Volunteer helps students with visual impairments
BY VINCENT TODARO Staff Writer

Susan Kaplan (center), of East Brunswick, was honored as a Volunteer of the Year by the New Jersey Unit of Recording for the Blind & Dyslexic. Pictured with her are the organization's educational outreach manager, Debbie Passafiume (r), and Outreach Center Director Christine Ranaghan.

EAST BRUNSWICK- Not being able to see is not a barrier to "reading" books, thanks to the special efforts of a statewide group and a local volunteer.

Longtime township resident Susan Kaplan volunteers four days a week with the New Jersey Unit of Recording for the Blind & Dyslexic (RFB&D), an organization whose aim is to get reading materials into audio formats so they can be used by those who are visually impaired or have a learning disability.

For her efforts, Kaplan was honored as Volunteer of the Year for 2007 during the unit's Volunteer Recognition Luncheon at Queenship of Mary Roman Catholic Church in Plainsboro.

Kaplan works with the unit's Education Outreach Center, which is responsible for providing accessible textbooks and teacher training in more than 400 schools throughout the state.

The RFH&D was founded after World War II, when many soldiers returned home blind.

"That's how it started," Kaplan said, noting that the group's members would read to soldiers, who were guaranteed a college education through the GI Bill of Rights.

The New Jersey Unit of the RFB&D is now celebrating its 50th anniversary, and Kaplan said its primary focus is recording textbooks. The group does its work upon request from schools or individuals. Age is no barrier - the RFH&D has worked with elementary schools as well as professionals.

Kaplan said she began in the studio section, where the actual recording is done. She then moved into outreach, where she still serves as liaison between those who request products and the group. To request a book, someone must be a member.

In addition to filling requests, Kaplan works with teachers to find appropriate books and to see that they know how to use the playback equipment.

The New Jersey unit, located in Plainsboro, has more than 300 volunteers helping out every week, Kaplan said. In fact, she had mixed feelings about receiving the volunteer award, because she feels there are others who deserve the recognition.

Kaplan is retired from a career as a schoolteacher in New York, and she has also worked with the American Cancer Society.

Today, she is thrilled to volunteer her time.

"It's just rewarding to be involved with people from all walks of life," she said. "It's very stimulating, and I get more than I give."

She was drawn to this line of volunteer work because of her love of books. She has also volunteered for the East Brunswick Friends of the Library.

"I just happen to love books," she said. "This seemed like a wonderful thing to do. It morphed into more hours as soon as I retired."

The unit's director of educational outreach, Christine Ranaghan, said Kaplan does an incredible job keeping things organized and focused while the outreach center's staff is working in the schools.

Kaplan put in more than 200 hours over the past year.

"I'm really just happy to be part of the organization," Kaplan said.