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The Dr. Jacob Bolotin Award

Letter of Recommendation Form
Thank you for your support of the Dr. Jacob Bolotin Awards program.
Please complete the form below to submit your letter of recommendation in support of the award nominee. Recommendations cannot exceed 800 words. You will not be able to submit your recommendation if the maximum word count exceeds 800 words.
Please note that recommendations should come from someone other than the person who nominated the candidate. Please note that required fields on this form are indicated by an asterisk (*).

* Nominee Name:
* Your First Name:
* Your Last Name:
* Your State:
* Your Phone Number:
* Your Email Address:
* Your Relationship to Nominee:

Please enter your letter of recommendation in the text area provided below: Letter of recommendation for Don Winiecki at Handid Braille Services regarding the National Federation of the Blind Bolotin Award I, Tasnim Alshuli, (chair of the National Federation of the Blind Muslims Group) and my group members highly recommend Don Winiecki at Handid Braille Services for the National Federation of the Blind Bolotin Award. Don Winiecki, through his work with Handid Braille Services, provides braille in various underrepresented languages to blind readers all over the world. As a braille transcriber, Don specializes in braille for languages that do not use the Latin alphabet such as Arabic, Persian, Chinese, Russian, Korean, Japanese and so many more. Don also produces braille transcriptions in Arabic and South Asian languages for hotels, museums, Schools and universities, healthcare, and so much more. Especially valuable for the Blind Muslims Group, Don has transcribed several books and materials into Unified Arabic Braille, including Islamic materials for students learning Arabic and Islamic Seminary students. He also actively partners with other non-profit groups to make more materials available in Unified Arabic Braille. In addition to producing braille, Don has donated resources to support blind students who are Muslim and who are studying Computer Science. Additionally, as a gift for the Blind Muslims for Ramadan 2024, Don volunteered to produce a screen reader accessible version of a new translation of the Qur'an in English and Arabic. Since the birth of our group in 2021, we have reached so many people in the United States and across countries and continents, with different backgrounds and languages, from all over the world. We have witnessed firsthand the challenges and obstacles that blind people go through when not having access to braille materials in their language. The importance of having access to language to read, write, communicate, and worship is very important especially for those who have languages that are not represented by the majority in this country. Don and Handid Braille Services provide an essential service to braille readers who are native readers and speakers of languages other than English. We know in the Federation that access to braille materials and braille literacy is crucial to having access to education, healthcare, employment, etc. Given that resources are extremely limited for braille production in languages that are not English, Don Winiecki, through Handid Braille Services, provides a service for blind individuals in the United States and across the world who value braille literacy and access to braille materials. Therefore, we enthusiastically recommend that Don is worthy of the Bolotin Award so he may expand his services of providing braille transcription in underrepresented languages. Sincerely, Tasnim Alshuli, Chair, and members of the National Federation of the Blind Muslims Group
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The Dr. Jacob Bolotin Award

Letter of Recommendation Form