Helping the Blind Reach the Summit of Literacy

The American Foundation for the Blind (AFB), the organization to which Helen Keller devoted her life, is a national nonprofit dedicated to addressing the critical issues of literacy, independent living, employment and technology for the 10 million Americans who are blind or visually impaired.

AFB approached us with an idea to launch a national campaign to promote the career field of braille textbook transcriber to allow blind and low-vision schoolchildren access to books at the same time as their sighted peers.

We built the campaign from the ground up – helping AFB secure blind mountain climber Erik Weihenmayer as the pro-bono campaign spokesperson, developing the campaign theme and materials, and launching it through a major national event. Then we managed a five-year national advocacy and recruiting campaign, producing multiple annual events, videos, electronic and printed collateral materials all in accessible formats for blind and low vision audiences. That’s how we gained more than 626 million gross impressions. With hundreds of students studying the AFB curriculum to receive certification as braille textbook transcribers, this career field was launched. The campaign also succeeded in creating a level of national awareness that assured the successful adoption of legislation mandating standardized formats for accessible materials.