Re: Seedlings Braille Books For Children Michigan
Savage Doherty
Seedlings' MissionSeedlings Braille Books for Children is a 501(c)3 non-profit, tax-exempt organization dedicated to increasing the opportunity for literacy and education by providing high quality, free and low cost braille books for children.
Seedlings' Letter of Determination from the IRSSeedlings' HistoryIn 1984 when Debra Bonde founded Seedlings, braille materials were scarce and expensive. Her goals were to increase the availability and lower the cost of braille books for children in order to promote their literacy skills and the love of reading. In 1985, the first year of book production, Debra made 221 books in her basement office. By 1990, Seedlings was producing 5,000 books per year, which precipitated its move out of Debra's basement and into the Bentley Center in Livonia, Michigan, and eventually to our present location on Farmington Road in Livonia. In 2022, with a small staff, and a group of loyal volunteers, Seedlings produced over 37,500 braille books and articles (63% of which were given away for free), with a grand total of 682,000 since 1984, equalling millions of pages of braille! For more information, see Seedlings' 2022 Annual Report and Seedlings' 2022 Audit.In 1994, Seedlings added The Rose Project, which provides free encyclopedia articles in braille for student's projects and reports. Since that time, we have added several other giveaway programs in our quest to fill the existing braille book desert with thousands of wonderful books for children with vision loss. In 2022, over 23,000 books were given away for free and the rest were made available for an average of only $10 each! For more information on Seedlings' Giveaway Programs, see our Special Programs page.
Seedlings' BooksSeedlings' braille materials have opened up new worlds for thousands of children. Seedlings Braille Books for Children is keeping visually impaired children in the mainstream of popular literature and is reaching braille readers in all 50 states and over 75 foreign countries. Seedlings contributes to literacy by providing children with vision loss equal opportunity to develop the love of reading. Braille books are provided at each level of development, from toddler board books to classic literature for older children. Just as sighted children learn to read as they are exposed to the printed word, so do visually impaired children who are exposed to the tactile page at an early age. New titles are added every year as highly skilled volunteer braille transcribers spend countless donated hours translating print books into braille and preparing them for future production. Once the original translation is complete, additional books can be printed as needed. Exposure to popular, high quality braille literature throughout childhood increases the likelihood of children developing into able braille readers.Seedlings' FundingAs a non-profit organization, Seedlings gives away over half of their books and sells the rest for a fraction of what it costs to make them. Support is very broad based and comes from individuals, philanthropic groups, corporations and private foundations. Seedlings is not a United Way agency and receives no government grants. Thanks to hundreds of generous donors and dedicated, hard-working volunteers, the price of Seedlings' books remains far below actual production costs, averaging only $10 per book.
View Seedlings' 2021 990 Form here.Seedlings' 2023 Board of DirectorsTerry Crouson, Business Consultant
Ann Devereux, Parent of Child with Vision Loss
Michelle Ellis, Teacher of Visually Impaired Students
Jennifer Joseph, Parent of Child with Vision Loss
Katelyn Kelel, JD/MBA Candidate 2024, Consultant, Braille Reader
Michelle Lair, Director of Human Resources
Melissa Pilzner, Financial Advisor
Jackie Rau, Controller
Cheryl Shewach, HR Professional
Jared Stofflett, Software Developer, Braille Reader
Richard Swaine, CPA
Joel Zatell, Teacher of Visually Impaired Students
Seedlings' Board Members receive no financial compensationfor their services.
Seedlings in the news ...
December 2019: Seedlings' Founder & Director featured in the Living Lutheran Magazine:
Read more about it here. (Photo credit: Courtesy of Living Lutheran, photo by Bill Bresler.)
June 2016: Livonia Today includes a nice spread about Seedlings:
Read the article here.
July 2015: Seedlings wins the prestigious Bolotin Award: The National Federation of the Blind on July 10 presented a $10,000 cash award to Seedlings Braille Books for Children as one of five organizations and individuals honored with a Dr. Jacob Bolotin Award which goes to innovators in the blindness field. The award took place at the 75th national convention of the National Federation of the Blind annual convention held in Orlando, Florida. Read more about it here.
February 2015: The Livonia Observer gives Seedlings' Director their Citizen of the Year Award:
Read the article here.
May 2002: Seedlings' founder and director was selected as a "Michiganian of the Year" by the Detroit News.
For more information, view a recent Newsletter here. Back to topMy AccountMy OrderCustomer Service
"When I did some research I found that there were very few children's books available in Braille," says Debra Bonde, Founder, and Director of Seedlings. "And those that were available were exceedingly expensive, like $100 for a Hardy Boys book, which just didn't seem right to me."
The organization also operates various programs that provide free braille materials in the United States and Canada. Most notable: the Book Angel Program which provides four free braille books a year to children with vision loss under 21 years of age. The Rose Project is another program that provides free braille transcriptions of World Book Encyclopedia articles to blind and visually impaired students. As well as the aforementioned programs Seedlings has a program for Teachers of the Visually Impaired in the U.S. to receive four free books each calendar year. These programs are always running and never end.[2]
Seedlings Braille Books for Children in Livonia aims to raise $50,000 for 5,000 Braille books for blind children at its 30th annual Bowling for Braille Books event March 11 at Merri-Bowl Lanes in Livonia.
Seedlings Braille Books for Children was founded in 1984 by Bonde, a Livonia resident, who wanted to make Braille books more affordable for blind children. At the time, Braille books often cost more than $100 each.
Complete used braille textbooks with copyrights within 5 years and novels purchased by individual LEAs may be donated to the AT & AEM Center for use by other Ohio LEAs. To make arrangements for a donation please contact the AT&AEM Center at ataem...@ocali.org
Blue Marlin Publications has teamed up with Seedlings Braille Books for Children to produce Hanni and Beth: Safe & Sound in a special print-Braille format. Braille words appear directly under the printed words, providing visually-impaired children and their sighted parents a wonderful way to enjoy learning Braille. Print-Braille books are also very popular with blind adults (or older children) who enjoy reading to sighted preschoolers.
Blue Marlin Publications donates a portion of the proceeds from sales of standard print-only versions of Hanni and Beth: Safe & Sound to Seedlings Braille Books for Children to help this non-profit, tax-exempt organization continue providing high quality, low cost Braille books for children.
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