Record-A-Thon Draws Do-Gooders to Hollywood

Volunteers are lending their voices to an organization that assists the visually impared for its annual Record-A-Thon this week.

Television and film stars including Tia Carrere, Esai Morales and Katee Sackhoff spent a recent afternoon at Recording for the Blind and Dyslexic's Hollywood studio to record children's books. They are among hundreds of volunteers who have sat inside the recording both, putting in extra sessions to read a variety of books.

The Record-A-Thon, also a fundraiser and recruitment drive, is scheduled to end today.

RFB&D is a nationwide organization that has provided audio recordings of books to the visually impaired since 1948, initially out of concern for blind World War II veterans. The organization has evolved to include those who suffer from dyslexia and other visual impairments.

Candace Coll, a high school student, along with most volunteers typically spend two hours a week reading from a range of books including algebra, car repair and literary criticism for RFB&D. 

Coll has been involved with the organization since the age of 12. She started a club to raise funds for RFB&D. Then in high school she started a new club working for RFB&D and visits the studio each week to read books for students who are visually impaired.

Coll's love of books and sense of community service led her to the organization.

"I’m the type of person that’s reading at 2 o’clock in the morning," Coll said. "I just thought, what would my life be like without books?”

The service RFB&D provides to those who face visual impairement in the community have proven to be invaluable to the organization's clients.

Henry Vasquez, a student at Cal State Los Angeles, told visitors at the studio that RFB&D has always provided the recorded books he needs for class.

Vasquez, a visually-impared man, said he plans on graduating from college in June and becoming a drug and alcohol rehabilitation counselor.

“I couldn’t have done it without RFB&D. . .RFB&D has been my nail, I’m the hammer, and we’re just making all kinds of things... chairs, dressers …”

While his service dog, Natalya, stretched out at his feet, Vasquez talked about his specialized certificates in gang intervention, prevention of domestic violence,  chemical dependency recovery and other areas. 

RFB&D is always in need of  volunteers who can contribute two hours each week to read or help with other tasks at the studio. To find out more or take a tour of the facility, email Alice Way at away@rfbd.org.