Red Cross looking for Braille transcribers

FAIRFIELD — The American Red Cross of Northern New Jersey Jane Bente Braille Center is currently seeking volunteer Braille transcribers and is offering a free training course this September.

The Jane Bente Braille Center, established after World War I to help soldiers blinded by mustard gas, is one of the largest volunteer run Braille production centers. Each year, Red Cross volunteers create more than 1,300,000 pages of academic materials and more than 3,000 textbooks in Braille.These are distributed throughout the United States and foreign countries to help empower visually impaired children to study in mainstream schools instead of in specialized environments.

“This is a great opportunity for recent college graduates, young retirees and civic-minded individuals from all walks of life to make a deep impact in the lives of blind children around the world,” said Jocelyn Gilman, executive director, American Red Cross of Northern New Jersey.

The Red Cross 20-week training course involves a two-hour class and 12 hours of homework weekly. There is no charge for the training and all materials and equipment are supplied by the Red Cross. After completing the course, participants prepare a trial manuscript for submission to the Library of Congress for certification. Upon certification, volunteers can transcribe textbooks at home.

The training course will be offered at the Red Cross of Northern New Jersey located at 209 Fairfield Road in Fairfield beginning Tuesday, Sept. 15 from 1-3 p.m. For more information or to register for the training, contact Debra Falanga at (973) 797-3359 or debra.falanga@redcross.org.

Please visit redcross.org/NorthJerseyRegion for more information about the Jane Bente Braille Center and other Red Cross programs and services.