National Federation of the Blind Awar...( BALTIMOREJuly 13 -...),Health

BALTIMORE,July 13 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The National Federation of the Blind presented $50,000 in 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. The second annual Dr. Jacob Bolotin Awards honored eight innovators in the blindness field at the National Federation of the Blind annual convention in Detroit on Wednesday, July 8.

Awards in the amount of $10,000 were given to Opportunities Unlimited for the Blind and Diane Croft. A joint award of $10,000 was also given to the National Organization of Parents of Blind Children (NOPBC) and the National Association to Promote the Use of Braille (NAPUB) for their Braille Readers Are Leaders contest. Abe Nemeth, John Andrew English, the Princeton Braillists, and the American Action Fund for Blind Children and Adults were each awarded $5,000.

Dr. Jacob Bolotin - the namesake of the award program - 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. The National Federation of the Blind is proud to honor the memory and spirit of Dr. Bolotin by rec
'/>"/>