Seedlings Braille Books For Children Michigan PORTABLE

The organization also operates various programs that provide free braille materials in the United States and Canada. Most notable: the Book Angel Program which provides four free braille books a year to children with vision loss under 21 years of age. The Rose Project is another program that provides free braille transcriptions of World Book Encyclopedia articles to blind and visually impaired students. As well as the aforementioned programs Seedlings has a program for Teachers of the Visually Impaired in the U.S. to receive four free books each calendar year. These programs are always running and never end.[2]

Seedlings' MissionSeedlings Braille Books for Children is a 501(c)3 non-profit, tax-exempt organization dedicated to increasing the opportunity for literacy and education by providing high quality, free and low cost braille books for children. Seedlings' Letter of Determination from the IRSSeedlings' HistoryIn 1984 when Debra Bonde founded Seedlings, braille materials were scarce and expensive. Her goals were to increase the availability and lower the cost of braille books for children in order to promote their literacy skills and the love of reading. In 1985, the first year of book production, Debra made 221 books in her basement office. By 1990, Seedlings was producing 5,000 books per year, which precipitated its move out of Debra's basement and into the Bentley Center in Livonia, Michigan, and eventually to our present location on Farmington Road in Livonia. In 2022, with a small staff, and a group of loyal volunteers, Seedlings produced over 37,500 braille books and articles (63% of which were given away for free), with a grand total of 682,000 since 1984, equalling millions of pages of braille! For more information, see Seedlings' 2021 Annual Report and Seedlings' 2021 Audit.In 1994, Seedlings added The Rose Project, which provides free encyclopedia articles in braille for student's projects and reports. Since that time, we have added several other giveaway programs in our quest to fill the existing braille book desert with thousands of wonderful books for children with vision loss. In 2022, over 23,000 books were given away for free and the rest were made available for an average of only $10 each! For more information on Seedlings' Giveaway Programs, see our Special Programs page.Seedlings' BooksSeedlings' braille materials have opened up new worlds for thousands of children. Seedlings Braille Books for Children is keeping visually impaired children in the mainstream of popular literature and is reaching braille readers in all 50 states and over 75 foreign countries. Seedlings contributes to literacy by providing visually impaired children equal opportunity to develop the love of reading. At this time, less than 20% of the 50,000 blind children in the United States are proficient in braille. All too often, the written word has been inaccessible to them, and this is what we are working to change.Braille books are provided at each level of development, from toddler board books to classic literature for older children. Just as sighted children learn to "read" as they are exposed to the printed word, so do visually impaired children who are exposed to the tactile page at an early age. New titles are added every year as highly skilled volunteer braille transcribers spend countless donated hours translating print books into braille and preparing them for computer disk to await production. Once the original translation is complete, additional books can be printed as needed. Exposure to popular, high quality braille literature throughout childhood increases the likelihood of children developing into able braille readers.Seedlings' FundingAs a non-profit organization, Seedlings gives away about half of their books and sells the rest for a fraction of what it costs to make them. Support is very broad based and comes from individuals, philanthropic groups, corporations and private foundations. Seedlings is not a United Way agency and receives no government grants. Thanks to hundreds of generous donors and dedicated, hard-working volunteers, the price of Seedlings' books remains far below actual production costs, averaging only $10 per book. View Seedlings' 2021 990 Form here.Seedlings' 2023 Board of DirectorsTerry Crouson, Business ConsultantAnn Devereux, Parent of Child with Vision LossMichelle Ellis, Teacher of Visually Impaired StudentsJennifer Joseph, Parent of Child with Vision LossKatelyn Kelel, Consultant, Braille ReaderMichelle Lair, Director of Human ResourcesMelissa Pilzner, Financial AdvisorJackie Rau, ControllerCheryl Shewach, HR ProfessionalJared Stofflett, Software Developer, Braille ReaderRichard Swaine, CPAJoel Zatell, Teacher of Visually Impaired StudentsSeedlings' Board Members receive no financial compensationfor their services. Seedlings in the news ...December 2019: Seedlings' Founder & Director featured in the Living Lutheran Magazine: Read more about it here. (Photo credit: Courtesy of Living Lutheran, photo by Bill Bresler.)June 2016: Livonia Today includes a nice spread about Seedlings: Read the article here.July 2015: Seedlings wins the prestigious Bolotin Award: The National Federation of the Blind on July 10 presented a $10,000 cash award to Seedlings Braille Books for Children as one of five organizations and individuals honored with a Dr. Jacob Bolotin Award which goes to innovators in the blindness field. The award took place at the 75th national convention of the National Federation of the Blind annual convention held in Orlando, Florida. Read more about it here.February 2015: The Livonia Observer gives Seedlings' Director their Citizen of the Year Award: Read the article here.May 2002: Seedlings' founder and director was selected as a "Michiganian of the Year" by the Detroit News.For more information, view a recent Newsletter here. Back to topMy AccountMy OrderCustomer Service

COVID UPDATE: Supply issues are causing some delays, but orders are being processed as quickly as possible. Thank you for your patience & understanding!5* Free Books for Children with Vision Loss: The Revised Book Angel Program! Through this program, over 83,000 free braille books have been sent to children since 2002! Each child (0-21) with vision loss in the U.S. and Canada can now receive 5* free braille books per calendar year.A new way to order: Use our regular ordering system to select 6 books (of which we will send 5) & put them in your 'cart' here. Then:1. Click CHECKOUT. On the checkout page, locate the "Book Angel" box below your Ship To information & use it to enter your child's first name, last name, age, and home address (if different from the person ordering).2. Below that, enter the code 'BAP' as your Purchase Order Number to circumvent the payment process. Although the book prices may still show on your order form, you will not be taken to PayPal to pay, and we will not charge you for these books! Please note: Since Seedlings is a small nonprofit organization with limited resources, our 3- & 4-volume books are excluded from our free programs. Thank you.If you would prefer to use a paper form to register, you may download it here.5 Free Books for Teachers of the Visually Impaired: The Revised TVIP Program! Certified Teachers of Visually Impaired Students in the U.S. may order 5 free braille books from Seedlings per calendar year!To order: Select 5 books & put them in your 'cart' here. Then use the code 'TVIP' as your Purchase Order Number to circumvent the payment process. Although the book prices may still show on your order form, you will not be taken to PayPal to pay, and we will not charge you for these books! Please note: Since Seedlings is a small nonprofit organization with limited resources, our 3- & 4-volume books are excluded from our free programs. Also, please do not order multiple copies of 9817 The SENSEsational Alphabet Book. Thank you.Please be patient. We are very excited to send you these free books, but we will need to produce & pack them when we are not busy with regular orders. Happy Reading! The Adopt-a-Reader Program The Adopt-A-Reader program allows children with vision loss ages 0-21 in Michigan, Illinois, Indiana and Ohio to receive 10 FREE braille books of their choice each calendar year! All you have to do is fill out this online AAR Enrollment Form and we will match your child with one of our donors. If you prefer to use a paper form to register, you can download it here. For more information, contact Seedlings at seedlink4@ameritech.net or call 800-777-8552 x307.For those wanting to "adopt" a reader, you may donate here: A $100 donation gives 10 free books to a child in need!Thank you in advance for your generous donation!The Rose Project World Book Encyclopedia Articles in braille. A free service for students with vision loss in grades 1-12. To order your braille article(s), click here.A great way to get information for a school report or project ... or just for youth who are interested in a different topics and want to read more about them!Join our email list & follow us on social media to find out about our other specials and giveaway programs! Back to topMy AccountMy OrderCustomer Service

"The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or touched...but are felt in the heart." &nbsp -- Helen KellerThere are many ways you can help. Seedlings is a 501(c)3 organization and all donations are tax-deductible to the full extentof the law. Your donations help to subsidize braille book production, keeping Seedlings' books affordable. Volunteers fill important roles in the braille book production process, warming the heart of both the giver and recipient. Whatever you can do will be greatly appreciated.Regular Donations: Help keep braille literacy alive for children with a gift to Seedlings. On average, every ten dollar donation makes another braille book possible.* (For memorial donations, please see link below.)Memorial Donations and Tributes in Honor of Friends & Family: Dedicate a braille book in honor or memory of a special person or occasion by donating to Seedlings.* We will send a letter to your honoree or the family of the deceased informing them of your kind gift.CFC Government Employees Payroll Deductions for Charity: Seedlings has been screened and selected as one of America's Best Charities. Government employees can donate to Seedlings (CFC #11825) through payroll deduction.Sponsor the Launch of a New Title: Seedlings has 1300 titles in its catalog, but there is much more to be done. Supporters can help by making a donation of $1,000 to sponsor the launch of a new title.Contact Seedlings for a list of books that are on our shelves waiting to be transcribed into braille! Each copy of the book you select will carry your name or tribute on the title page.Seedlings' 2022 Holiday Tribute Card (all-occasion cards are also available)Holiday Tribute Cards: These make wonderful gifts! Dedicate a braille book in honor of a friend, family member, coworker, or teacher, etc. and receive an elegant card that you can give to them informing them that a braille book will be inscribed in their name.* The tribute cards say: "In your honor, a donation has been made to Seedlings Braille Books for Children to help produce braille books for blind children. A book will be inscribed in your name!" Other cards are also available for other occasions. Call 800-777-8552 for more information. Gifts of Stock: Seedlings is able to accept gifts of stock. For information on stock transfers, please contact our Director: at info@seedlings.org Shop at AmazonSmile and .5% goes to Seedlings: Set your bookmark to smile.amazon rather than amazon and select Seedlings as your charity, then order as usual and .5% of your total will go to Seedlings!Just go to -2565354 and place your order! Kroger Community Rewards:> Now you can raise money for Seedlings when you grocery shop! When you register, please select Seedlings as your nonprofit organization (Seedlings' non-profit organization or NPO # is DF636). Contact Seedlings for more information at info@seedlings.org or call 734-427-8552 or 800-777-8552. Thrivent Financial Choice Dollars:> Are you a Thrivent member? If so, you can select Seedlings each year as the recipient of your Choice Dollars(R)! We will use your donation to make more braille books available for blind children and their families. Contact Seedlings for more information at info@seedlings.org or call 734-427-8552 or 800-777-8552. A Seedlings volunteer assembling print-and-braille booksDress Down Days or Jeans Days: An easy way to help Seedlings is to hold a "Dress Down Day" or "Jeans Day" at your school or business. Everyone loves casual Fridays, so here's your chance to get comfortable for a great cause. Employees can make a minimum donation, in the amount of your choice, in order to dress casually on the date(s) of your choice. Simply collect the funds and mail them to Seedlings Braille Books for Children. Contact Seedlings (734-427-8552 or info@seedlings.org) for more information. Volunteering: Seedlings' mission depends on dedicated volunteers. Certified braille transcribers/proofreaders are currently our greatest need. For more information about Seedlings, view a recent Newsletter here.* Please note: To ensure the privacy of our friends and supporters, Seedlings does not rent, sell, or exchange its donor lists with any organization or individual. Seedlings is a 501(c)(3) organization and donations to Seedlings are tax deductible as allowed by law. (MICS 8623) Back to topMy AccountMy OrderCustomer Service 2b1af7f3a8