The American Printing House for the Blind receives $20,000 from PNC Foundation

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - May 6, 2015 - PRLog -- The American Printing House for the Blind (APH) is excited to announce the receipt of a $20,000 grant from the PNC Foundation in support of the Braille Tales program. The grant will make it possible for 250 children to receive books in the coming year.

Braille Tales provides a free print/braille book every other month to preschoolers who are blind and visually impaired. This national program helps promote braille awareness and an enthusiasm for reading by nurturing early literacy skills in the home environment. To qualify for the program the parent or child must be blind or visually impaired, the child must be age five or younger, and the family must reside in the United States.  More than 800 participants are enrolled in the program.

“These books are an invaluable resource for our daughter,” said Stacey Hildenbrand, of her daughter Layla’s enrollment in the Braille Tales program. “Our family loves print-braille books because we can read aloud to her as she follows along and feels the braille.”

APH’s partnership with the Dolly Parton Imagination Library gives Braille Tales access to a collection of age-appropriate books, from which APH selects the most effective content for early braille readers.

The PNC Foundation, which receives its principal funding from The PNC Financial Services Group (www.pnc.com), actively supports organizations that provide services for the benefit of communities in which it has a significant presence. The foundation focuses its philanthropic mission on early childhood education and community and economic development, which includes the arts and culture. Through Grow Up Great, its signature cause that began in 2004, PNC has created a $350 million, multi-year initiative to help prepare children from birth to age 5 for success in school and life.

For more information or to apply, visit www.aph.org/BrailleTales or contact Lauren Hicks at (502) 899-2387 or (800) 223-1839, ext 387.

About the American Printing House for the Blind

Founded in 1858 in Louisville, Kentucky, American Printing House for the Blind (www.aph.org) is the oldest organization of its kind in the United States. It is the world's largest nonprofit organization creating educational, workplace, and independent living products and services for people who are blind and visually impaired.  APH is located at 1839 Frankfort Avenue in Louisville, Kentucky.