Rhianna's Fund for a Braille Display

EXCITING NEWS! I have now raised enough funds to purchase the QBraille XL! Thanks to everyone who has donated!

Hey there. I’m Rhianna McGregor Hajzer, a blind blogger and disability rights advocate, and I’ve started this GoFundMe to help me raise the funds to purchase a QBraille XL from Hims Inc.

A braille what? The QBraille XL is a braille display, a device with a refreshable braille display and keyboard which can connect via Bluetooth to a phone or laptop or be used on its own. With it, I can read, write, access the Internet and have all the capabilities of a regular computer but with the added bonus of doing it in braille. And as a braille fanatic and someone who does all those things—reads, writes, edits, concentrates and just thinks better when I’m reading physical braille rather than audio-only, this is my perfect fit. You can read more about it and see exactly what I’ll use your donations to buy on the website: https://hims-inc.com/product/qbraille-xl/

I’m a blogger first and foremost, but I have many more writing projects up my sleeve, like the memoir/non-fiction book I’m writing. Writing isn’t just my hobby, it’s my passion and it’s also what I’m working to make my career. That means I need a device that won’t make the writing process harder than it is… and unfortunately, the BrailleSense U2 that I currently use, isn’t up to snuff anymore. It’s been fazed out by the manufacturer, several of its functions don’t work, and my unit has a rattle and hardware issues that would not be affordable to fix. With all that being said, purchasing a new device is the most efficient option so that I can work as effectively, productively and professionally as anyone else.

But assistive technology isn’t cheap, and most disabled people can’t afford it. The QBraille XL costs CDN$3,700, and while that’s average for a braille display, a braille notetaker [a similar device but more comprehensive as a single unit], can cost upwards of $7,000. This is why I’m asking for your support.

Assistive tech changes the lives of disabled people, and it’s changed mine. I use assistive tech every day, from my writing projects, to the way I navigate around my community to how I play cards with my 86-year-old best friend. It would mean the world if you’d consider donating to help me get the QBraille XL.

If you’d like to support but off of the GoFundMe platform [since it does take a cut], please message me privately and I can give you my contact to do a private transfer so you can know that all your support is going directly to this cause. Thank you.

The goal will be updated to reflect e-transfer amounts that don't show here.