Braille Books Program
The Braille Books Program provides blind children a free Braille book every month from a popular children's reading series. Since 1997, more than 318 titles from popular children's reading series have been distributed to thousands of blind children. Last year, the program provided more than 45,000 Braille books to blind children and classrooms across the country.
Share Braille
Share Braille is a free service that facilitates the exchange of Braille books through an online community-run library. It works by connecting those who want Braille books with those who want to give Braille books away. Share Braille's mission is to promote literacy among the blind by increasing the use and life of Braille materials. For more information, visit ShareBraille.org.
Kenneth Jernigan Scholarship
Valued at $12,000, the Kenneth Jernigan Scholarship is the largest scholarship granted in the United States to a legally blind person. It is given annually to a legally blind student who exemplifies the fruits of Dr. Jernigan's teachings. Applications are available from November 1 to March 31 of the following year.
Tactile Art Program
We know that blind children are just as creative and interested in art as their sighted peers. Through our tactile art program, we have distributed more than one-hundred tactile art and drawing kits to children across the country.
Braille Book Fair
Each year, the American Action Fund for Blind Children and Adults provides an extensive collection of Braille books to the Braille Book Fair conducted at the national convention of the National Federation of the Blind. This unique event provides hundreds of Braille readers of all ages the rare opportunity to build their very own collection of Braille books free of charge.
Braille Reading Pals Club
In partnership with the National Federation of the Blind, the Braille Reading Pals Club introduces young blind children and their families to literacy through Braille. The program fosters positive attitudes about Braille and helps sighted family members promote a love of reading through the shared reading of print/Braille books with their blind children. To register, visit the early childhood initiatives on NFB.org.
Braille Readers Are Leaders
In our Braille Readers Are Leaders contest, children and adults across the United States compete to read the most minutes alongside other participants in similar contest categories.
Free Slate and Stylus Program
The slate and stylus are valuable tools for writing Braille, which is vital to literacy for the blind. It is the only Braille-writing device that has the same portability, flexibility, and affordability as a pen and pencil. In partnership with the National Federation of the Blind, we distribute plastic, four-line, twenty-eight cell slates along with a saddle stylus to those that need them. To request a free slate and stylus, please visit the free slate and stylus program on NFB.org.
Free White Cane Program
The white cane gives blind people the ability to achieve a full and independent life. In partnership with the National Federation of the Blind, we have distributed more than 64,000 free white canes since 2008 through the free white cane program. To request a free white cane, please visit the free white cane program on NFB.org.
STEM Initiatives
Young blind students must be shown that they can participate actively in their STEM classes and that a future profession in science is perfectly within their grasp. STEM programs should provide hands-on experiences, tactile materials, nonvisual teaching methods, and blind role models to engage blind youth in the study of science and math.