Our Mission is to assist the blind by transcribing a wide variety of materials into Braille. We serve all ages, specializing in textbooks for elementary and secondary school children. We also recruit volunteers and train them to transcribe Braille.
Our Books: We can quickly provide copies of over 500 books from our extensive inventory. Our textbooks are typically interpoint (double sided) Grade-2 Braille. In addition, we create maps and charts using thermoform (plastic sheet ) impressions of hand-made tactile graphics.
Our Services:We will help you locate a Braille book, or give you a quote to transcribe a book for the first time. Additionally, we will transcribe and/or emboss any text material that a blind student or adult might need.
Our Customers: We work with individuals, schools, businesses, hospitals, churches and other non-profit groups.
Our Volunteers:
Our Transcriber Volunteers are the very heart of our service. Without these hard-working individuals there would be no Braille material available to the blind. Learning the complex rules of Braille is no easy task, but these dedicated volunteers have mastered their craft and perform it tirelessly. Most of our Transcribers work from home computers and therefore can be located anywhere in the world.
Our Graphics Volunteers transform the many visual aids found in today's text books into tactile graphics to allow the blind student to FEEL what the other students are seeing. Their workshop is filled with all kinds of materials that can be distinguished by touch; sandpaper, canvas, corrugated paper, string, dotted cloth, cardboard cut outs.........limited only by the imagination and the requirement that the material not melt in the process of heat pressing its impression onto plastic book pages (thermoform process).
Our Embossing/Binding Volunteers take the transcriber's work and make it into the physical, touchable, and therefore readable book. They run our embossing, collating and binding machines to create the finished product, the many volumes of a Braille Book.
Click Here to see more about the various tasks our volunteers perform.
Here is what some of our volunteers are saying about their experience at Midwestern Braille................
.............. I have been a MBV volunteer since 1987. I started volunteering here when I retired and my kids were all grown. I stay because the work is so rewarding and enjoyable.
.............Having a background in mapping made the creation of tactile graphics seem to be a natural fit, plus I had time and needed to be active. I stay here because it is fun, there are good people, the work is challenging and I constantly learn new things.
.............I always wanted to volunteer but didn't have the time until I became unemployed. I wanted to find something positive to do to offset the negative of losing my job. I believe MBV provides a very important service. As a book lover, I cannot imagine not having material to read. MBV is a great place. Everyone is friendly and helpful. Everyone is here because they WANT to be. MBV makes a difference. MBV adds a special touch.
............. I always intended to volunteer after retiring because I wanted to be active and useful. I stay here because the other volunteers are very congenial and they provide an important service to the community , both local and national.
............. My Background in art aids me in the craft aspects of creating tactile graphics. This is such a satisfying way to help the visually impaired.
..............I have been volunteering at MBV since 1989 because it is an all volunteer organization and we are not in it to make money but to be of help to deserving people.
.............I started volunteering for MBV when I was between jobs. I have found it very rewarding and interesting. This has been a great experience with a terrific staff of fellow volunteers.
.............This is my first volunteering experience and it has been more rewarding than I ever imagined. I did not think I had that much to offer but they have found so many ways for me to contribute. The people here are so friendly and share a common goal of making a difference in the lives of blind students.
..............I started volunteering at MBV in the fall of 2000. I feel I have been blessed and I wanted to give something back at retirement. I stay here because I like the work and the people and because we provide a worthwhile service to the community.
..................I volunteer at MBV because I enjoy the feelings of usefulness and contribution to my community. I want everyone to know that MBV exists and that it is an amazing little office of dedicated people making the lives of sight-challenged children a little easier.
94th Birthday Celebration
We recently celebrated with our "Senior" Volunteer on the occasion of her
95th Birthday!
She walks to office several times a week to bind Braille books and to brighten our day with her always cheerful attitude.
Our History: Midwestern Braille Volunteers have been producing Braille material since 1963. We were originally formed as a service organization to produce Braille documents for the Catholic Church. As demand for other Braille materials grew, we formed a stand-alone non-profit organization serving schools and businesses with all kinds of Braille material in addition to out work for the church.
Our Board of Directors: Executive Committee Ronn Morice-President Allan Davis-VP Fund Raising & Development Paul Hunker- VP Planning and Evaluation Kirk Hutchison- VP Operations Carolyn Whittington-Secretary Tim Marshall-Treasurer Board Members Betty Bruno Loretta Bryant Eugene "Deke" Edwards Robert Jaco Patti Schonlau Robert Sido Eugene Taylor Susanne Vonderheid Tom Vonderheid Honorary Lifetime Members Howard Adams Frank Lane Louise Schatz
Our Location: We are located in the St Louis suburb of Kirkwood Missouri. Visit our Contact Us page for a map and directions.
Midwestern Braille Volunteers,325 North Kirkwood Road,Suite G-5,St. Louis, MO 63122 Phone(314) 966-5828FAX (314) 966-0388EMAILmbvol@sbcglobal.net
