Red Cross Seeks Volunteer Braille Transcribers In North Jersey

The American Red Cross of Northern New Jersey is currently seeking volunteer Braille transcribers, and will be offering a free training course in September for the public.

The 20-week training course involves a two-hour class and 12 hours of weekly homework. 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 at 209 Fairfield Road in Fairfield, beginning on Tuesday, September 15 from 1 to 3 p.m. For more information or to register for the training, contact Debra Falanga at 973-797-3359, or debra.falanga@redcross.org.

The training and transcription will be done in conjunction with the Jane Bente Braille Center. According to a release, the center - established after World War I to help soldiers blinded by mustard gas - is one of the nation’s largest, volunteer run Braille production centers. Red Cross volunteers create more than 1,300,000 pages of academic materials and more than 3,000 textbooks in Braille annually.

“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.

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