reading and writing code for the blind that bears his name.

Dr. Marc Maurer, President of the National Federation of the Blind, said: "The National Federation of the Blind is pleased to have Terry Bradshaw as part of this historic initiative to bring Braille literacy to all of the blind children and adults in America who need it. As one of the most popular personalities in America, Terry Bradshaw's impact as a national spokesperson for Braille literacy will surely be huge. There can be no doubt that the ability to read and write Braille competently and efficiently is the key to education, employment, and success for the blind. Despite the undisputed value of Braille, however, only about 10 percent of blind children in the United States are currently learning it. Society would never accept a 10 percent literacy rate among sighted children; it should not accept such an outrageously low literacy rate among the blind. The Braille Readers are Leaders campaign, with the support of influential Americans like Terry Bradshaw, will reverse the downward trend in Braille literacy and ensure that equal opportunities in education and employment are available to all of the nation's blind."

Frater Terry Bradshaw said: "I am honored and pleased to serve as a National Ambassador for the Braille Readers are Leaders campaign. I strongly believe in the importance of literacy for everyone, and I am excited to help make a difference in the lives of blind children and adults throughout the country."

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