My name is James. I am legally blind. For many years, I was able to read print as long as I had special glasses and/or as long as the print was extremely large. I can still read extremely large print, but only for short periods of time. My vision has also decreased so that I can no longer read printed material anymore for any longer than a few minutes at a time without straining my eyes and giving myself a major headache. Being a writer, this was a major problem for me. The only way to write a lot is to read a lot, and at my lowest point, I wasn’t reading anything at all, other than labels and mail when I had to.

 It was at this point I remembered something I had seen and heard of but never used; Braille. I decided to learn how to read Braille. It took me about five years to learn how to read and write in Braille, and it was at this point that a thought came to me; I wanted to make Braille available for others in my area as well. I realized I had not been offered a Braille menu at any of the local restaurants, and my local libraries did not have any Braille materials available for me (or others in my situation) to read. On any subject.

I also talked to a couple of my favorite local restaurants – places my family visited on a regular basis – and asked them if they had Braille menus. They did not. So, I set about making them. I was able to get the necessary software to make the computer files needed to create these documents, but I had a problem; I didn’t have an embosser. For the first menu, I had to get a ride to a library outside of town, and the people there were not even sure the device would work. It did, and I was able to finish the first of the two menus. I soon discovered there are companies that will emboss documents for people, but the prices can vary and I live on a very low fixed income. When I explained my situation to one such company near Christmas of last year, they made the second menu for me for free because it was such a small job by their standards. This tells me one thing; their prices are probably higher than I can afford.

So, I looked into getting my own embosser. The prices for these amazing devices are staggering to me. I was sure I would never get one, and that I would never be able to help others by making Braille documents of all shapes and sizes for legally / totally blind people in my community to read.

Then, a very good friend of mine did something amazing. She started a fundraiser for me. Now, thanks to her and those who have helped in their own ways, either by sharing page links or by donating, we have come a long way. And I have hope that someday soon, with everyone’s support, I will be able to make Braille documents available to anyone and everyone in the area, which in turn will empower them to follow their own dreams as Braille has allowed me to follow mine.