> FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE > > CONTACT: > > Chris Danielsen > > Director of Public Relations > > National Federation of the Blind > > (410) 659-9314, extension 2330 > > (410) 262-1281 (Cell) > > cdanielsen@xxxxxxx > > National Federation of the Blind Announces Dr. Jacob Bolotin Awards > > National Federation of the Blind to Award $50,000 in 2009 > > Baltimore, Maryland (January 7, 2009): The National Federation of the > Blind today announced that applications are now being accepted for the > 2009 Dr. Jacob > Bolotin Award Program. Each year the National Federation of the Blind > presents 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. > > Dr. Jacob Bolotin was a blind physician who lived and practiced in Chicago > in the early twentieth century. He was widely known and respected in > Chicago > and throughout the Midwest during his career, which spanned the period > from 1912 until his untimely death at the age of thirty-six in 1924. He > was particularly > recognized for his expertise on diseases of the heart and lungs. Bolotin > used his many public speaking engagements to advocate for the employment > of the > blind and their full integration into society. > > Dr. Marc Maurer, President of the 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. He was also a fierce advocate for greater opportunity for the > blind in his time, and doubtless would have been a leader in the organized > blind > movement had he lived to see it come into being. The Jacob Bolotin Award > Program celebrates his pioneering spirit by recognizing and supporting > outstanding > programs, technologies, and individual efforts that promote independence > and opportunity for blind Americans." > > Recipients of the 2009 Dr. Jacob Bolotin Awards will be determined by the > Dr. Jacob Bolotin Award Committee of the National Federation of the Blind. > Online > applications are due by April 15, 2009. Individuals or organizations are > encouraged to apply on behalf of themselves or others. The award > recipients > will be announced at the 2009 National Federation of the Blind Convention > in Detroit. A total of $50,000 will be distributed to the award > recipients. > > The Jacob Bolotin Award Program is funded through the generosity of Dr. > Bolotin's nephew and niece, Alfred and Rosalind Pearlman. In addition to > establishing > the Alfred and Rosalind Pearlman Trust to endow the awards, the late Mrs. > Pearlman also wrote The Blind Doctor: The Jacob Bolotin Story. The book > has > been published by Blue Point Books and can be ordered directly from the > publisher at > www.bluepointbooks.com > . Proceeds from book sales will also benefit the award program. For more > information or to fill out the online application, please visit > www.nfb.org. > > ### > > About the National Federation of the Blind > > With more than 50,000 members, the National Federation of the Blind is the > largest and most influential membership organization of blind people in > the United > States. The NFB improves blind people's lives through advocacy, > education, research, technology, and programs encouraging independence and > self-confidence. > It is the leading force in the blindness field today and the voice of the > nation's blind. In January 2004 the NFB opened the National Federation of > the > Blind Jernigan Institute, the first research and training center in the > United States for the blind led by the blind. Please visit our Web site: > www.nfb.org. To subscribe or to leave the list, or to set other subscription options, go to www.freelists.org/list/real-eyes