[bookshare-discuss] Re: OT: FW: Office that recorded books for blind to close its doors
- From: "Cindy Ray" <cindyray@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: <bookshare-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Sun, 30 Sep 2007 12:03:50 -0500
I never heard of this organization.
Cindy Lou Ray. Each day is a new adventure.
----- Original Message -----
From: "Rick Roderick" <richard@xxxxxxxxx>
To: <bookshare-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Sunday, September 30, 2007 8:30 AM
Subject: [bookshare-discuss] OT: FW: Office that recorded books for
blind to close its doors
Before there ws Bookshare, back in the 70s, I used this organization
to
record books. They were very responsive. They only hneeded one copy
of the
book,and they were quick.
-----Original Message-----
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On Behalf Of BlindNews Mailing List
Sent: Sunday, September 30, 2007 8:05 AM
To: BlindNews@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: Office that recorded books for blind to close its doors
Chicago Daily Southtown, USA
Sunday, September 30, 2007
Office that recorded books for blind to close its doors
By Courtney Greve, Staff writer
Long before Vivette Ravel Rifkin read her last book into a tape
recorder
this June, she knew technology was making her 43-year-old organization
obsolete.
The founder of Educational Tape Recording for the Blind recognized
that
computerized scanners with synthesized speech eventually would replace
the
human voice tapes created by the nonprofit in Chicago's Mount
Greenwood
community.
Less than two months after Rifkin's death at the age of 96, the
service
announced it will close shop by year's end.
"Mother absolutely felt it was time," said Dovie Horvitz, Rifkin's
daughter
and an organization board member. "She was a realist. She wasn't
someone who
had to hang onto something for her own ego. She felt the funds they
still
had could be put to a better use."
To continue the mission, albeit in a different way, ETRB has
established an
endowment in Rifkin's name at Illinois State University.
Starting with a $20,000 donation, the endowment will be used for an
annual
scholarship given to an aspiring teacher specializing in the low
vision and
blindness program, said ISU development director Mira Mihajlovich.
The scholarship will be for $500 to $1,000 and will begin fall
semester of
next year, Mihajlovich said.
Longtime volunteer Phoebe McCarthy-Gunty said Rifkin would be pleased
with
the outcome.
"It's sad, but we knew it was coming," she said. "It was a wonderful
organization. We helped thousands of students in all states and even a
few
living on military bases around the world."
McCarthy-Gunty got involved after she retired because her husband lost
his
sight in his 50s.
"I was dedicated to helping blind people because I knew what they were
going
through," said the 91-year-old Mount Greenwood resident.
Rifkin similarly was inspired to make a difference because of her
daughter,
Jerelyn Grundland, known as Jill, who is legally blind.
The organization that eventually taped some 18,000 texts for students
started with Rifkin recording books for her daughter from her Beverly
bedroom, Hovitz said.
The idea snowballed as Grundland's peers started seeking Rifkin's
services,
Hovitz said.
In 1964, Milton Rifkin gave his wife $500 so she could open an office,
which
had three Southwest Side locations before landing at 10641 S. Pulaski
Road.
At its peak, ETRB had nearly 1,000 registered students.
"(Rifkin's) philosophy was read it and do it quickly so the students
could
learn," Hovitz said.
Students paid an annual stipend, which grew from $10 to $150
throughout the
years, to receive recorded texts for all of their courses for an
academic
year.
Nobody was turned away because of inability to pay, McCarthy-Gunty
said.
The organization never sought federal funding or grant money; it
thrived on
the backs of its dedicated volunteers, Hovitz said.
"Starting June through Christmastime, we worked around the clock,"
McCarthy-Gunty said.
While volunteers still number in the dozens, the requests for
recordings
have dwindled, Hovitz said.
Organization leaders had planned to finish out their lease, which is
up next
summer, but reconsidered their options after Rifkin's death Aug. 10.
Courtney Greve can be reached at (708) 633-5983 or
cgreve@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
http://www.dailysouthtown.com/news/579957,092907byeblind.article
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